Saturday afternoon on a golf course than be with their families. Ian, Kate had always told her, was the opposite. Though running his company often consumed him, once his work was done, his family became the center of his universe.
And yet now he seemed different. Of course, that was to be expected after Kate’s death. But he also appeared uncomfortable, as if a part of him regretted being here. Georgia continued to look over the list of entrees as the girls laughed about snakes. For a reason unknown to her, she remembered asking her husband to make love to her when she was five months pregnant. They’d been eating dinner, and her suggestion had caught him off guard. He had avoided her eyes and spoken of unfinished work. At first Georgia had thought that her pregnancy made her less desirable in his eyes. But as the weeks had passed, he’d grown increasingly distant. He came home from work sad and returned to work happy. Nothing had made sense—at least until Georgia met his intern at an exhibition’s opening and saw how they looked at each other.
In many ways, Ian now acted the same way Frank had. Ian seemed distracted and distant, glancing toward the skyline, perhaps wanting to be somewhere else. His body leaned away from hers, as if the proximity of their legs was something to carefully heed. He appeared more ill at ease than he had at the park, and she wondered what had changed. She didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, and without crossing any lines, she hoped to put him at ease.
“It’s okay, Ian,” she said quietly, leaning closer to him. “All of this is okay.”
Looking up from his menu, he glanced at the girls, and then at Georgia. He didn’t know if she was right, but he understood that for Mattie’s sake, he needed to brighten up. “I’m sorry,” he replied, nodding. “I was just . . . trying to decide whether to order the sea slugs or the bird’s-nest soup.”
Georgia smiled. “I wouldn’t try the slugs. They taste like slimy rubber.”
“Did you hear that, Roo?” he asked. “Georgia recommends the sea slugs.”
“Far from it,” Georgia replied, lifting her wineglass.
Mattie shook her head, her braids rising and falling. “I don’t trust anything he says.”
Georgia set down her drink. “You’re a smart girl.”
The waitress came and took their orders. Mattie removed a red pencil from her bag and began to draw a bowl containing live snakes on the paper place mat in front of Holly. The girls continued to laugh, and Ian was pleased to see Mattie acting her age, being silly and immature and a little too loud. This was how she had acted every day before Kate had gotten sick. This was his little girl.
“I reckon you’re going to spoil Holly’s appetite, Roo,” he said. “Should you draw something else?”
“No way, Captain,” Mattie replied, handing Holly a blue pencil.
“I’ll do the sea slugs,” Holly answered. “They can have a party with your snakes.”
“Sounds fun.”
Ian smiled, inwardly thanking Georgia for reminding him of what was so obvious—that Mattie was enjoying herself. “You’re right,” he said, lifting his glass in Georgia’s direction. “This is good.”
She sipped her wine. “We’ve been friends for a long time,” she said softly. “And there’s no reason why we can’t continue to be friends. That’s all I want. So don’t worry.”
“I’ve got a thick Australian skull. Sometimes, I reckon, things need to be spelled out for me.”
“Kate was good at that.”
“She was a bloody genius at that.”
“And do you know what else?”
“What?”
“You’re a wonderful father. To bring Mattie here, halfway around the world. To do what you’re doing.”
He didn’t turn from her stare. “You did the same thing.”
“I ran away.”
“No. That’s not what you did at all. What you did took a heap of guts. And look at you now . . . all polished and refined. An international banker. A lovely little girl by your side. Whatever you did . . . it worked out quite well. And I reckon that wasn’t by chance.”
Georgia smiled as Mattie drew a bird’s nest. “She’s good. Really good.”
“You’re as right as rain, though I have no idea where that skill came from. Neither Kate nor I could draw a proper stick figure.”
“Daddy has two left hands,” Mattie said, giggling.
“Watch it, you little bugger.”
The waitress returned with steaming appetizers and soon a tray of oversized entrees. The food was set down and split among everyone. Mattie ate the sea bass, the glass shrimp, the