Free Flirting With Magick by Leigh Bennett Page B

to see us all talking around the bench. “Oh, hi Mum.” He dragged his bags into the kitchen. “Hi Abby.” He casually acknowledged me as he passed and started unpacking the groceries.
    “Luke just told me you were going away this weekend,” Julie said.
    Scott shot me a glance. I kept my face expressionless. He understood . “Yeah, just with some friends. Get out of the city.”
    “Anyone I know?”
    “Nathan.” He looked at me apologetically. “A friend of his won the trip. No one you know.” He pulled out a bottle of lemonade. “Anyone for a drink? Abby?”
    “Thanks.” I was just grateful for something to do.
    “Do you need your hair done while I’m here, love?” his mother asked him. I started to notice the resemblance, same almond shaped eyes and straight nose.
    “No, I think it’s okay for the moment.” He ran his hand through his fringe, the gesture I’d become accustomed to. Of course this was a bit awkward for him. “Maybe next time.”
    “Alright. Well, how about I take you out to dinner then? Abby, would you like to join us?”
    “Oh, um... thank you but I...” I couldn’t just say yes.
    “Come on.” Luke interrupted, “you weren’t doing anything tonight , were you?” His eyes twinkled tauntingly.
    I glanced at Scott. It was his mother after all, and I didn’t want to get involved where I shouldn’t. He smiled at Luke’s teasing and nodd ed at me. “Yeah, come on.”
    Permission granted. “Sure, thank you.”
    The Thai restaurant was small and had only a handful of custo mers when we were seated at a corner table.
    “Whereabouts in England are you from, Mrs. Ryan?” I asked when we had ordered our food and a bottle of white wine was being divided between the four of us. “I noticed your accent.”
    “Dover, in the south. And please, call me Julie.”
    “How long have you been in Australia?”
    “About twenty-one, no, twenty-two years.”
    I did a quick calculation then looked over at Scott “Were you born in England?”
    “Yep.” He smiled as though I had just discovered a special secret.
    “All my children were,” Julie went on. “We moved here when Jamie, our youngest, was two.” She turned to her son. "I'm seeing him tomorrow. Have he and Claire seen you play?"
    "He did the first few times, but his shift has changed at work. She comes out quite a bit though."
    I sat back in my chair and avoid looking at Scott. I was enjoying the opportunity to find out more about him without having to ask him direct personal questions. “How many children do you have, Julie?”
    “Three. Two boys and a girl.”
    “So you’re the oldest or the middle?” I asked Scott.
    “Middle,” he replied.
    “So am I.” I announced to the group. “Two brothers.”
    Luke snorted. “Yeah. I remember when we were kids, Ben would pick on you, and then you would pick on Toby. And then you’d get into trouble with your Mum so you would run to your Dad.” He leaned over and stage whispered to Scott. “Abby was a Daddy’s girl.”
    I scoffed. “That’s a bit rich, coming from Aunt Marie’s baby boy.” Everyone at the table giggled knowingly. Luke was an only child and , at least until adolescence, could do no wrong in the eyes of his mother .
    Our food arrived, and we all started piling spicy green curry chicke n, crunchy stir fried vegetables, and fluffy coconut scented rice into our bowls. I observed the interaction between Scott and Julie. She nagged him about his eating habits, asked why he didn’t come home more often, and teasingly questioned when he was going to get a real job and settle down with a nice girl, all of which he answered with an inaudible mumble, before she turned to Luke and pestered him with the same questions. It was plain to see that Luke was practically part of the Ryan family. Both men instantly became more animated when Julie changed the subject to the band and their forthcoming album.
    “The album’s going great.” Scott enthused. “But we need two