CHAPTER 48
She was warm, and as my chin settled onto the top of her head, I caught the simple scent of shampoo. Her arms went up my back to hook over my shoulders, and I felt her shudder a little, and I knew.

“No tears. Maz. Not tonight. Tomorrow, maybe, well, we have Sunday, all of it”

“Next weekend as well, Mike”

“Indeed”

“I… I brought some stuff with me. For tomorrow, if we do go out”

“What sort of stuff?”

She wriggled a little in my arms, turning her head to the side so we could stand closer together.

“For starters, my own swimming costume. It fits better”

Deep breath from me, rather than a direct response, until the words came of their own will.

“You, Ms Rahman, are a tease”

“Am I a successful one?”

“What’s that American phrase in court?”

“Pleading the fifth? You do realise that’s a tacit admission of guilt, don’t you?”

“Pass”

“That doesn’t work either. I have a suggestion, though, as well as an admission, and some comments”

“What’s the suggestion?”

“That we seem to have a sort of understanding between us. If we maintain that, then perhaps our inner friends will learn to leave us alone? And, well… then we will see whatever we will see”

“Admission?”

“I have been presumptuous”

“In what way have you presumed?”

“I rang that place with the chalets, near Margaret River. Got a general quote”

“For how many?”

She chuckled against my chest.

“Really, really presumptuous. Nine of us, Mike”

“Nine?”

“The Butts are three. Then Ronnie and her other half, us two and Chad”

“Oh. I see”

“Oh indeed. If Chad and Vern aren’t seeing each other, then all I have is a quote, but it might mean two properties, or restricted opportunities for hanky-panky”

“Maz…”

“No, Mike: not that presumptuous, but with two married couples, as well as a possible, em, romance, then…”

She barked out a laugh, with her usual snort following, and it was a good job she was facing across me rather than directly towards me.

“And the joke is?”

“Oh, Vern and Chad. I imagined them popping out for some, um, quality personal time, and coming across the wrong kind of snake and oh god did I just say that?”

“You did, Ms Rahman”

“Right. I need more beer, then”

“More?”

“It’s clearly working properly”

“I see. And those comments?”

“It’s…”

She drew in a long breath, her chest squashing slightly against my own.

“This is really, really nice. Alan was softer, not quite so big, and some of my voices are now saying approving things. Can alcohol affect imaginary friends, Mike? Or maybe enemies?”

I found myself pulling her closer.

“I bloody well hope so. I will say, and it’s not just returning a serve, okay?”

“What will you say, Mister Rhodes?”

“It has been, I haven’t… being held again is lovely. Being held by you is amazing”

“Not just my bum, then?”

“Told you: dimples”, (‘Adulterer!’); “Anyway, it’s too dark to ogle”

It seemed our mutual verbosity collided simultaneously with our ghosts, but we stayed as we were for a minute or two, before she stretched up to kiss my cheek.

“Come on inside, er”

Snort.

“Husband of mine, ha ha ha!”

We gathered up the remaining full bottles left by Sangeeta and stepped back into the living room, and it was only as I set the drinks down on the table that I realised her arm was still around my waist. Too late for conscience; I left it there, and turned to the others, my arm dropping across her shoulders. Brazen it out.

“We tried, Chad, but still can’t spot the Cross. Maz tells me she’s taken some steps for that, though”

Her arm tightened slightly on my waist, so I squeezed her shoulder in what I hoped she would read as reassurance.

“That trip to Maggie River, people? Maz tells me she has actually got some quotes”

I turned to Vern, with a smile I similarly hoped lacked obvious guile.

“Better explain, mate. We have been thinking about renting a sort of glorified holiday cottage down that way. Massive picture window, multiple beds, and a hot tub out the back. Plan is to do some swimming at Gracetown, spend time in the wineries, where we will gather supplies to improve the tub experience. And there’s cliff climbing”

Maz chipped in with a comment about birdwatching opportunities, and I did indeed catch a slight blush from Chad. It appeared Maz was on the money there, so leave him alone, Rhodes. A sudden thought rose up, and not from my accusing chorus.

