THE DREAM CHILD (12 page)
Authors: Emma Daniels
“Don’t you want to know what they are first?” Sophie asked.
“I’ll try anything once. I’m not fussy. Besides, I’m starving.”
“Even after that huge picnic?” Sophie asked incredulously.
“What picnic was that?” Rita asked from across the table, trying to catch Sophie’s eye, but she concentrated on helping herself to the entrée, wishing she hadn’t blurted that out.
“I took Sophie out on a picnic before driving her to my mother’s bead class,” Victor explained. Sophie could have kicked him, and felt her cheeks flush red.
“I thought you said he was your boss, Sophie,” Rita asked.
“He is,” Sophie insisted.
“Leave her alone, Rita,” Simon reproved his wife. “She’s quite red enough as it is.”
“It’s the wine,” Sophie broke in. “It always makes me turn red.”
“It didn’t at lunch time,” Victor reminded her.
Sophie glared at him. Didn’t he realise he was just making this worse?
Simon was having trouble containing his mirth, and almost choked on his prawn bread.
“You walked into that one, Soph. Why don’t you tell us what’s really going on, eh?” Allen suggested.
“Nothing’s going on,” Sophie protested.
“Looks like Vic has other ideas,” Simon observed.
Sophie glanced back at Victor, who merely smiled languidly at her.
But then he decided to put her out of her misery. “We’ve gone out a couple of times, nothing too serious, but here’s hoping.” He held up a hand with index and middle finger crossed. He couldn’t have been more truthful if he’d tried, and Sophie found herself returning his infectious smile.
“Well, if you’ve got any sense big sister, I’d go out with him again,” Rita declared as the tray came around to her. She scooped up the remaining portions.
“Does that make you boyfriend and girlfriend?” Carmen asked, wide eyed. At seven she was at the age where things like that intrigued her.
Sophie buried her face in her hands. She’d had enough embarrassment for one night. She felt Victor’s hand on her arm.
“Should I tell her yes or no?” he asked as she met his eyes. “Poor Sophie!” he commiserated. “Everyone’s ganging up on you tonight.”
“Yes, particularly you.”
“I think that’s a yes, Carmen,” Simon told his daughter.
The rest of the dinner passed jovially, with the children making the adults laugh.
Before long it was time for the children to brush their teeth and go to bed.
“Can you read me a story tonight, Aunty Sophie,” Lachlan asked as Rita ushered him out of the dining room.
“Or course I will,” Sophie agreed.
“I can read my own stories now, but I’ll come and listen anyway,” Carmen said. “So we can all snuggle up together.”
“Mind if I join in?” Victor asked the pair.
That made Sophie stare at him. As she glanced across the table at her parents’ she noticed that they too had surprised looks on their faces. Not once had Duncan offered to do anything with her niece and nephew.
“Your auntie and I could take turns reading. That’s if it’s OK with you two,” Victor added.
“Sure, why not,” Carmen agreed.
“Yeah,” chimed in Lachlan.
“Give me a call when you’re in your pyjamas and I’ll come in,” Sophie said.
Five minutes later the four of them sat in a row on Lachlan’s bed, the adults with the two youngsters in between them.
Lachlan handed Sophie a
Mr Men
book and she started reading. After the first page she passed it across to Victor, who read the next page, making the children laugh when
Mr Clumsy
broke his alarm clock. He then handed the book to Carmen.
“Do you want to read the next page?” he asked her.
“I’m not as good as you yet,” she admitted as she began to read in a halting voice how
Mr Clumsy
broke his second radio that month.
They continued this way until the book was finished. Lachlan of course wanted another story, so they read through
Little Miss Neat
and
Mr Daydream,
before Rita appeared in the doorway to inform them that her kids were taking advantage of them.
Sophie gave them both a hug and a kiss, as did their mother. Victor of course didn’t know them well enough for that kind of intimacy, and just said goodnight, leaving the room with the two women.
“You must have nieces and nephews too,” Rita remarked to Victor as they headed back to the living room.
“No, I’m an only child, but I used to be a school teacher.”
“Aha, that explains it. You’re great with kids,” Rita observed. “Why did you give it up?”
“It’s a long story. Sophie might fill you in on it one day.”
Sensing this was a touchy subject she wisely let it drop.
The six adults chatted amiably over coffee for another hour or so until Allen announced that it was time to hit the road. Sophie agreed. She was feeling particularly drained after her busy day.
As she got into the four-wheel-drive, she knew her family had taken a liking to Victor. Even her father, who took a long time to warm to people, said he hoped they’d meet again.
“You have a really nice family,” Victor said as they followed her parents’ Commadore down the road away from her sister’s house.
“Thanks. We are very close.”
“I had a lovely time today, Sophie.”
“So did I, but back to cold hard reality tomorrow.”
“How about we make it bearable by going to lunch together?” Victor suggested.
Sophie rested back against the headrest and tried to stifle a yawn. “That would be nice.”
By the time they reached her unit block she was fast asleep. Victor had to wake her up in order to get out of the car.
“Wake up sleeping beauty. I really don’t think I can carry you up two flights of stairs,” he said close to her ear as she gazed sleepily back at him. His lips brushed her cheek.
