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‘Not a problem.’
By this time, Cleo had followed him into the kitchen, and Will realised he hadn’t organised the drinks, and Cleo would need a plate for the titbits she’d brought along.
‘This is nice,’ she said, looking around the family-sized kitchen. ‘Have you lived here long?’
‘Over twenty years. It’s been renovated a couple of times, but lately with only Owen and me, we’ve let it go a bit.’ Will tried to see it through Cleo’s eyes. He had tidied it, emptied the sink, and cleared the table of the plethora of books and pamphlets which normally sat there. But it still had a tired look, and why hadn’t he noticed the dead plant on the windowsill?
‘That’s a long time. I guess you and your wife...?’
‘We bought it soon after we married. It was Dee who chose the place. And Owen and I didn’t want to move after… Too many memories.’ Will sighed, as the memories flooded up, memories of Dee in this very kitchen, laughing, cooking, serving meals.What was he doing talking about Dee to Cleo?
‘I understand, it’s hard to let go of the memories. I chose the other extreme. I moved right away.’
‘And how was that for you?’
‘It was difficult at first, but the memories are still there. They don’t disappear because we’re living in a different place. And I’m glad we made the move. I love it here, there was nothing left for me down south.’
‘What’s happening with the beer, mate? A man could die of thirst through there.’ Martin walked into the kitchen. ‘Hi, Cleo,’ he said, noticing her standing by the table. His eyes fell on the container of food Cleo had brought. ‘Wow, from Pandanus?’
‘Sorry. We got talking.’ Will went to the cupboard for glasses and a plate, then took two beers and a bottle of white wine from the fridge. ‘Cleo brought these for us.’ He pointed to the bite-sized snacks on the table which she was arranging on the plate.
‘Good stuff. Let’s get started.’ Martin grabbed a beer and the plate of food, leaving Will to bring the other beer and the bottle of wine, while Cleo picked up the two glasses. Soon all four were seated in the sunroom throwing around ideas for fundraising activities and means of combining them in ways which would benefit both the surfing carnival and the food and wine festival.
It was close to ten o’clock when Martin stretched his arms over his head and said, ‘Time for us to call it a day. I have an early start tomorrow. Ailsa and I are heading up the coast. It’s a bit of an unusual shoot for me – an archeological dig run by the University of Queensland. The son of Ted Crawford’s new lady – a guy called Ben Winter – is in charge of it and recommended me. Should be interesting. We thought we might take a few days to look around while we’re there. You never know what we’ll discover.’
‘I should go, too.’ Cleo rose.
‘Stay a bit. There’s still some wine left,’ Will said. ‘I’ll just see these two out.’ To Will’s relief, Cleo sat down again and picked up her glass, which was still half-full.
She was still there when he returned from farewelling Martin and Ailsa with much ribbing from his old mate about him and Cleo.
‘Hi.’ Will suddenly felt nervous. He sat down and rubbed the back of his neck. Now it was only him and Cleo, he didn’t know what to say.
It was Cleo who broke the silence. ‘It went well, don’t you think? I have to admit, until we started talking, I couldn’t imagine how the two events could complement each other.’
‘But now you can?’
‘Mmm. It was a good idea of yours to use the surf carnival fundraiser to promote the food and wine festival, and the festival to promote the carnival. It should increase the turnout for both events. And the concept of offering tickets for several of our foodie events as part of the raffle is brilliant.’
‘Thanks.’ He noticed Cleo was frowning. ‘Something wrong?’
‘Not really.’ She was silent for a moment, then said. ‘It’s nothing you can help me with.’
‘Try me.’ Will really wanted to put a smile back on Cleo’s face.
Cleo sighed. ‘It’s Han. Well, not really Han, but a message she received.’
‘What sort? Threatening?’
‘No, not threatening. More like concerning.’ Cleo took a gulp of wine before continuing. ‘There’s a woman in California who claims to be Stan’s daughter – Han’s sister, half-sister, I guess. She sent a message to Han on social media.’
‘And your daughter is worried about it?’
‘No. She wants to ignore it – and her.’
‘But you don’t?’
‘The thing is, I think this woman – Kerri-Ann is her name – may be right. I’ve spoken to Stan’s sister. She still lives in Santa Barbara where they grew up, and there’s been gossip. I don’t know what to do.’ She twisted her hands together.