“A thought, people, possibly for Sunday for whoever’s left: if I mail the Hiatts, do we all fancy another Skype session?”

Chad turned to the man sitting very close to him.

“Climbing friends, Mike’s and the two boys’. Good people; two little girls, and one of them climbs as well!”

He looked around the room, an air of challenge in his eyes, before turning back to Vern.

“If this lot are okay, would you be interested in a Maggie River weekend?”

Vern just nodded, a slight blush from him surprising me. Chad turned to Maz.

“How many did they quote for, Maz? Or rather, how many did you ask them to quote for?”

“Nine, Chad. Ronnie and her other half included”

“Nine…”

His fingers flicked out one by one, and then his gaze came up again.

“You are really, really cheeky, Maryam”

She shook her head.

“Not at all. Just making sure I have acted professionally as a professional business consultant in the profession of assisting people to be professional, and professionally covering all eventualities”

She looked at her bottle.

“I can still say ‘professionally’ and ‘eventualities’. Can you grab me another beer please, Mike?”

I did just that before settling down with my laptop for just enough time to send that e-mail, suggesting a Sunday Skyping, and while I tried to find a few suitable photos for a second mail, the reply hit my inbox.

“Kul? Folks? Penny’s just replied. ‘What’s wrong with now? Forget the time difference? It’s raining, so we’re all in’. What do I tell her?”

There were several shouts of ‘Go for it’ and variations on that theme, so Kul waved an imperious arm.

“Igor! Send up the kites!”

Geeta nudged Dal.

“I think he means ‘Set the screen up’, son”

Dal shook his head, but quickly rigged my laptop up after I had sent the reply accepting Pen’s suggestion. We settled into seats hastily dragged into positions facing the screen, which wobbled a bit, and then cleared to show the Hiatts, and nobody else.

“Hiya, you three. Where’s everybody else?”

“Raining, Mike. Steph’s working, I believe. Neil’s somewhere in The Peak crawling around underground, and the Edwards are off at a common interests families weekend”

That was a pretty heavy clue, so I slipped quickly past the subject. Enfys was jumping up and down and waving, pointing at various faces. Pen whispered something in Welsh to her, and she nodded, before running out of the room. Keith was grinning happily.

“She’s got something to show you, but she’s forgotten who everybody is apart from you and Kul’s family. Could we have a repeat round of ‘Hiya’ when she’s back? And speak of the devil, and thundering staircases, here she is”

Enfys was back, waving something so close to the camera that it couldn’t focus, and rabbiting away in Welsh, until her mother slowed her down and helped her switch to English.

“Got SHOES, Uncle Mike! Like Mam and Dad’s”

Penny slowed her hands down, drawing her back just far enough that we could see what she held, and it was a tiny pair of climbing shoes. I heard Vern half-whisper something about ‘starting them bloody young, no wonder they can climb like that…’ and then Penny was explaining.

“Hairy, as Geoff calls her, has friends in Dover, who go on day trips, and the French have got this massive warehouse style sports shop there. Just about anything you might want, so we sent them a tracing of her current shoes, and official sizes, and here they are. So, intros again, Mike!”

“Hiya, Enfys! Can’t you remember who we all are?”

The girl looked away from me, I thought, before I realised that she was looking down at a screen rather than at the camera.

“I know Uncle Kul, and Uncle Dal, and Aunty Geeta, but can’t remember other names. Beth sy’r---”

Pen cut in.

“English, cariad”

“Sorry! Who are the rest?”

I waved over to my left.

“That’s Chad, who I work with, and Chad’s friend, Vern”

“Hello Chad and Vern! I’m Enfys, which means rainbow, and Mam says I can change it when I’m bigger if I don’t like it, but it’s my name, and I do like it, and I can’t remember your girlfriend’s name, Uncle Mike”

There a few sharply drawn breaths, as well as a chuckle from who else but Kul, and Maryam sat up straighter.

“Hi, Enfys, and I like your name too. My name’s Maryam, but people call me Maz sometimes”

“You’ve got funny eyes, like at Dwr y Mynydd”

I gave Maryam a quick look, whispering ‘Chinese takeaway’, and then turned back to Enfys.

