Now, here in front of her computer, she felt the buzz of adrenalin begin to kick in. Dealing with children every day was what she loved and there were plenty of kids at the community health centre. Along with parents who would need a kind and caring ear.
Melinda printed the rest of her résumé and she couldn’t wait until Dave came home so she could tell him her plans.
Switching on the TV, she saw the six o’clock news was on. Melinda frowned; Dave was late. Well, could she really know when she would expect him today? She was the one who had told him to go because she needed some time. Maybe she’d been such a bitch he wouldn’t come home. That stopped her in her tracks. She remembered her mother telling her once you could only push people so far before they didn’t come back.
Where would he be? she wondered. Walking the streets? In the pub? Should she go and see if she could find him? She paced the kitchen and lounge room, fear rolling around in her stomach.
There was a gentle tap on the door and she stopped, wondering who it could be.
‘G’day, missus,’ Ernie said, holding out a parcel wrapped in newspaper. ‘Kangaroo steaks. Good tucker, yeah? Good tucker.’
‘Oh,’ Melinda stood at the door, not knowing what to say. ‘Um, kangaroo?’
‘Yeah, missus.’ Ernie shook the parcel. ‘You take. Good tucker. Food.’
Good manners made her reach out and take his offering. ‘Um, thank you.’
Ernie nodded at her and turned to leave. ‘You be right, missus. Time is all. Just time.’ He left her standing on the step, staring out into the dimming light. How had he known? She smiled a little as she realised she may have made her second friend. What a nice feeling.
Closing the door gently, she decided to make tonight special. She’d experiment and use the kangaroo steaks. She knew Dave had eaten them before and liked them; she never had so tonight could be the start of many new firsts for her.
Feeling like an old-fashioned housewife, Melinda found the linen tablecloth her grandmother had left her and spread it over the kitchen table. She brought out the good cutlery they’d been given for their wedding and set two places; she’d make the table look pretty and inviting.
Humming to herself, she danced over to the cupboard and pulled out the crockery set her parents had given them. It was white with gold edging. For a moment she was thrown back to their wedding day. She remembered walking down the aisle towards Dave. His hair had been slicked back and he’d looked so handsome in his tuxedo. When she’d stopped beside him at the altar he’d looked at her like she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Her wedding dress had held shades of Princess Diana’s—ruffled sleeves and neck. And the train…well, it had been far too long, but after being transfixed by the royal wedding as a child, she’d wanted something similar. Her bridesmaids, sister Sarah and best friend Tash, had screwed up their noses as they’d held up the train while Melinda went to the loo. They both had probably taken on more than they’d bargained for being the bridesmaids for Melinda, who had a two-metre train hanging off the end of her wedding dress!
A jingle came on the TV and she gave a little wiggle of her hips and said out loud, ‘Come home soon, honey. I can’t wait to see you.’
She found candles and placed them in the middle of the table, then went looking for one of the potpourri bowls that had been on the tables at their wedding. She knew she’d kept three of them—they’d been full of rose petals and lavender flowers and smelled divine. The clear bowl would look nice on the table tonight.
The news had finished and the familiar strains of Hey Hey It’s Saturday filled the room. Melinda stopped setting the table and looked at the clock to make sure she wasn’t wrong. It was six-thirty now. Was he even coming home?
All her positiveness started to seep away. Part of her wanted to crawl into a ball and cry. She wanted to tell him about all the good decisions she’d made today and what her plans were for the next week.
Just then she heard the squeak of the gate and a few moments later the door opened. She met him at the door and they looked at each other uncertainly.
‘Hi,’ they both said at the same time.
‘I’m sor—’ Melinda tried, but Dave put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, muffling her words. Returning the hug, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, peace finally descending over her. They stood like that without speaking for a long time, then Dave gently pushed her back and looked down at her.
‘How was your day?’ he asked quietly.
‘Good. Really good. I did a lot of thinking.’
‘And what did you work out?’
‘I’ve been disgustingly selfish and I’m sorry.’
Dave went to say something but she shushed him by putting a finger over his lips.
‘I realise it’s got to be me who makes the effort to meet people and fit in and I’m going to be doing that.’
Pulling away, she went to the fridge and grabbed out the kangaroo steaks. ‘Ernie dropped by tonight and gave us these.’
‘What are they?’
‘Kangaroo steaks.’ She put them on the counter then reached back in for a beer and a bottle of wine.
‘And you’re going to cook them?’
Dave looked around the kitchen, then leaned forward and whispered playfully, ‘Where’s my wife?’
Melinda smiled at him. ‘The new wife is right here. The other cranky, dismal wife has gone.
