The Good Sister(29)

‘She wanted me to peek in your window and make sure you weren’t lying dead on the floor,’ Mrs Hazelbury says. ‘I have to say, I did notice a small dog in there while I was looking, which I’m certain is against the rules of the body corporate.’

‘I left my phone at home,’ I say to no-one.

‘There was a man hanging around earlier too,’ Mrs Hazelbury continues, taking a closer look at Wally. ‘It wasn’t you, was it? No. He was bigger and his hair was lighter.’

In the back of my mind, I think of the mystery man who visited me at the library. The same guy? Perhaps I’ve forgotten to pay a bill and they are sending someone door to door? But I put that thought aside for the moment. ‘What did Rose want?’

Mrs Hazelbury throws up her hands. ‘How should I know? Perhaps you should go and call her back instead of idling in this car all evening, keeping everyone awake!’

After finishing her inspection of Wally’s van, she gives us a nod and wanders off. I reach for the door handle. ‘I’d better go,’ I say. ‘Sounds like Rose is worried.’

Wally frowns, gazing just over my shoulder again. ‘Just because she’s called doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong, Fern.’

I feel the tingle again, low-level dread, this time in the pit of my stomach. ‘Unfortunately, in my case, it does.’

‘She’s very . . . involved in your life, isn’t she? It feels like she calls every time we’re together.’

‘Rose is protective. She’s looked after me all my life, so she knows the . . . situations I find myself in. If it wasn’t for her . . . who know where I’d be? Last time, she called she saved Alfie’s life, remember?’

Wally doesn’t respond.

‘Anyway,’ I say. ‘I’d better go call her.’

I slide out of the car and slam the door. Wally waits until I’ve made it up the stairs and am safely inside. It’s funny to think that only a moment ago, I was asking Wally to have sex with me. Goes to show it really does just take a moment for everything to change.


I have seventeen missed calls, all of them from Rose. There is also a text message: CALL me ASAP. I run through a mental list in my head. What could I have done? Alfie is lying contently on the couch. The oven is off. Mrs Hazelbury didn’t report anything out of the ordinary. What else could it be? I am still running through possibilities when my phone rings again.

‘Rose.’

‘Fern! Thank god. I’ve been so worried.’

‘Why have you been worried?’

‘Because! I told you I was going to call tonight at 7 pm. I wanted to see how Alfie was. I called and called, and you didn’t respond.’

I wait. ‘That’s it?’

‘That’s it? Fern, you could have been lying dead in a ditch for all I know.’

‘What would I be doing in a ditch?’

‘Fern!’ She exhales exasperatedly.

‘I don’t remember you saying you were going to call,’ I say. ‘What time is it over there?’

‘It’s two hours after we were supposed to talk,’ she says. ‘When you didn’t answer, I had to go through my emails to find Mrs Hazelbury’s number and then I asked her to look through your window and check that you weren’t dead!’

‘I know. She told me.’

‘I was really worried, Fern.’

Rose sounds agitated. I, on the other hand, am flooded with relief. I missed a call. Not ideal for a worrier like Rose. But no-one has been harmed. No-one has died.

Everything is fine.

‘Where were you?’ Rose asks.

After everything that’s happened, it takes me a moment to remember. ‘At the team-building night. We went bowling.’

There’s a short silence. This is exactly why I hate phone calls. A silence can mean so many things. Has the call dropped out? Is she taking a sip of her drink? Is she waiting for me to say something?

Finally, she speaks. ‘You went bowling?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why? Is this because of the new boss?’

Rose knows how much I loved Janet. ‘Yes. It was compulsory for all staff to attend. It didn’t go well,’ I admit.

I hear her exhale. ‘Oh, Fern. Did you get overwhelmed?’

‘A little,’ I say, deciding not to tell her about the sensory meltdown. Rose worries too much as it is.

‘You must be tired,’ she says. ‘How did you get home?’

‘A friend drove me.’

Another pause. ‘Which friend?’

‘Wally.’

The longest pause yet. ‘Is Wally a guy?’

There’s something about Rose’s tone that irritates me. Of course she could never just be happy that I have a guy friend! I also feel irritated at myself. Why do I need her to be happy? That’s the strangest thing about having a sister, in my opinion. The way you can be mad at them and want their approval all at once.

‘Yes. He’s a guy.’

‘Where did you meet him?’

‘At the library. He was taking a shower.’

‘A shower?’ Rose sounds mad.

‘He doesn’t have a shower,’ I explain. ‘He lives in his van.’

I glance out the window and am pleasantly surprised to see the van is still out there. I squint at the driver’s seat, trying to spot him. The van is in darkness but it’s possible that he’s in the back. Maybe he’s already gone to sleep? I kneel on my couch to get a better view.