‘Great school. I went there. I always wanted to be a teacher but I ended up here.’
‘Well, you’ve got plenty of time for a career change.’ Luke guessed that she was in her early twenties. ‘You never know what the future may hold.’
‘Maybe.’ She smiled again. ‘I’ve got to give you three sets of uniform.’
She pulled open the cupboard, took a black top from the shelf and held it up against him.
‘Perfect,’ they both said at the same time.
‘Jinx,’ Maz shouted and then covered her mouth. ‘Sorry, my sister and I still do that. I must sound like I’m ten years old.’
‘No, you sound like a ray of sunshine.’ Luke laughed then put a hand over his own mouth. ‘Oh shit, did I just say that out loud? It’s my turn to be sorry.’
Would Maz think he was a sleaze trying to pick her up? He must have eight years on her. What he meant was that she sounded exactly like one of the nurses at the children’s hospital; a nurse who delivered rays of sunshine to make life happier for the sick kids.
‘That’s okay.’ She was blushing. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been compared to sunshine before.’
Maz folded the three black shirts, with WIRRIGA WELLNESS printed in yellow across the top pocket, and handed them to him.
‘If you have time, we could pop across to Mum at the agency,’ she said. ‘I’ve got half an hour before my next class.’
This friendliness made Wirriga feel more like a country town than a city suburb.
Hopefully, Gracie would like living here.
Hopefully, Wirriga would accept her.
5
MAZ
Oh, why had she said jinx? She must’ve sounded the same age as his daughter.
When Nico had asked Maz to give the induction, he’d told her about Luke’s wife and child. Super tragic. Maz had secretly wondered about Nico’s judgement—was a broken man the right sort to be instructing at the gym? Their culture was encouragement and enthusiasm. Could Luke give that to their clients?
But now she’d met him, Maz could see why Nico had signed him on.
Yeah, he had the sad eyes—but that voice. The way he said her name was divine. Low and deep and sexy. Not that she was thinking about sex with him. Absolutely not. Too old. But the punters would follow his every instruction in class, that was for sure. Good bod, not too ripped. And with his shaved head, when he did smile, it was like his whole face was smiling.
And he’d used her favourite word: awesome.
Maz led him across the road to the small set of shops with the real estate agency at the far end.
‘This place has the best coffee,’ Maz said to Luke, pointing at Raw Espresso as they passed. ‘And it does great superfood protein bowls.’
The new mothers had taken over the cafe’s outdoor area for morning tea, their prams blocking the spaces between the tables. Two of them waved. They were in Maz’s Mums and Bubs yoga class.
‘Of course, Nico would prefer that we eat at the gym cafe, but sometimes you need a break.’
Half her clients were always at these shops so it wasn’t really a break from them. If Maz had enough time, she’d zip down to Freshwater and eat her salad in the park by the beach. A salad that she made at home.
Maz had nothing to say about the newsagency, the pool shop and the post office. Presumably he knew that Coles was around the back, along with the bottle shop.
Finally, they reached the real estate agency. Maz pushed open the door and saw the empty reception desk; she should’ve texted first. Maz had left home early this morning, so she hadn’t seen either of her parents today. But suddenly Mum was bustling down the short corridor in a red dress and black jacket. The red material puckered over her stomach and hips, the jacket pulled across her bust—had Mum put on more weight recently?
They hugged, and Maz explained that the new instructor needed somewhere to rent.
‘Luke’s little girl has just started at the school, so something close would be awesome.’
Mum sat them down at the desk, angling the computer screen so they could see it. Of course, Maz had already told Mum all about him last night, but if Luke wasn’t going to bring up his tragic circumstances, they’d have to pretend they didn’t know.
‘Do you have any other transport needs?’ Mum asked. ‘Do you or your partner need to be close to the bus stop, for example?’
‘It’s just me and Gracie. My … er … my wife died.’
‘Oh my gosh, I’m so terribly sorry.’ Mum reached over and patted his hand; she sounded completely shocked. Maz was impressed—she’d never seen Mum in work mode like this. Shame that she hadn’t got the job in sales. Maz reckoned it was because of Mum’s weight. The agency’s sales people were as tarted up as the houses they sold.
‘We have some apartments on the edge of Manly and a renovated semi.’ Mum clicked through the pictures on the screen. ‘Nothing in Wirriga at the moment. There’s a flat above an Indian restaurant on the main road in Brookvale. Lots of pollution from trucks, though.’
Had Mum just given herself away or did all agents talk about air pollution?
‘Actually, Gracie is sick, so pollution’s an issue.’
Luke looked downcast and Mum rushed to reassure him.
‘Don’t worry, love, we’ll find a nice home for you and Gracie. It’s a lovely area. Do you have any family in Sydney?’
Luke shook his head.
‘What about your parents? Where are they?’
Mum was such a busybody. Maz tried to catch her eye and warn her off the interrogation but Luke didn’t seem to find her questions intrusive.
‘In Western Australia. We had a falling-out. They said some unforgivable things about Gracie’s illness.’
What a nightmare. Maz knew her own mother would be the opposite in a medical crisis.
‘Oh, love, that’s so sad,’ Mum said. ‘Why don’t you come over for lunch next Sunday? Bring little Gracie.’
‘Five, six, seven, eight and jump. Okay, here’s the swap. Make sure the other foot is out in front. Now, let’s go again. Punch it, one, two, three …’
Maz surveyed the boxing class—a good turnout for the end of lunchtime. These days, her classes were filled almost every time. It had taken two years of hard work to get to this point. Woo-hoo. Maz gave an extra hard punch in the air and bounced her right hip up and down—her glutes rock hard, her butt tight. Man, she felt fierce. In her best shape ever. She’d be rocking it at her twenty-third birthday party in June. She just had to settle on a date and book a place. Nowhere too expensive. One of those wine bars by the beach in Manly? Or the new pub at Collaroy? She’d pay for finger food and a couple of jugs of sangria and beer to start. When she’d turned twenty-one, she hadn’t been able to afford a party.
‘Let’s go hard, guys. You get out what you put in!’
Counting out the punches, Maz kept an eye on a man she’d never seen before. Cute bod, needed some work on his biceps and quads. Around Luke’s age, or maybe older. Luke’s physique was better, with just the right amount of definition. Maz couldn’t imagine what Luke was going through. Her grandparents, aunts and uncles were all alive, despite their fried breakfasts, fatty chops and ready-made macaroni cheese. She’d never had a death in the family—only the one here in the gym, and that had shaken her up big-time.