Controlling Vulnerable

Chapter 12

Linda and Mark flew in mid-morning on Monday, and Linda had booked the day off so she could unpack following the trip. Once she'd put the washing on and grabbed a drink, she kissed her husband and grabbed her purse saying, "Right, I'm off to catch up with Pat. I'll catch you later." She stopped at the bakery and picked up a few items before driving the short distance to the condo. Once they were settled with coffee and pastries, Pat said, "So how's Nancy doing?" Linda sighed, "She's good. She starts chemo next week, but she's over the surgery and seems confident the rest is just a precaution against it coming back." Pat hummed in sympathy, "They've made massive strides in treatment since your Mom had it Lindy. They caught it early, and I'm sure she'll be fine. Linda nodded, "Yeah, I just can't help worry." She changed tack, "So what did you think of our English Rose?" Pat smiled, "Oh Lindy, you were so right. She's just lovely. And the kids! Oh my lord, they're adorable. They sat using knives and forks like little princesses and called me Nana Pat." Linda laughed, and Pat continued, "She loves him for sure. Her face lit up every time he touched her, but you've got Joe spot on. He's in denial." She took a bite of her pastry, "She mentioned going back to England at Christmas and seeing some people she used to work with. Joe tried to hide it, but he was asking all kinds of questions. He was obviously bothered by it." Linda shook her head, "I'll have to talk to him. You know how he is after Hayley, but I honestly think the way he feels about Lara's different. If he opened up, I think they could be so good for one another, but if he doesn't, I'm worried it'll destroy both of them." Pat looked concerned, "I'm glad I'm here Lindy. If I can spend some time with him, I might be able to talk to him."

On the first weekend in December, Lara had dropped the girls at softball practice and returned home to clean the house. Even though they were going home for Christmas, she wanted to make the house festive, and she'd told the girls they could spend Sunday buying decorations. She was almost done when the doorbell rang, and Will came in. He looked in amusement at her hair tied up in a messy bun and her rubber gloves. "You look busy. Want me to let you get on?" Lara smiled, removing the gloves, "No, come on in, I'm almost done, and I could use a break."

He sat at the island unit while she flicked the coffee machine on and grabbed the milk. She passed him a packet of cookies and said, "Where's April and Brandon this morning?" He demolished a cookie and said, "Gone to soccer practice. I'm going back to meet them at the big house to help put the decorations up later." He took the coffee she passed him with a smile and said, "Actually, that's what I wanted to tell you. I'm going to move back in this week." Lara gasped and came around the counter opening her arms. Will wrapped his own arms around her and she said, "That's so lovely, just in time for Christmas. I'm so pleased for the three of you." He sat back down and took a drink, "We're still going to carry on with the counselling for a while, make sure we don't fall back into old habits." Lara nodded, "Well you know if you guys want some time, just the two of you, I can always have Brandon. The girls love him."

He smiled, "Thanks Lara. You know, even though I'm really pleased to be moving back, I'm going to miss having you right across the street." Lara felt a tinge of sadness and felt bad about it, "Yeah, I'll miss you too, but it's not like I won't see you guys." She paused and realised she didn't know where his marital home was, and she said, "I know it's not far away, but where is your house?" Will looked surprised and said, "I guess you've never been have you." Lara was shaking her head. "It's right here in Windermere, a couple of miles away. When Joe had been down here a couple of years and Callex really took off, he bought a unit on one of Farrah's Dad's developments. With Brandon getting bigger, we'd outgrown our old house. We went to look at his place and ended up buying one on the same development." He laughed, "They're pretty big lots, so it's not like I'm leaning on the fence shooting the breeze across our yards. And Joe's house is like out of a magazine, whereas ours is much more family orientated. Lara leaned on the island with her coffee, "I had no idea." She laughed, "Joe said his Mom wasn't a fan of his house." Will pulled a face, "Yeah, definitely not granny friendly." He jumped up, "I'd better get moving. I need to pack some stuff to take over with me. You and the girls should come 'round for dinner next week. April said she'd call anyway." Lara nodded, and he gave her an extra tight squeeze at the door and said, "Hey, one last thing. You need anything, you can call. You know that, right?" Lara fought her emotional response to his kindness and kissed his cheek, "Thanks Will. Give my love to April."