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Yasmine removes the scarf from around her neck. She rolls it up and stuffs it in her handbag. “He said he’d like to visit here, but it depends on howweget on in Peru.”
Amy rolls her eyes.
She still hasn’t forgiven Michael. I remember how distraught she was when alone, and Michael took a sick Yasmine into the jungle.
This was supposed to be a fun night of simple conversation, yet tension weighs heavy in the air around us.
The patrons on the opposite table have ordered food, and an herbal aroma wafts toward me.
“Do you want to order?” I ask Samuel. “Some bread?” I change the subject. “Samuel hasn’t tried Lombardi’s yet.”
Samuel smiles at me. “Is your social life all about where to go for the best food?”
“Abso-bloody-lutely,” Amy sings.
* * *
Cuddling into his side, Samuel pulls the bedsheet over my shoulder and my eyes flicker closed. An uneasiness surrounds me, but I focus on the positives, the wonder of Samuel being with us until my thoughts slow.
Then a light is bright enough to disturb me so I pry open one eye.
Samuel is awake and reading his phone in the dark.
“Is everything all right?” I murmur.
“It’s an email from my parents.”
I haven’t expressed my frustration to him about how they wouldn’t listen to me when he was lost and in danger.
“Are they okay?”
“It’s an update on the position Dad secured for me. He knows a professor and is asking about my working visa.” He continues to stare at the screen. “They want to come out here for Christmas,” he says in a lower tone. “Meet you and Rose. And then tour some.”
“That’s great. Rose needs to know her grandparents.” He says nothing, so I rub his chest in small circles. “I can do an itinerary for Adelaide and the wineries. It will keep them busy for weeks.”
Samuel chuckles and places his phone on the table before turning to face me. He strokes my face, pushing strands of hair away from my eyes.
“How desperate are you for money? I mean, is it why he’s hurrying your visa?”
A grin creeps along Samuel’s lips. Then it drops away. “Eden, don’t ever feel afraid about money. Ever. Rose and you will always be looked after.”
I push up onto one elbow. “How so?”
Samuel pulls me so I’m lying on top of him. He kisses me hard. “I’ve told you before that money isn’t an issue, and if you want to quit work, you can.”
“Then why are you hurrying back to work? Why are you proceeding in a career that makes you miserable?”
Even in the dim light, I make out his furrowed expression. “My father has expectations. My grandfather also possessed expectations, and to continue receiving his inheritance each year, I need to adhere to some rules elaborated in his will.”
“What? If you don’t, are you cut off?” He remains quiet, and I take it as a yes. “Why haven’t we spoken about this before? Anyways, we don’t need the extra money. We have what we need, and I want you to be happy. Do anything as long as you’re happy.”
He kisses my forehead. “Touché.”
“I don’t need a flashy house or the best car and clothes. I only need you.” And all this news of his family and inheritance doesn’t make me secure knowing I’m cared for. My stomach churns, understanding there’s someone else controlling our decisions and happiness.
Warm fingers stroke my back. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy my work. It’s more where I work.”
I open my mouth to say you don’t have to work in a hospital and then realize he’s talking about society. The city.
