Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [192]
‘I would never ask you to live differently for me.’
She nodded. ‘I know. I wouldn’t anyway.’
‘Friends?’ he said, holding out his hand.
‘Of course.’ She gripped tight. ‘We’ll always be connected.’
They walked down the path, the carpet of flower petals rising with each footfall. Drayco pressed against Rosette’s thigh and she stroked him. When they reached the courtyard, she let go of Grayson’s hand. ‘I’ll find my way from here.’
‘I can take you. I’m through for the day. I can…’
‘I’d like to be alone.’
He nodded. ‘I love you.’
She leaned in and gave him a lingering kiss. ‘I love you too.’
Before her tears had a chance to rise again, she turned and headed for the pool, Drayco beside her. She followed the tiled pathway around the temple hall and up newly laid steps to an open breezeway. From there she could see the bathing pool, a deep turquoise like the lagoons of Rahana Iti. The reminder made her eyes fill again.
Maudi, you didn’t tell him about the litter.
‘It wasn’t the right time.’
Her familiar sneezed. I would say the right time has passed, then.
‘I’ll tell him. Just not now. And, Drayco of the Dumarkian Woods, it’s not going to be a litter, so please stop using that word!’
He pushed his head into her leg. Are you all right, Maudi?
‘If you call having your heart broken “all right”, then yes, I’m perfect.’
Your heart is well and healthy, Maudi. It’s your emotional body that’s churning.
She smiled. ‘You’re right. I’m fine,’ she said. ‘I’m alive, swamped with feelings and I’m going to have a baby. My heart is certainly not broken. It is rich and full and complete. Let’s swim.’
They trotted down the steps and through the curly iron gate that led to the pool. By the time she reached the edge of the water, she’d stripped off her clothes, flinging them to one side. Together with her temple cat, she dived into the deep end, swimming underwater for as long as she could before breaking the surface to take a gulp of air and then plummet down again.
Jarrod watched from the breezeway. The sun was sinking behind the hills, turning the landscape an even deeper red. Rosette floated on her back, her eyes closed, her hair surrounding her like a kelp garden. Drayco lay on the edge of the pool, one paw dangling in the water, his black coat glistening.
Feel like some company? Jarrod asked, sending the thought directly to her mind.
He didn’t want to intrude on her tranquillity. They hadn’t fought like this morning since Lividica when she lived on the Matosh Estate. Those arguments had been mostly over his brother Liam. It felt like lifetimes ago. He hadn’t known who she was then, but he’d loved her just as deeply.
She didn’t open her eyes, but he saw her smile. I’ve always been able to out-swim you.
He laughed. I wasn’t thinking of a competition.
Why would you, when you know I’d win?
He entered the gate and pulled off his shirt. ‘How’s the water?’
‘Come feel for yourself.’ She rolled onto her stomach and duck-dived.
He stripped off the rest of his clothes and crouched by the edge of the pool, dipping his fingers into the water as it lapped the blue tiles. It was some time before she surfaced again. ‘And how was the hunt?’
‘Jarrod, stop being so solicitous and jump in. I won’t bite.’
He slipped into the pool and immersed, watching her swim. He could see as well under the surface as he could above and the sight of her made him laugh, releasing a lungful of bubbles. She looked like a mermaid from a fairytale, her long black hair streaming behind her as she dolphin-kicked towards him. It undulated around her waist when she broke the surface again, gasping for breath. They swam together towards the steps at the shallow end of the pool.
‘Why weren’t you direct with me this morning? You could have just said, “Good news, Rosette, you’re pregnant and my future’s assured”.’
He leaned his head against the edge, closing his mouth to keep out the sloshing water. She was still a little angry. ‘I wanted to see how you felt about it conceptually