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The next couple of weeks pass quickly. I visit Genica on a daily basis, working closely with Jack Evans and his team in the beginning stages of the integration of MOTHER with the new voice synthesizer. There are always going to be hiccups in the evolution of new software, and although I made sure the project was in good shape when I delivered it, there are still flaws to iron out that have only just come to light.
Running alongside this is the Craig situation, which continues to be like a nagging toothache. I’ve tried several times to see him alone so we can talk without Renée constantly interrupting, but he still refuses to answer his mobile when I call him, and I’m determined not to go to the house again as if I’m begging him to forgive me. Instead, we’re conducting all our communication through lawyers. He’s suing for wrongful dismissal, as well as a host of other complaints. Helen is convinced he doesn’t have a leg to stand on, but lawyers are smart, and although I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, I’m nervous.
Saxon knows what’s going on, of course, it would be impossible to hide it completely, but I’m doing my best to keep it off his desk. Catie is now seven months pregnant, and although she’s feeling well and looking great, he’s preoccupied a lot of the time. He’s still flying back to Auckland every other week to oversee Titus’s company, so he’s under a lot of stress, and I want to alleviate that as much as I can.
Despite everything that’s going on, the guys insist it’s fine for me to take some time off in February. “It’s not as if I’m doing anything,” Damon mutters when I ask if he minds covering for me for a few days over Valentine’s Day.
So on the evening of Friday the tenth, after I finish work, I go home, shower and change, pack a bag, and take it and my suit bag with me to the airport, where I board the Knight Sky.
Immi brings me a coffee, because I’m hiring a car in Gisborne, and as the plane soars above the clouds, I finally let my brain turn to what it wants to think about: the gorgeous Alice Liddell.
Since I told her I loved her and that I was willing to wait for her, something has shifted between us. She’s still wary, unsure how it could work, and nervous about thinking too hard about the future. But I believe she’s accepted that I’m serious about her, at least.
I’m excited to see her. I speak to her most days, and we message each other all the time, but obviously it’s not the same as being together. When the plane lands, I almost run to the hire car desk like a schoolboy, and I shift from foot to foot impatiently while the guy behind the desk completes the paperwork.
The keys finally in my hand, I find the car—a rather nice Range Rover—throw my bags in the back, program Alice’s address into Google Maps, and head off.
It takes about fifteen minutes to get there. She’s out at Wainui Beach, in a medium-sized house with a small front garden and what appears to be a largish back garden. It’s a nice neighborhood, and I can imagine the house would fetch a decent price on today’s market. I know her father was the manager of a computer store in the town center, and her mother worked as a secretary before she fell ill, and it makes me wonder if the family was more affluent when her father was alive. I’m surprised they haven’t sold the house and downsized, but then I remember Alice saying that her mother refused to move because she couldn’t let go of the memories she had of her father. I understand that, but it seems a little unfair when it would release some of the equity tied up in the house. But it’s none of my business, and I remind myself that I mustn’t judge when I don’t know all the facts.
I slide the Range Rover onto the house’s drive in front of the garage, turn off the engine, and get out. I’m in the process of retrieving my bags from the back when the front door opens. It’s Alice, dressed in a long green summer skirt and a white vest, her hair scooped off her neck, and she looks young and fresh-faced and so goddamn beautiful that I just drop everything, stride up to her, and sweep her up into my arms.
“Kip,” she whispers in my ear, throwing her arms around my neck, and then she’s kissing me, and I let her slide down me until her feet touch the ground, and kiss her in the early evening sun until she’s breathless and laughing. “Oh my God,” she says, “I’ve missed you.” She hugs me again, and I bury my face in her neck and inhale her sweet scent as I hold her tightly.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“I’m so glad you came.”
“I’m not going to pass up on the chance to see my girl, am I?”
She giggles at that, girlish and joyful, then moves back to look into my eyes. “I’m not imagining this, am I? You’re really here?”
“You can poke me, if you like.”
Mischief lights her eyes, and she reaches out a finger and prods me in the stomach. “Hard as,” she says.
“Not yet, but if you keep kissing me like that, it won’t take long.”
She laughs. “Come on. Get your bags and come inside.”
I collect them, lock the car, and follow her in. The front door leads into a hallway where I leave my shoes, and I follow her down and into the open plan living and dining room.
The room is clearly laid out to allow for wheelchair access, with an absence of clutter, which appeals to me, and floorboards instead of carpet. Alice’s mother sits in one of the armchairs with a view of both the TV and the garden beyond. She looks very like her daughter, with the same blonde hair, although hers is braided into a long plait that hangs over her shoulder. She’s very slender and looks quite frail, but her face is bright, and she beams at me as I walk in.
“You must be Mrs. Liddell,” I say, leaving my bags by the door and going over to hold out a hand. “I’m so pleased to meet you at last.”
“Oh goodness, call me Penny,” she says, shaking my hand. Hers feels like a tiny bird in my massive paw, all fragile bones. “And it’s lovely to meet you too, Kip.”
“I’ll just check on dinner,” Alice says, flushing, and she walks through the dining room and disappears through a doorway. I smile at Penny and sink onto the sofa.
“How has your day been?” she asks.
“Real busy, actually. I wanted to clear the decks before I came away.”
“Alice has been telling me about MOTHER. How is the production coming along?”
“Two steps forward, one step back. But I expected that. We’re looking at August as a date to roll out the first units. I’m hoping we’ll meet that.”
Penny glances over at the doorway, then looks back at me and smiles. “She’s been so excited to see you. Thank you so much for coming up.”
