She logged out of the account and returned the file to its drawer. She’d thought her problems with Zane Fox were bad, but this took things to a whole other level. Not only had her husband lost a substantial amount of their savings, but he’d also lied on numerous occasions directly to her face. At this stage, she wasn’t sure which was worse.
Hannah operated on autopilot for the remainder of the week. Damien was working odd shifts and she’d barely seen him. She put her focus on getting Amy to school and getting through the workday. Her mind had been a jumble of thoughts on how to approach him over the gambling debt, and she’d worried endlessly about her meeting with Zane Fox. She’d arrived a few minutes early on Friday afternoon at the cafe in Doncaster, only to receive a text message from Zane saying he’d been delayed and would contact her to reschedule. She’d stared at her phone, not sure whether to be relieved or annoyed. By Saturday morning the one thing she’d concluded was that she needed some advice with the Damien situation.
Late on Saturday afternoon, with Damien and Amy having taken Bear to Aranga Reserve dog park, as according to Amy he needed ‘socialising with other dogs’, Hannah used the opportunity to visit her father. She pushed open her car door and pulled her coat tightly around her as she stepped into the cold winter air. A welcome waft of smoke puffed from the Edwardian brick chimney, and she hurried up the driveway to the front door. She shook off the sense of disappointment when she saw that the hydrangeas were no longer in flower and many had been deadheaded. It was silly really, but they did evoke strong memories of her mother.
She lifted her hand to ring the bell as the door opened – her father, dressed in a warm grey knit jumper, beamed at her.
‘What a nice surprise!’
Hannah laughed. ‘Hardly a surprise. I did text you to let you know I was dropping in.’ She stepped in out of the cold, the warmth of the house an instant comfort.
‘I know, love.’ Her father took her coat and hung it on the wooden coat stand next to the front door. ‘I meant it was a nice surprise to get your text. Come through. Sue’s in the kitchen, putting a little snack together for us.’
He led her through to the kitchen, where Sue was putting the finishing touches on a fruit and cheese platter. She looked up, a delighted smile spreading across her face. She was quick to round the kitchen island and draw Hannah into a hug. ‘How are you, hon?’
Tears welled in Hannah’s eyes. A simple question had the potential to open the flood gates. She blinked back the tears and did her best to appear unflustered. ‘I’m good, thanks. How are you?’
Sue released her from the hug and sighed. ‘Good, but things have been better. Your father and I have something we’d like to talk to you about too.’
Hannah turned to her father. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Let’s talk about us later; it’s nothing to worry about, just an idea we wanted to float by you. Now, how’s that dog of Amy’s going?’ He poured them each a glass of wine. ‘Have you sent it back yet? Sue and I have a bet going as to how long he’ll last.’
Hannah smiled. ‘If either of you said he’ll be sent back then you’ve lost. It’s like he’s been part of the family for years. We’re lucky she went for one that was a few years old rather than a puppy. Bear is not only toilet trained, he’s been properly trained and is very obedient. Hasn’t even chewed a shoe. I don’t think Amy’s stopped smiling since her birthday.’
‘And she’s been okay letting herself in after school?’ Sue asked.
‘It’s only been three afternoons so far, but yes, she’s doing fine.’ She laughed. ‘Although the neighbours might not agree.’ She went on to tell them about coming home early on Wednesday to blaring music that was turned off five minutes before her expected arrival time.
They took the wine and cheese platter through to the living room and sat down in front of the crackling open fire. Hannah looked to her father as she inhaled a sweet smell of citrus. One of her mother’s tricks had been to add dried apple and orange slices to the fire to fill the room with a sweet scent. At other times she’d burned pinecones or cinnamon sticks. It was only smelling the fragrance now that reminded Hannah that her mother used to do this. It wasn’t something she recalled her father doing at all since her death.
‘The room smells gorgeous. Exactly like Mum used to have it.’
Sue nodded. ‘She had a knack for creating an inviting space, didn’t she? We felt that we needed her with us today. To provide us with some advice. We hoped filling the room with a reminder of her might give us some inspiration.’
‘Anything I can help with?’ The concerned look on her father’s face as Sue spoke wasn’t something Hannah saw often.
‘Possibly, but let’s talk about you first and why you wanted to see us. As much as we love you dropping in, it’s not exactly a regular occurrence. Did you need some help with something?’
Hannah nodded, not quite sure where to start. Her hand automatically reached for the comfort of her heart-shaped pendant.
Her father smiled encouragingly. ‘I’m flattered, I must admit. You normally have everything worked out so clearly with your risk assessments helping you find your way.’
‘This is a bit different.’ Hannah took a deep breath. ‘I discovered Damien has secretly been playing online poker and losing. He’s run up a debt of fifteen thousand dollars using funds from an investment we have.’
Sue gasped as her father’s mouth dropped open. ‘You’re kidding?’
‘I wish I was. I’m here because I don’t know what to do, and I remembered how you and your friends had that intervention for Troy Mitchell when he was gambling a lot.’
Her father nodded slowly. ‘We’d all spoken to Troy many times, so the intervention was a last resort rather than a starting point. Have you spoken to Damien about this?’
‘Not yet. I only found out on Wednesday and his shifts this week haven’t left us much time to have a proper discussion. I need a plan, a strategy for talking to him rather than just confronting him with it. Any suggestions for how I handle it?’
‘It depends on how he reacts,’ her father said. ‘Which of course is highly unpredictable.’ He shook his head. ‘I can’t believe it, to be honest. With Troy it wasn’t surprising. He had an addictive personality. Drank too much, regularly took drugs and had been gambling on and off for years. He always had a vice. Damien doesn’t strike me as someone with those kinds of problems.’
‘Me neither,’ Sue added. ‘You can take Damien at face value, I’m sure of it. Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake? That there isn’t something else going on?’
Hannah shook her head. ‘The gambling is the first sign of any problem at all. Although . . .’ she frowned. ‘He’s been depressed about his birth parents and not having had an opportunity to get to know them. I think the poker has been a distraction from his own thoughts.’
‘There’s not a lot you can do to help him with his birth parents. It certainly isn’t your fault,’ Sue said.
If only she knew. ‘Any ideas on what I should do?’
Her father nodded. ‘Yes, the first step is to talk to him. Let him know that you know about the situation and that you need to put steps in place to minimise the damage for him.’