how my interview went, so the least I can do is report in before I go back to work.
Somehow I find the lab again. The door is open and I’m about to walk in when I notice Emma at the back of the lab with a short, burly-looking man. She’s sitting on a stool with her head bent down and he has his hand on her shoulder and is standing close. There’s something about their interaction that makes me pause. This might not be the right time for me to barge in.
Before they see me, I back out and walk away down the corridor, breathing hard. What was happening in there? Who was that man? Was I imagining the air of intimacy between them? I try to compose myself again. It may be nothing. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. I should trust Emma. She has invited me to go away with her for the weekend, so she must want to be with me. But I know what this place is like—liaisons around every corner, people falling into each other, almost by accident. And the returnees are the worst, immersed as they are in the chaos of their re-entry.
I hover in the corridor pretending to look at maps while I decide what to do. I could go back to the garage and get some work done, but I want to wait and say goodbye to Emma. Looking back towards her lab, I see the man now leaning against the doorframe. Whoever it is, he’s still talking to her. I dive into the men’s restroom and wait inside a cubicle. Surely he’ll leave soon. Doesn’t he have work to do?
Eventually I decide that hiding in the toilets is ridiculous. I can’t work with Emma if it’s going to be like this. I slip out into the corridor, somehow find my way back through the maze and then sweep quickly past the reception area and out the front door.
To my surprise, Emma is waiting beside the Subaru. She’s patting Jess’s nose through the partly opened window. ‘Why didn’t you come back to the lab?’ she asks.
‘I had trouble finding it.’
‘How did it go?’
‘Okay, I think.’
‘Good.’ Emma’s smile is sunshine. ‘What are you going to do now?’ she asks.
‘I think I’ll go home.’
‘Can I come?’
‘I don’t know. Is that a good idea?’
‘I think it’s an excellent idea. Just wait while I grab my bag. You can drop me back here tomorrow on your way to work.’
When Emma steps into my house, I feel the air move. It stirs like a faint breath through the room, and I wonder if I have sighed aloud. It seems so normal to be bringing her home.
‘This is great,’ she says, taking in the comfortable spread of couches and cushions and the dappled light falling through the windows.
I must admit this is a wonderful house. Being located on an east-facing hill, it loses the light early, but makes up for this with its long view across the channel. Over the years I’ve made it very homely inside. Given that I haven’t had to share it with anyone except Jess, I’ve developed it to my taste. I suppose most men don’t get that opportunity.
I fill the kettle and light the stove. Emma wanders through the lounge room and dumps her bag in my bedroom. I wait in the kitchen while Jess trots along behind her, having faithlessly discarded me for the attentions of her new friend.
‘How long have you lived here?’ Emma asks. She rolls up her sleeves as she enters the kitchen.
‘About eight years.’
‘I like it. Have you done much to the house?’
‘A few renovations here and there. A new bathroom. Polished the floors. Put in the wood heater.’
‘I wish I was practical,’ she says.
‘You have other skills.’
‘Like catching penguins? And water offloading?’ She walks to the front windows and gazes out over the channel. ‘I’d love to have my own place,’ she says. ‘So I could fill it up with my own things.’ She shrugs. ‘But it isn’t worth it. I’m never anywhere for long enough. I don’t even have my own car anymore—I have to borrow from friends.’
‘I could help you find a cheap one,’ I suggest.
‘I don’t really need one,’ she says. ‘What would I do with it when I’m away?’
I pour two cups of tea and set them on the table in the lounge. Emma turns from the window and looks at me. I feel stupid, standing there looking at her so expectantly, my