I smiled, thinking how I would have loved to have seen his reaction.
“Furthermore …” Dad stood. “I think it’s safe to say you saved my marriage. One look at the apartment or the downstairs kitchen would have earned me divorce papers.” He laughed.
“Yeah, well, it’s not you Mum’s angry with,” I said.
“Leave it to me, Chook; she just needs to be set straight on a few home truths first. And that’s up to me to do. I’ve been keeping too many secrets and that can’t be too good for the old ticker.”
“It seems like we are on an even keel when it comes to keeping secrets,” I mused.
“Well, how about we agree to an open-book policy from now on, hey?”
“Deal.” I smiled. My heart swelled with hope, the way Dad had described the Onslow as magic. Every ounce of blood, sweat and tears I had poured into this place, I couldn’t have been more proud of what we had achieved. What I had achieved.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Mum and Dad had retired to their apartment for the afternoon.
With my lunch plans cancelled it gave me a chance to savour my thoughts on what exactly had unravelled today. Walking through the restaurant, I waved at Melba, who smiled from across the dining room as she set a table with cutlery.
I froze. A new-found dread swept over me. She didn’t know.
I casually stepped into the main bar.
“Chris,” I whispered.
The cool room door flew open. Chris carried a slab out to the main bar and I flapped my arms about, waving him over dramatically.
He placed the slab on the bar. “What?” He frowned at me as he broke the plastic open.
“Has anyone told Melba that Dad is back?”
Chris froze mid-unpack, his eyes locking with mine.
My shoulders sagged. “Oh, shit!”
Without another word, Chris and I hightailed it towards the restaurant, but just as we were about to enter, Chris grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
We were too late.
The sound of muffled voices filtered through from beyond the divider. Chris stepped past me and peered through the crack of the partition.
“What’s going on?” I whispered. After a moment I pushed past Chris to see for myself. There was Dad, standing in front of a very unhappy Melba. He had no doubt come down to grab a drink or something and they had probably given each other the fright of their lives.
Chris and I stood back, grimacing at each other.
“Just as well our lunch was cancelled,” I said.
“Better leave them to it,” Chris said as we slowly walked back to the main bar.
I wanted to stay and spy on them but I thought better of it.
I hadn’t even had a chance to get Chris’s version of what had happened when Mum and Dad had first walked through the door. I was suddenly oh, so grateful that I hadn’t been working this afternoon … and then my mind switched back to what I had been doing instead. I had been making out with Sean Murphy. I was glad I hadn’t been here, for once. I must thank Tammy big time for her initiative.
The bar door was flung open and a familiar chorus of voices trailed into the main bar. Adam, Ellie, Toby, Tess, Stan, and Ringer all piled in, sun-kissed and damp from their morning spent at MacLean’s Beach.
“There she is,” said Toby.
“Amy, where have you been? I thought you were coming to MacLean’s?” Tess asked, her eyes soft with concern.
“Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked.”
I could have told them that I had gone to Sean’s instead, followed by a heavy make-out session since that’s what had had me truly distracted … but I decided to skip that part.
I leaned in, lowering my voice. “Dad’s back.”
The stunned silence was contagious; it almost made me laugh, especially as Ringer slowly looked up to the ceiling as if expecting the vision of my father to appear from his apartment.
“Holy shit,” Adam said. “They’re early.”
“Did he say anything?” Ellie asked.
“Well, lunch is cancelled.”
“Yeah, we got that message,” said Stan, holding up his phone.
“Well, I told Dad everything and he was really good about it, but as far as Mum goes … I’m going to leave it for a day or two, let them settle in. At a guess, I think everything seems to be okay.” I breathed out.
“Are they still going to put the Onslow on the market?” Toby asked in all seriousness.
I looked expectantly at Chris, who only shrugged in response.
“I haven’t touched on that yet, but I am pretty hopeful. Dad was blown away by what we’ve done so I think it will be okay.”
“Well, that’s cause for a drink,” announced Ringer as he moved towards the bar. All weary, sullen faces soon melted into old, familiar smiles as I rounded the bar to help out Chris and everyone lined up for drinks.