“Best twin ever.”
“That’s me.”
Libby noticed Alice had glitter on her cheek and a bit of colorful Washi tape tangled in her hair—typical chaotic Alice. Libby realized with a jolt that this version of her twin had been absent during the Lawrence years. It was an equal shock to learn that she’d missed it. “So how are the oldies?”
“Fabulous! I could sit and listen to their stories all day. I’m a little bit in love with Martha Ingles.”
“Me too. She’s ninety-nine and sharp as a tack.”
“Everyone thinks she’s this sweet old lady who’s lived an ordinary life on the land, married to Reg, raising seven kids and God knows how many calves. They think her only claim to fame is holding the record for winning the most Best Sponge Cake blue ribbons at the Bairnsdale Fair. But she was in Singapore when the Japanese invaded. She spent a year walking across Sumatra before finally being allowed to stay in a camp. A year! Can you believe it?”
“A Town Like Alice,” Karen murmured. “There were thousands of women stranded in South-East Asia during the second world war.”
“I had no idea,” Alice said. “At school, we were taught about the men working and dying on the Burma Railway and at Sandakan, but no one talks about what the women went through. There’s a photo of her brutally thin and emaciated, lying in a hospital in 1945. Her stories tear me apart. Now, after years of not talking about her experiences, Martha wants me to help her display the two photos she has of that time as part of her book. It’s such an honor. I’m petrified I won’t do it justice.”
Karen sighed. “Alice, you put together two substantial art catalogs a year for three years and you won awards for your work. That’s where your talent lies. It isn’t getting anxious about an elderly woman’s scrapbook.”
Alice stiffened but instead of responding she filled her mouth with lunch.
A pregnant woman walked past them pushing a toddler in a stroller and Libby’s gaze unconsciously dropped to her own belly. Was there a tiny new life beating inside her? Before now, she’d always conceived easily—once she’d thought too easily. The memory of her initial dismay when she learned she was pregnant with Dom morphed into rebuking guilt and shame. If she’d known what was coming, she’d never have taken anything for granted.
It was just over a year since she and Nick had been actively trying to conceive and a nagging question was gaining volume. “Mom, did you and Dad ever try and get pregnant again after having us?”
Her mother’s finger toyed with some fallen lettuce. “We did.”
A ribbon of disquiet unfurled. “And it didn’t happen?”
“It did happen.” Karen raised her head, memories clear in the depths of her eyes. “I fell pregnant three times, but none of them lasted for longer than eight weeks. After the third miscarriage, we decided that as we were already blessed with two beautiful daughters you were enough.”
Alice looked stricken. “I didn’t know that. Why didn’t I know?”
Karen patted her hand. “There was no reason for you to know, darling. You were only little at the time.”
“How old were you?” Alice asked softly.
Karen thought about it for a minute. “Much the same age you are now. Dr. Richards said my eggs were probably too old.”
Alice flashed a look at Libby and she read her twin’s distress for them both.
“Old Dr. Richards was talking through his hat, Mom,” Libby said firmly, as much to reassure Alice as herself. “Back then the average age for a first baby was about twenty-two. Today, it’s thirty and the highest fertility rate is among women aged thirty to thirty-four. There could have been any number of reasons why you miscarried. Pesticides and fertilizers were being used willy-nilly then.”
Alice chewed her lip. “Libs, should I be thinking about freezing my eggs?”
Her heart ached for her twin. “Maybe. Does Tim want kids?”
“She needs to actually meet him first,” Karen said snippily.
“I have met him, Mom,” Alice said wearily.
“Texting and long phone calls is not meeting.”
Alice hacked jerkily at the chocolate tart. “Can we please not have this conversation again?”
“What happened to meeting someone at a party or at the surf club or the yacht—”
“Times have changed, Mom.” Libby moved to support Alice, despite part of her agreeing with their mother. “And let’s face it, the dating pool in the bay’s limited at best. Jess has just snapped up the last good guy.”
“Are Will and Jess officially a couple now?” Karen asked, clearly skeptical.
“Pretty much. They’re taking things slowly because of Leo, but from what Jess says, they’re planning to move in together by July.”
Karen’s brows rose and despite trying hard to ignore her mother’s look, Libby failed. “What?”
“It’s just I saw Elsa Azzopardi at the U3A dine-out recently and she spent a long time talking about Will.”
“So? She always does that.”
“Yes, but she didn’t mention Jess once.”
“That’s because they haven’t told Will’s parents yet. You know how overwhelming Elsa can be.”
Karen leaned forward as if about to divulge some great secret. “The thing is, darling, Elsa said Will’s dating a woman from Sale.”
Libby laughed. “No need to panic, Mom. That’s Will’s decoy story to protect Jess. Right now, they’re enjoying a honeymoon period before the Azzopardis and the town wade in. I fully support it. If I was them, I’d be putting off the full-on Italian mama scene with Elsa for as long as possible too.”
Karen looked unconvinced. “I’m not sure that’s the wisest thing—”
“Oh, God it’s almost 2:00. I have to go.” Libby still had time up her sleeve but she lacked the inclination to argue with her mother about all the reasons why Jess and Will were doing the right thing. Cutting the lemon tart in half, she scooped up her share and gave Alice and Karen a kiss goodbye. “Thanks for lunch.”
The moment she turned on the car’s ignition, her phone connected to Bluetooth and the podcast she was listening to filled the speakers.
