upheaval. He’d done it when he was younger, when he couldn’t hide the bruises or the reason behind them and told his parents that he was being beaten up after the kids at school found out he was gay. She’d protected him, but his father had hit him a lot harder than the kids had. And the moment he’d been thrashed had been the moment his mother’s life had shredded. She packed their bags and the two of them fled, leaving behind that semi-comfortable life. If he hadn’t been around, she would have been able to stick it out.

And now here he was making her confront her own mortality.

‘I would have helped.’

‘I know, mijo, but you have your job, you have your life. Here I have my friends and I have the theatre. So you stay the night and then you go back to Sydney, okay?’

Go back to destroying Rivervue? And her? No chance.

‘I’ve taken time off work. The doctor said you shouldn’t be living by yourself … right now.’

She was going to get better. He had to believe that, even if the doctor wouldn’t confirm it.

‘Pssh. What does she know? Look, I’ve got work to do. I have to get these designs done for Lexi. She’s depending on me.’

‘I’m sure she can find someone else.’

Sofia frowned. ‘Why would she need to find someone else? I’m the designer.’

‘Because you need to put all your energy into getting better.’

‘And sitting around doing nothing is going to do that, is it?’

Better than finding her slumped over the table with exhaustion.

‘Mamá, let’s talk about this later when you’re rested. You’ve had a shock, and I’m worried that you continuing with this is going to affect your health.’

‘Gabriel, I know you think you’re doing right, but I am going to keep doing what I’ve always been doing. Tomorrow I’ll go to work at the bookshop—as usual—and in the evening I’ll go to rehearsals at the theatre—as usual. Understand?’

Panic scratched at the back of his throat, trying to get out. The doctor had demanded she rest and with the upcoming radiation and chemotherapy Sofia wouldn’t have the stamina to shower herself let alone design costumes for the theatre.

‘But Mamá—’

‘Enough!’ Her tone and her hand put a stop to his pleas. ‘This is what I want and this is what’s going to happen.’

He sighed and let his head fall. He understood it was important to her to carry on as if nothing had changed, but he’d seen the worry in her eyes as the doctor laid out a diagnosis she’d no doubt heard before. And probably with increasing frequency.

‘Fine, but if you’re too sick tomorrow, you’re not going to work. They can do without you for a day.’

He got to his feet but stopped at the table, putting his mug down, to look at more of her designs. Most had a scraggly line drawn diagonally across the page indicating they were her mistakes, the times when the ideas didn’t transfer well into reality. They were expected, but the shakiness of her markings was new. And terrifying. How much strength had these taken from her? How many hours had she sat alone while he was in Sydney figuring out how to destroy her second home? If she couldn’t finish the designs, couldn’t see her vision come to life before the theatre was taken away from her, what would that do to her health? People died of broken hearts and he was going to break hers again.

He tidied the pages, picked up his tea and sat beside her on the couch. Even if they didn’t talk, he would be where he was meant to be when she needed him.

Chapter Four

Bruce reorganised his day so he could get some other jobs out of the way before going to Sofia’s. He wanted to avoid disturbing her with his hammering and drilling. He rose before dawn, made a quick stop at the theatre to drop off sheets of plywood, and went to Paul Leeman’s antique shop to continue with the fit-out. Thankfully Paul wasn’t expecting much for what was essentially the installation of a new countertop, and he finished before opening. He’d return after closing to put on another layer of varnish, but Paul could use it in the meantime. That meant he could bring the invoice with him and hand it over once the job was completed.

And then wait until Armageddon for Paul to pay.

The last time he swore he’d never take another job from Paul … but he took it anyway.

Like the job before that. And the one before that too.

The very first job he’d done for him was while he’d been an apprentice, and when old Joe, his boss and mentor, moved away, Paul was keen to use him again. Bruce had been so grateful that first time to be a ‘real builder’ that he’d drastically undercharged. Paul came to expect that level of pricing ever since. It wasn’t worth dwelling on all the money he’d lost doing work for Paul Leeman.

Next, he stopped in at Gaia’s Gifts to relocate a bookshelf for Niamh. She said it was something to do with the feng shui of the joint, but all Bruce knew was that if she loaded it with any more crystals the whole thing was likely to come down and kill whoever was standing beneath it. A few holes, a few screws, and he was done. That was just a cashie and since it took about fifteen minutes he only asked for twenty bucks. The smile Niamh gave him almost made it worth it.

Almost.

Bruce was kicking himself as he left, but Niamh didn’t see as many customers as some of the other vendors in town. Like that bookshelf, she was barely hanging on. The twenty-dollar note weighed his pocket down but he forced himself to walk away.

With any luck the upcoming festival celebrating Brachen’s two-hundredth birthday would bring a whole heap of new customers to town. Everyone loved a party and

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