‘Were you in a hurry to get down there?’
‘Not particularly, why?’
Nat pointed at her trousers. ‘It’s just that you’d normally get changed for social events. Your blouse is nice, but you’re wearing your gardening trousers. And it’s Tuesday. Unless they’ve changed their opening hours, the shop’s closed today.’
Phyllie looked down at her legs, her eyes widening. She gave a little laugh. ‘Silly me, I thought it was Wednesday. And anyway, it’s only the op shop. No one dresses up to go there.’
Others might not dress up, but Phyllie certainly did. She always presented herself nicely. There’s no way she’d leave her house voluntarily wearing her gardening trousers. Nat realised there was no point discussing it further. Phyllie was looking distressed.
‘How about I put the iron away and start on dinner while you make your phone call,’ Nat said. ‘I’ve got a special treat for you tonight.’
Phyllie eyed her suspiciously. ‘Why?’
Nat laughed. ‘What do you mean why? Can’t I do something nice for my grandmother? After all, you’re letting me stay here rent-free.’
Phyllie nodded. ‘Okay, well, that’s very nice of you. Although I don’t need to make a call if it is Tuesday. I’ll pop back down to the shop tomorrow for the birthday celebration. But I will go and change out of these trousers. I’ve had a silly headache all day, which I blame for all of this.’
Nat watched as she walked through to her room, Hannah’s concern about their grandmother playing on her mind. Was there something wrong with Phyllie or was it just old age? She seemed confused and was behaving entirely out of character. A headache wouldn’t usually cause that. It reminded Nat that she hadn’t mentioned the door being open.
She returned the iron and ironing board to the laundry and set about making dinner, trying to push aside Hannah’s concerns that there was something not quite right about Phyllie and she needed to be examined. Hannah overthought everything and worried unnecessarily. Irritation surged through her. Why was it that Hannah always managed to annoy her? She took the lamb cutlets from their bag, ready to crumb them. A sick feeling replaced the irritation of moments before. Hannah’s concerns weren’t so much annoying her as they were worrying her. What if her sister was right? What if there really was something wrong with Phyllie?
‘Let me get this straight.’ Phyllie pushed her knife and fork together on her empty plate. ‘Your friend wants you to invest in the company and you need five thousand dollars to do this?’
Nat crossed her fingers beneath the kitchen table. She seemed to be doing this a lot lately. She’d let Phyllie enjoy her lamb cutlets before launching into her story about the expansion of Anita’s swimwear website and how Nat had an opportunity to become a partner in the business. There was no way she could tell Phyllie the truth – that she planned to use the five thousand dollars to invest in online poker. She needed to win enough to pay off her credit card and repay Phyllie, assuming she loaned her the money. She nodded. ‘Yes, it’s not a lot, but more than I currently have. I’ll own ten percent of the business, and Anita has guaranteed me work for the foreseeable future if I’m a partner.’
Phyllie narrowed her eyes. ‘But what about your work as a community support officer? I thought you loved it and that you found it rewarding.’
‘I do enjoy it, but I’m enjoying a change too. I’ll go back to it at some stage.’ Nat did her best to plant what she hoped looked like a genuine smile on her face. ‘It’s an exciting opportunity to do something that’s mine. But I completely understand that you might not be in a position to loan me the money.’
Phyllie’s features remained set in a frown. ‘Of course I can loan you the money, that’s no problem, I’m just not sure it’s a good idea.’
Nat’s heart began to race. She needed this money. She didn’t want to ask her father. She still owed him money from other occasions, and the way he and Sue had been speaking it sounded like they were scrimping every cent for their retirement. She did her best to remain calm. She couldn’t let Phyllie see how desperate she was. ‘Why do you think it’s not a good idea?’
Phyllie pushed her plate away. ‘You’ve been living here for over three weeks, Nathalia. In that time, I’ve only seen you leave the house to get groceries and to attend Amy’s birthday celebrations. You’ve not been on any dates or out with your friends, and you don’t seem to be getting any exercise either. I seem to remember you talking about a run of some kind you were training for. Something for cancer. And what about Shared? You usually volunteer in both the gardens and soup kitchen every week. You haven’t even mentioned the place since you’ve moved in. Whatever you’re doing on that computer has become a total obsession, and it worries me.’
Nat realised her mouth had dropped open. She’d had no idea Phyllie was paying such close attention to her. She was also right. Nat had hardly left the house since she’d moved in. She swallowed. She loved playing poker, well, she loved it more when she was winning, but she did love it. There was something that drew her back to it every day and kept her up late at night. God, she’d better not mention it to Hannah, or she’d be telling her she had some kind of addiction. Nat almost laughed at the thought, but the amusement was quickly replaced with concern. She didn’t have a problem, did she? The time she’d initially dedicated to it was because she wasn’t working so didn’t have anything else to do. She’d start work again, and it would just fall back to being a hobby she spent a few hours on here and there.
Phyllie’s eyes were drilling into hers, waiting for an answer.
‘I haven’t got the money to be going out at the moment,’ Nat said. ‘Even going to Shared costs me money in petrol. And I’m not interested in dating right now.’
‘You’ve been working day and night for weeks on this website business. You’re being paid for that aren’t you?’
Nat paused. How did she talk her way around this one? ‘I’m being paid in kind initially. The hours I’ve worked so far have given me an additional ten percent ownership, so if I invest I’ll own twenty percent. Anita doesn’t take a wage at the moment either, but that will change next month as she has a large order from China to fulfil.’ Nat wasn’t sure where all this made-up information was coming from and a sick feeling expanded in her stomach. She was lying to her grandmother!
‘You’ll get paid next month?’
Nat nodded. There was no turning back now. ‘Yes. Keep in mind it’s a start-up business. Often the income received needs to be reinvested into the business rather than paid out as wages. This is why the five-thousand-dollar investment will help tide the cash flow over for another few weeks before the money from the China contract comes through. And you’re right, I’ve been a bit obsessed with it all.’ She gave a small laugh. ‘I’d better get back into my running, or I’ll be no good at all in September for Relay for Life.’
‘I’ll do you a deal. You start running and getting away from that computer, and I’ll help you invest in the swimwear business.’
‘I’ll pay you back as soon as possible. I don’t think it will take very long.’