Free Love or Money by Peter McAra Page B

a rock and a hard place’ didn’t come within a zillion miles of expressing her feelings of utter horror. She’d had six years to decide against life with Todd, made up her mind, and come to love herself for having the guts to run with her decision. Now…
    â€˜Think about it, Eri.’ He called down the corridor to the waiting Helen. ‘We mustn’t be late for Alfredo’s. He’ll let our table go if we don’t show on time.’ Erin followed as he took her mother’s arm and walked her to the lift. She could recite word for word the script that would roll out over the next two hours as they sat at Alfredo’s top table. She’d heard it all before, way too many times.
    Next morning Erin rose early. She’d farewelled her mother the night before, planning to beat the morning traffic on her way back to Luna Bay. She locked the door of her city pad and skipped down to her garage, happy at the thought of escaping the city, and Todd Archer.
    She reached the little town around eleven — time for a Sarah’s coffee. She parked and walked towards the little café. Seconds later, she spotted Hamish a hundred metres away, walking towards his office, paper cup in hand. As she wondered whether to greet him or to stay at a safe distance, she saw him smile, wave to someone across the street.
    Slipping into the shade of the bank’s doorway, she watched him. A petite thirtyish woman, grinning as if she’d just won the lottery, sprinted across the street to join him. For a minute, they chatted. Then she took his arm and steered him back across the street. Still managing him like a jockey leading a horse, she led him into the little park beside the town hall. They sat on a bench side by side. Hamish sipped at his coffee while she talked. Erin was too far away to hear the one-sided conversation. All she got was the woman’s arm-waving, the way she used any excuse to touch Hamish’s shoulder, his hand, his knee. This woman meant business, and sweet country boy Hamish was too dumb to see it.
    Erin found herself looking at the woman hard. Who was she? For starters, she wore a dark business suit that screamed expensive. It must have been tailored to fit her tiny blow-away-in-the-wind body. Her shoes — surely the highest heels ever seen in Luna Bay — must also be from downtown Sydney’s fashion hub. But it was the woman’s arrogance that grated. There was no way she could be Hamish’s partner, or even a local. Yet she acted as if she and Hamish had been joined at the hip since birth.
    After watching for a few minutes, Erin scolded herself. She’d become downright paranoid about the woman. Why? Hamish had told her he had a partner, that he was off limits. Erin should get on with her morning. There was important shopping to be done: bread, dishwashing liquid, garbage bags, deodorant. As she stepped out from the bank doorway she saw the couple leave the bench, go their separate ways. On a naughty impulse, Erin crossed the street so that the woman would pass her as she headed for the general store. That way, she’d get a better look at her. As they closed on each other, the woman stopped, pulled out a cell phone and began to talk, oblivious. Only as Erin strolled by did the woman’s face register — she’d seen that face plastered across the business pages of the Sydney newspapers so many times. The determined little woman was none other than the lovely Anna Kershaw, financial journalist extraordinaire. And, if she could believe him, Hamish’s neighbour, but nothing more.
    Over the next few days, still wrestling with Todd’s ultimatum, Erin fought off an infection of serial jealousy. If it wasn’t Anna Kershaw, there was the mystery of Dwayne’s mother. To say Hamish had been evasive about her was an understatement. He had a child, took him out on weekends, just like your average father living in your average suburb. Once