“Not quite, love. Maz is from Malaysia, not China”

“Do they do takeaway as well? I like Dwr y Mynydd”

Maz actually yelled with laughter just then, before answering.

“Do your Mam and Dad ever buy satay from there?”

Penny whispered to Enfys once again, and the little girl’s eyes went wide.

“Peanut butter chicken! My best!”

Maz nodded.

“That’s one of our things, Enfys. I don’t do takeaways, because I work with Uncle Mike and Uncle Kul, but I can cook it”

“Can you cook it for me?”

“Too far away, um, cariad”

“You could send it in a parcel”

“It would be cold and horrid before you got it. Shall I cook it for you if I visit?”

“Do you cook it for Uncle Mike?”

She looked up at me, dimples around her smile, and said, “Not yet”

Kul waved a hand, clearly intending to break the interrogation before it got too seriously embarrassing.

“People: we were all climbing today, and I have some video. Okay if I share the screen. Sound’s on the vid, so we’ll cut our microphone”

All in agreement, he started the video edited by Tim, which of course meant those of us in Chez Butt making our own comments without having to worry about little ears. I did notice Chad slap Vern’s leg at one point, before realising that while my arm seemed to have decided to keep its place around her shoulders, Maz’ hand had somehow ended up on my knee.

Video over, Pen and Keith returned to our screens, Enfys missing. Keith waved towards where I remembered the living room door to be.

“She’s gone to put on that harness you bought her, Mike, so will simply say one thing while I can. That pic of the Australian bolt---what the fucking fuck? Oh, and bloody nice extension, both you and… Vern? Except his was a real extension, and yours just a dyno”

Penny snorted.

“One of you likes tight shorts, the other one, oh dear me! Mike, we could just about see what you had for breakfast two days ago. What did you think, Maryam?”

Maz shifted a little so she could grin up at me.

“What did I think, Penny? Didn’t have the bandwidth for that; it was all used up with ogling”

Penny guffawed a loud “Touché!” before turning a little more serious.

“Your own technique was good, woman, and so was---Vern’s? Vern’s. Dal, you just need to concentrate on keeping your heels down. I could see you getting disco leg a couple of times, and here comes the thunder again—Hiya cariad. Still just about fits”

I spotted something hanging from the harness.

“Chalk bag, Pen?”

“Well, yes and no. I’ve tacked in a Pertex liner, and it usually contains emergency rations, or, as Enfys calls them, losyn”

I turned to my own group.

“Sweets”

Maz shook her head.

“Not here, Mike. He means ‘lollies’, folks!”

The chat continued happily until Keith made his excuses about doing the household stuff in the bunkhouse, and we all said our goodbyes as Dal closed the screen down, with rather a sad look at me and Maryam, the poor kid. Vern was staring at us in a rather different way.

“Tim and them calling you her hubby, and what Enfys said, and, you’re not there yet, are you?”

Chad nudged him gently.

“Not just now, ey, mate? Anyway, tomorrow’s plan?”

Maryam asked if he had brought his budgie smugglers, and snorted again, at which point I noticed exactly how many empty bottles there were in the room. Oh. Geeta was already on her way out of the living room to sort out bedding, and I did my best to slide out from under Maz’s comfortable grasp of my knee and pack up my laptop. Good nights were wished, Chad and Vern chose a corner to share, and after a rather long hug, I left Maz to her own sleeping space and settled down into bed. On a hunch, I opened my mail once again, and there was another from Pen.

‘Not pushing, my love, but that scene with you two together warmed my heart. I don’t think you realise how much each of you smiles when looking at the other. Just remember, whatever happens, we all love you, and if she ever does come over this way, whatever happens with the two of you, she will be welcome. We pay our debts’.

I switched the computer off, setting it to one side, and as I lay back in the darkness, that Greek chorus was back, in force, as I remembered the gentle pressure of her hand on my knee matching the soft smile she held up for my eyes to savour.

Get stuffed, conscience, just this once. I got back out of bed, pulling on a T-shirt and some clean boxers for modesty’s sake. Out onto the landing…

“Maz?”

“Mike? What’s up?”

“If that camping mat’s too hard, I have a bed”