I laughed at his enthusiasm. “This isn’t cooking, Sebastian.”
“Mom never cooks anything,” he said, raising his eyebrows at me. “Dad thinks she does, but it’s all store bought.”
“Hmm… Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law.”
He looked horrified. “Don’t tell her I told you!”
“What’s it worth?” I teased him.
“My ass!” he said, forcefully.
The expression on his face made me laugh out loud.
“Oh, Sebastian, you’ve left yourself open to blackmail now.”
“You can blackmail me anytime, Caroline,” he said huskily.
His eyes were suddenly intense, and I blinked at him in surprise.
“Time to go,” I said blandly, and began to stack the dishes.
He stood and watched me uncertainly for a moment, then helped me clear the table.
“That insalata was good,” he said, shyly.
“Thanks. Glad you liked it.”
I looked at my watch, a not very subtle gesture. “I’ll get my car keys.”
I played the same CD that I’d listened to yesterday, but I didn’t feel like singing now; the atmosphere in the car was uncomfortable again. I was having trouble keeping up with Sebastian’s mood swings. It must be a nightmare living with a teenager, I reasoned, even one as seemingly mature as Sebastian. Or maybe it was just men in general: David’s mood swings could almost be set by a metronome. The thought made me grimace.
“Can you drop me here?” he said suddenly.
“But we’re not at your place yet?” I said, confused by the request.
He twisted his mouth in the semblance of a smile. “There’ll be fewer questions this way,” he said.
I felt guilty again: he’d spent the whole morning helping me when he should have been studying. And it was obvious his mother had no idea what he’d been doing. I hoped Donna didn’t mention anything to her.
I pulled the car to the curb and waited for him to get out.
He sat for a moment, fiddling with his seatbelt.
“Will I see you again?” he said.
I frowned, puzzled by his odd question. “I expect so. Everyone bumps into everyone on the Base. Now, promise me you’ll study this afternoon.”
He forced a muted smile. “Okay, Caroline. See you then.”
“Bye, Sebastian.”
I drove away. I couldn’t help glancing in the rear-view mirror; he was still watching.
Donna’s words came back to me: you’ve got an admirer there.
Oh hell. Just what I didn’t need: a teenager with a crush on me.
Irritated, I returned to my duties in the garage: by the time everything was put away and each assorted oddment had been found a home, I was bone weary. I was grateful to Sebastian: I would never have finished so soon without his help. I didn’t have much experience of boys his age even when I was his age, but in my opinion he seemed different… more mature than I would have expected. I wondered if he really did like opera, or whether that was just for my benefit.
God, what it must have been like growing up with those parents. Although Estelle was disturbingly like my own mother, at least I had one parent who’d loved me unconditionally.
I poured myself a glass of water, and took it to the yard to sit in the sun for a few moments of peace. I felt curiously adrift, as if the ties to my life were unraveling one by one. My mother, long absent from mutual choice, my father dead, my job gone; even David was AWOL in spirit.
And I was a shadow.
Oh, stop being so melodramatic.
I blamed my father: the Italian genes.
I needed to get out of the house, off the Base, and do something.
I threw myself in the shower, hosing off the grime, and pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. That was deliberate: David hated seeing me in jeans, but today, right now, I wanted to feel like me – just for a few, precious hours.
I pulled out of the driveway and drove, too fast, down the road and past the hospital. From the corner of my eye, I recognized the figure walking away from me. I almost drove on, but something made me stop.