Unsuitable

Polly pulled Flip’s ponytail. “I said it again just to be sure.”

“So does Reece get the job?” Flip asked.

Did he? They watched him guide Mia across a low bridge and down a short ladder. The kids too old to be using the gym kept away. No one was going to hassle Mia with Reece on hand. The issue of gender aside, was he the best candidate? Did his maleness matter where Mia’s care was concerned? His referees had raved about him, so she had no reason to doubt his capabilities. He said something and Mia laughed. She had no reason to doubt his intentions either. Who brings a whole posse to an interview? He’d said he wanted the job, he was going all out.

“What do you think, Les?” said Polly. “Me, personally. I have no idea why a bloke wants to look after kids that aren’t his own. But it’s what Reece wants to do and you have to support a mate. What do you think is best?”

“Me?”

Polly laughed, because Les squeaked that. “Yeah, you and me are the sidekicks. It’s my role to tell you Reece is the man for the job. Assume it’s your role to tell Audrey what you think. Am I right?”

“Sidekick.” Les coughed. “Yes. Um.”

“Okay I get it. You don’t want to give anything away. Clever. Play your cards close.”

Les coughed again. “No. I, um.”

“Lots of seagulls,” Audrey said, addressing the comment to Flip who said, “They’re pests really.”

“I’m a lawyer,” Les blurted.

And the most socially awkward person Audrey had ever met. But there was nothing she could do to save her without it being too obvious.

“Builder,” said Polly. “Reece better watch himself, eh.”

“No, no I’m not a lawyer today. I am on other days, work days, you know in the office, that’s where I do my lawyering, it’s an office thing. I’m a Monday to Friday lawyer really. I don’t do lawyering in the park, and it’s the weekend and so I’m not a lawyer, I’m just a friend.”

Audrey couldn’t look at Les in case her babbling was contagious.

Polly hid a smile. “Good to know. As a friend, what’s your advice about Reece?”

“Oh, ah, I’m not. I’d need. It’s not.”

Oh my God. Audrey glared at Les in shock. Mia was more articulate and she was slow to talk.

Polly pulled on Flip’s ponytail again. “Flipper, why don’t you take over from Reece so he can talk to Audrey and I’ll intro Les to the girls.” He raised a hand in the air in question. “That okay with you?”

“Oh, I, ah—”

Audrey cut Les off. “That’d be great.”

Polly bent to speak to Flip and Audrey cut Les a look. She tried to make it say be cool, but it probably said could you stop being such a complete moron. She’d seen Les tear strips off people at work who fouled up, reducing them to heaving lumps of snot, and she’d seen her tongue-tied before, but never so badly. And yes, Polly was an incredible specimen up close. The hair, cropped skull close on the sides and tufted on top, the ear plug, the tattoos. He normalised Reece’s size by being almost as big, but he had a different intensity about him. If Reece was a lion gentle with a cub, Polly was more your average croc lurking hidden in shallow water ready to drown you, hide you under a rock shelf and eat you later.

Flip skipped off and Polly motioned to Les to follow him. Audrey gave her a none too subtle shove, in a throwing a live chook to a penned prehistoric reptile manner, to get her moving. Les gave her a very obviously nervous I’m dinner grimace. And then Reece was there and it was just the two of them.

God he had great eyes. The shape, the glossy jade colour, the heavy black lashes that matched his thick hair. Not that his eyes had anything to do with his qualification as a child care worker. Other than that he wasn’t a blind child care worker, which made them an asset. Oh God. The other applicants all had eyes in working order but not so pretty.

“Are you okay?” he said.

Good Lord, she’d been infected with Les’ wandering thought syndrome. “I’m fine.” She met those jade eyes. “This is a great playground. We come here, but there are usually so many bigger kids I don’t let Mia on the equipment.”

“It’s better during the week. All the bigger kids are at school. Do you miss not having weekdays with Mia? The weekends can be so frantic.”

“I remember from maternity leave how they were different, a different pace, not so loud and competitive.”

But full of different kinds of frustration. The abject fear she was getting this motherhood thing all wrong. The full realisation she was in this on her own and the anxiety about returning to work and being able to be the same person with the same performance standards after a 2am feed and a 4am crying jag.

“The parks and cafes around here are all little kid friendly during the week. There’s even a session at the movies for kids and carers. All the kids grizzle together.”