“What a lovely way to wake up,” Sophie murmured, pulling his head close to kiss him on the mouth. Much as she wanted to keep on kissing him, she was tired and he still had to drive home, so after about a minute she reluctantly drew away.
“No matter how nice this is, we can’t keep doing it all night.”
“Why not?” he grinned at her.
“You’re impossible, you know.”
“I’ll get your bag and see you to your door.”
“That’s not necessary. You stay in the warm car and go home. I’ve managed that bag more times than I care to count.”
But he still got out to take her case from the back of the car.
“See you tomorrow at work,” he said, giving her another tender kiss, before she turned around to enter the building.
CHAPTER EIGHT
This time going to lunch with Victor at the coffee shop didn’t make Sophie uncomfortable. Instead she welcomed the cosiness of their corner nook. They sat close together enjoying their food and each other’s company.
She knew she was falling for him, and the way he always looked at her so tenderly and attentively seemed to show he felt the same way about her. For the first time since the break up of her marriage she began to believe it might be possible to love again.
As soon as she got home from work that afternoon her phone started ringing. It was her mother, and Sophie knew at once what she wanted to talk about, the charming man she’d brought to dinner last night.
Later on in the evening, after she’d eaten dinner, Rita also rang to discuss the same charming man.
“He’s a keeper, Sophie,” she told her. “If you mess this one up you’ll have me to answer to.”
“I don’t plan on messing anything up. But I’m not going to dive in the way I did with Duncan. Things moved way too quickly where he was concerned.”
“The problem with Duncan was that he was only ever interested in your body, and never in you as a person.”
“Most men are like that,” Sophie retorted down the line.
“Well yes, but your Vic is also interested in you as a person, because if he wasn’t he would never have made an effort to be nice to us last night, or read my kids a story. I thought that was just so sweet.”
Sophie knew Rita was remembering Duncan’s indifference to her family. Yes, Victor’s first impression had been markedly different to Duncan’s.
“So have you slept with him yet?” Rita asked.
Subtle as a sledgehammer, that was her sister.
“Only in my dreams,” Sophie said, wondering why she’d admitted that. But suddenly she felt the need to talk to someone about it. It had been lurking there at the back of her mind all along, and even though Rita always said what she thought, she was also a good listener.
“I wouldn’t dream about it. I’d go right ahead and make mad, passionate love to the man.”
Rita was that kind of woman. If she wanted something, she went for it. Maybe that was why their lives had taken such different paths. Sophie had always been too much of a thinker and planner to take the driver’s seat and just go for it.
“No, what I meant was that I dreamed about him before we even met one another.”
For once in her life Rita was silent, but Sophie knew she was still on the other end of the line.
“They were the most realistic dreams imaginable, right down to the colour of his eyes, even the dimple on his left cheek. Then the following Monday, there he was in my office. It was the eeriest thing that’s ever happened to me, weirder than seeing those tiny little embryos on the monitor, knowing that’s how we all start life.”
“You’re right, Soph. That
is
weird,” Rita breathed in awe down the line.
“So I’m kind of wondering what on earth it meant. One doesn’t have dreams about a man and then meets him in real life, if it wasn’t meant to be some kind of a sign.”
“All I can think of is that it means you’re meant to be together.”
“Maybe yes, maybe no.”
“You’re always too suspicious of everyone and everything. Why don’t you just enjoy him and see what happens.”
“I plan to. I just wish this weird virus or whatever I’ve got, would go away. I really need to go and see a doctor about it. I actually threw up this morning.”
“Are you sure you haven’t slept with him already? Those symptoms sound suspiciously like pregnancy to me.”
“No Rita,” Sophie almost yelled down the line. “Unless one can get pregnant in their bloody dreams, I have
not
slept with him.”
“All right, All right. Simmer down. I’m sorry. Yes, you’d better go to the doctor. I’m sure it’s nothing serious. You’re probably just anaemic and need more iron in your diet.”
But Sophie didn’t get to the doctor that week. In fact she forgot all about it with her busy schedule and another bead class with Vera and her friends on Sunday.
Victor made no more demands on her than the sweet kisses he bestowed on her every time they were alone. She knew he wanted more, and so did she, but something held her back. Whether it had been because of her headlong rush to accept Duncan into her bed, or something more, she had no idea, but she welcomed Victor’s tender patience. It showed what kind of a man he really was, considerate, gentle and intelligent.
Then one morning Sophie felt too sick to drag herself into work. She only made it to the bathroom in time before throwing up in the toilet bowl.
It left her feeling exhausted and upset. She stumbled back to bed and pulled the doona over herself. Today I’m definitely going to the doctor, she decided.
Sophie had always hated ringing in sick, and forced herself to do it at nine thirty. She dialled Geoff’s number, but it was Victor who answered.
“Oh it’s you, Sophie. I was wondering where you were.” His voice always sounded so deep and sexy over the phone. She normally loved to hear him talk, but today she didn’t fell like talking to anyone. She didn’t even want to get up to go to the doctor, but knew she would have to before the day was through.