Page 22 of Darling Girls

‘Good night,’ Jessica said, without looking at him.

‘Why don’t you go to bed with your husband, Jess?’ Alicia said. ‘I’m calling it a night.’

‘I think we should bring a lawyer with us,’ Jessica said.

Alicia sighed. Phil, who’d been waiting in the doorway hopefully, slunk away.

‘Jess, no,’ Alicia said. ‘How will it look if we show up with a lawyer?’

‘Smart,’ Jessica said. ‘It will look smart.’

‘Or guilty! Listen, we haven’t been accused of anything. We’re assisting. Showing up with a lawyer is going to give off the wrong vibe.’

Jessica paused. ‘Maybe you’re right.’

It made Alicia nervous when Jessica accepted her counsel. After all, Alicia wasn’t known for her wise, well-thought-out decisions. She was the one who threw caution to the wind, who took risks, who acted first and thought of the consequences later. An easy thing to do when you had so little regard for your own mortality. But Alicia had a very high regard for her sisters’ mortality, not to mention their good health and happiness.

‘Let’s just play it by ear,’ she said. ‘We don’t have to answer anything we don’t want to. At the first hint of trouble, we’ll get a lawyer.’

‘Okay,’ Jessica said. ‘Okay.’

‘Good.’ Alicia slung her handbag over her shoulder and walked towards the door. ‘So, you’ll pick me up in the morning?’

‘Eight o’clock,’ Jessica said.

Alicia had just started the car when her phone began to ring. The number came up as unknown, which, combined with the hour, meant it was work.

‘Alicia Connelly,’ she said.

‘You owe me ten bucks.’

The voice sounded like it belonged to a child. Not a young child; more of an adolescent. It took her a moment to place him.

‘It’s Aaron,’ he said, registering her pause. ‘Trish’s foster son.’

Alicia kicked herself. She knew that to the kids she worked with being remembered was significant. At the same time, she noted the hint of disdain, as if she were an idiot not to have realised, and it helped to ease her guilt.

‘I know who you are, mate,’ she said, matching his tone.

‘Sorry for calling so late,’ he said.

She started to drive. It wasn’t the first time she’d received a non-urgent call from a foster kid late at night, but itwasthe first time anyone had apologised for it. It seemed there was something about those late hours that made kids think of her. Alicia considered it a compliment. ‘Late? I was about to go out clubbing.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Of course not.’ She laughed.

Aaron didn’t join in and Alicia could just about see him rolling his eyes.

‘Is everything okay? How’s Theo?’

‘He’s doing much better. We spent the night snuggling on the couch and watching movies.’

‘You did?’ Alicia cried. That was so much better than she’d dared hope; she’d have been happy just to hear that he’d come out from under the table.

Aaron snorted. ‘No! But he’s eating as long as I handfeed him. And he let me put him to bed, though he wouldn’t have a bath or change his clothes and I’m pretty sure he’d shat himself.’

Alicia felt her mood lifting considerably, which under the circumstances was unexpected.