He’d never thought of himself as a petty person, and guilt thickened his blood. He could do better.
‘Absolutely I’ll be there. Probably about eleven o’clock if that’s okay.’ He had three other jobs to do before then. ‘How do you like it so far?’
‘Oh, it’s wonderful.’ Her face shone. ‘It’s just what I always wanted.’
‘I’ll try not to make too much noise, in case you’re sleeping.’
‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll be up as early as ever,’ she said. ‘Got to get back to normal. Can’t let this hold me back.’
He could almost be swept up with her denial of how serious her health condition was. She was stoic, brave, and he’d not ruin that for her. At least he could build a gazebo.
But Gabriel scratched that scar on the side of his head, and Bruce almost lost his smile.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow then.’
He nodded at Gabriel who gave a drawn-on smile in return. He might not want to be close to the kid anymore, but he wouldn’t heap more trouble on top of him. No-one deserved that when their mother was ill.
Chapter Seven
‘Did you enjoy that?’ Sofia asked on the drive home.
Gabriel gripped the top rim of the steering wheel, his body hunched forward as he peered through the windscreen and scanned for kangaroos or bandicoots bounding across the street. He’d never been able to achieve the laissez-faire attitude of people born and bred in Brachen. They took driving country roads for granted, that the roo would get out of the way, but his mother had taught him to drive and he’d absorbed her wariness.
‘Yeah, was alright. The play still needs an ending. And a middle.’
‘Not that. Lexi’s got that under control. I meant working together on the designs. Did you see Bruce’s face? He loved them.’
Bruce’s face had shown something but it definitely wasn’t admiration.
And that hurt a lot more than Gabriel cared to admit.
But he couldn’t deny working on the sets had been a welcome change from sitting in the theatre and imagining it being torn down, where the amenities would go, how people would afford to live in the new building. He’d kept his hands and mind busy. And he’d been able to bring his mother’s ideas to fruition on the page.
‘You’ve got some great ideas,’ he said.
‘Pssh. We both know a lot of them were yours. I wouldn’t have come up with that design in a million years.’
Complex. Impractical. Gabriel Mora, not Sofia Mora. He had to convince her to change it.
‘Yes, you would have. You’re just tired.’
‘It’s not that, mijo. Your brain sees things differently from mine.’
‘Thanks. I think.’ She spoke the truth. It saw possibilities free of reality. Great for designing buildings. Not so much for building relationships. He took pieces and forced them together in myriad ways until they clicked. It came with a decent miss rate but his hits were phenomenal. If only he could have found the right combination for him and Bruce, but all options had ended in failure.
That’s why he’d left Brachen after high school. Staying in Brachen meant seeing Bruce and Jason together—each kiss they shared another crack in his heart. He’d got his offers for university and he figured the sooner he started on a career path, the sooner he could support Sofia. Leaving was meant to make things easier, but after five years the pieces still hadn’t fused.
And now here he was as Sofia stared out the window at a world gone black, the headlight beams slashing the pale trunks of the eucalypts lining the side of the road, over a white cross or two. Then the trees were gone and they hit the main drag of the town. Sofia’s head rested back on the seat.
‘Mamá, are you okay?’
She turned to him. ‘Would you … would you work on the designs for the sets and costumes with me?’
The soft wary tone in her voice yanked his heart, pulling the muscles in his arms tight and squeezing his hold on the steering wheel. ‘Come on, Mamá. This is your thing.’ He’d already taken the first set far beyond what she would have produced. His hands had done more than smudge graphite; he’d erased her. Hell, he’d even put his initials at the bottom of the page.
‘I know, but it’s hard for me to hold the pencil … at the moment … and I think the play could do with your talent.’
‘I don’t want to take it away from you.’
And aiding her with the designs would take strength she couldn’t spare. They had doctor’s appointments and treatments to attend in the weeks ahead, all so she’d get better. She shouldn’t be working—on the play, at the bookshop, on anything.
‘You won’t be taking anything from me,’ she said. ‘You’ll be allowing me to finish the sets like Lexi’s expecting. Oh, and the costumes! You always were a wizard when it came to fashion. Of course, you should have been a model.’
‘Mamá …’ He’d heard that enough from her growing up but he’d rather dress the models than be one. His looks hadn’t brought him success and they hadn’t been enough to grab Bruce’s attention.
Not like Jason’s blond hair and blue eyes.
‘I’m allowed to think my son’s handsome. But if you won’t strut the catwalk, then you could at least work with me on Larrikin. It would give us something to do together.’ She twisted the rings on her right hand. ‘Unless you’re going back to Sydney, which would be absolutely fine.’
‘I’m staying.’
‘But won’t work be angry?’
Not as angry as she’d be if she knew what they wanted him to do. Luckily, she never remembered the name of the firm.
‘They can survive without me. I’m staying here until you’re better.’
She put her hand over his and squeezed. ‘Well, if you’re staying, then it’s settled.’
His forearm cramped. ‘I don’t
