“So you can sleep in the same room, I don’t see any wedding bands, but that’s okay. Tiaan and I are very modern here. I didn’t even make up another room for you, so I really mean it.”
“Oh . . .” I started.
“No . . .” Noah said.
“We’re not . . . uh . . .”
“Not.” Noah added.
“Together,” I clarified.
She looked from Noah to me and back again.
“Well, that’s okay too. Like I said, I know what goes on these days—friends with benefits. That’s what my son said he had with the girl two farms away. Friends for years, they used to play together in the sprinklers naked as toddlers, and then, you know, the hormones hit and next thing you’re catching them in the sheep barn, but as much as he protested they were just friends, they’re now married and I have my first grandchild on the way.” She clapped her hands at this. “I don’t think that friends with benefits thing works.”
“But we really are just friends,” I said, pointing at the space between Noah and me.
“Really?” She looked confused now. “But he was willing to sacrifice his life for you back when you thought Tiaan and I were South Africa’s most wanted.”
“He’s just a nice guy,” I offered.
“Did you tell them, liefie?” Tiaan’s voice boomed down the passage.
“Yeees!” Mienkie shouted back.
“Good! We’re very progressive here, we even watched that movie . . . what’s it called, liefie?”
“Fifty Shades,” she shouted back down the corridor, and then whispered, “Although, not really for us, all that stuff. We tried it, but no.”
“Not for us!” Tiaan shouted down the corridor.
And then Noah surprised me when he agreed. “Me neither.”
“Oh?” I turned and looked at Noah.
“Very dangerous. You won’t believe how many Fifty Shades-related injuries we get called out to. Whenever a new movie comes out, new injuries.”
“Really?” Mienkie and I said at the same time.
“Realllyyyy!” Noah dragged the word out and raised one brow at us, for added dramatic tension, no doubt. We all looked at each other for a while. I could tell Mienkie was doing exactly what I was, letting her imagination run away with her. Only I was trying to remember exactly what Fifty Shades was about. I think I’d heard about it, but I couldn’t remember watching it. Besides, I didn’t watch that many movies.
“Fascinating!” Mienkie finally said, once she looked like she’d concluded the painting of her mental image. “So, anyway, like we said, it’s all good. You guys can share the room, not a problem for us.” And with that she opened the door and practically pushed us through it.
“Goodnight,” she called, and closed the door behind us.
Noah and I looked at the bed, and hundreds of pairs of reborn-baby eyes stared back at us. I shivered. Being so close to them in this small, confined space was making me feel nervous. But was it the dolls? Or was it the look on Noah’s face as he stared at the bed?
“Let me get another room,” he said, walking towards the door.
“Wait! No. She hasn’t made it up, don’t want to inconvenience her . . .” I looked back at the bed. “I mean, we can share. Can’t we?”
Noah stared at the bed again, as if weighing up some complex equation, and then he smiled at me. It looked forced. “Sure we can.”
CHAPTER 46
Moments later, the two of us were awkwardly deposited in the bed. It had taken ages ridding the bed of all the newborn babies in order to be able to even get to anything that resembled a duvet. And when we’d finally navigated our way in, we lay there on our backs, looking at the ceiling, shoulders touching. I was acutely aware of the feeling of his shoulder touching mine. How could I not be? It was making my entire arm hot. I tried to ignore the feeling, but it was taking so much concentration that I was now lying dead still, like one of the stuffed baby lambs, or one of the dolls themselves. God knows, I wasn’t even blinking.
“So that was a weird conversation.” Noah finally broke the ceiling-staring silence.
“I know.” I turned my head to look at him, but he had turned his too and, as a result, our noses missed each other’s by millimeters. It was a small double bed, and Noah was so large and broad that it made it even smaller. We both turned back to