“Hey, Lib, crisis averted. Lucy-Goose has her swimming gear. I phoned the school and met them at the pool. Leo and I had a swim too, so it was win-win.”
“Thank you! You’re the best.”
“I aim to please.”
Libby laughed and suddenly wondered when Jess had gone from calling Lucy “Miss Lucy” to using Nick’s pet name for their eldest daughter. “You’ve saved Nick from having a sad sack kid this evening.”
“Talking about sad sacks, what’s biting your husband on the bum? Talk about cranky.”
“Oh no! Was he grumpy with you too? He should have been groveling. It’s his fault Lucy didn’t have her stuff. I’m so sorry. It’s not personal though. He’s been a pain at home too.”
“Perhaps he needs a weekend away.” Jess sighed. “I know I do. I’m totally over Leo teething.”
“Poor you. Teething’s the pits. Hey, I know. I’m off this weekend so we could have Leo and give you a break. Why not go somewhere?”
“Will’s offshore and I don’t want to go away on my own.”
The petulant tone was reminiscent of teenage Jess when Libby was tied up with a family event, leaving her friend alone on a Saturday night. Unlike Alice, Jess was more than capable of holding her own socially, so it had taken years for Libby to realize that Jess wasn’t upset about going stag to a party, but that she didn’t have any family occasions herself. Now, Jess was godmother to the girls and Libby was godmother to Leo and Libby loved that Jess was officially part of her family.
“I’ve got a better idea than a weekend away.” Libby smiled at the fast forming thought. “Ramesh has just agreed to work Easter so we can take four days.”
“We as in you, Nick and the girls?”
The hesitancy in her friend’s voice made her ache. “As in all of us. You and Leo too. You know I love it when we all go on vacation together.”
“That sounds amazing!” All the petulance vanished and Jess’s usual enthusiasm was back. “I’ll do some research and see where we can get in. We can talk about it on Sunday night.”
Jess’s tongue clicked loudly in the speakers. Libby wasn’t sure if her friend knew she did this whenever she wanted to change the subject. “I know you’re in Bairnsdale until late tonight but Nick sounded strung out on the phone. I was wondering if I should organize dinner for him and the girls?”
Libby had a love-hate relationship with people adopting men for meals when the women in their lives were away. It never seemed to translate into an invitation when the opposite occurred so she was philosophically opposed to it. “That’s kind, but you’ve already helped enough by bailing us out with the swimming gear.”
“Very true! Thing is, I forgot we weren’t doing dinner tonight so I’ve already made a massive pot of spaghetti Bolognese. I may as well bring it over like usual and Leo can play with the girls. That’s if you’re okay with it?”
Libby’s resistance faded. This was Jess and although she certainly spent more time at Libby’s house than Libby spent at Jess’s, her friend did cook for them in Burrunan’s kitchen most Thursdays. “Of course, I’m okay with it. It will be a nice treat for Nick.”
“Great! I’ll pick Indi up from daycare and grab Lucy from school. You always say she’s exhausted on swimming days so this will save her going to after-school care.”
Libby could hear Leo chattering in the background. He always got excited when he heard the girls’ names. “Okay, thanks. I’ll call daycare and school now and let them know. Listen, just before you go, Mom just told me Will’s dating someone from Sale so the story’s working.”
Jess laughed. “Gotta love the bay’s grapevine. And talking of the grapevine, I saw Sulli at the patisserie. He says he’s selling and moving into town.”
Sadness wafted through Libby. She loved her elderly neighbor, but she understood his decision. “It’s the end of an era. He and Patty bought the block of land in 1972. But now she’s gone and his eyesight’s failing so life will be easier for him in town. He’s trading in his car for a red mobility scooter.”
“Of course he is. Everyone knows red goes faster. I wonder who’ll buy his place?”
“Nick suggested we buy it to give us a buffer.”
“From pesky neighbors?”
“Yes! Our road’s getting so built up.”
“You’re such a princess,” Jess teased then cleared her throat. “What if I bought it?”
Libby almost ran off the road. “Jess, the block is huge. Plus it’s right on the water. Not to mention the size of Patti’s garden.”
“So?”
“So, the last block on the Arm went for $600,000 and it was empty.”
“And your point is?”
Libby recognized the prickly confrontation slung over the words and she pictured the jut of Jess’s chin. Libby tried skirting around the issue that was money. “It’s just you said in January … I thought you were still saving for a deposit? That you can’t afford to buy right now.”
Or ever afford to buy on the Arm. Why was Jess daydreaming about buying the Sullivan place?
Outside of the practice finances, Libby didn’t discuss money with Jess, because why spotlight the fact that these days she earned considerably more than her friend? She knew Jess had earned good money in Sydney and had enjoyed many of the things that city had offered, but it was an expensive town that didn’t facilitate saving. Although Jess’s living costs in the bay were much less, she’d taken maternity leave and she was still only working part time. Her moderate savings had taken a dent when she’d decided to have Leo on her own.
“Costa’s place is falling apart around me,” Jess said. “The water in the ceiling was the final straw. Even Nick says I should move. I know Sulli’s house is nothing to write home about, but at least the roof’s sound. The good thing is, the market’s finally falling so I’ve been crunching
