Flying the Coop by Ilsa Evans Page A

quickly that he was left mid-gesture, with his mouth still open. It took him a moment or so to recover and then he closed his mouth and took off at a brief clip after his wife, who was already a good distance away. Chris watched him go and reflected on how ridiculous he suddenly looked, hurrying like that after someone who wasn’t even looking back.
    And it occurred to her that, as a tactic, putting a distance between yourself and your problem was actually quite effective. Apart from anything else, there was a good chance that by the time the problem caught up, it would be too breathless to annoy you anymore. Perhaps, by moving to Healesville, that was exactly what she was doing. Putting some distance between herself and her failed marriage, her ex-husband, his new partner – and all the assorted issues that went with them. This thought warmed her, until a little voice deep inside her head asked, in an unnecessarily mocking tone, whether that meant she was also expecting her particular problem to follow her at some stage – but she rapidly shovelled the little voice into a cerebral closet and then locked it for good measure.
    â€˜Chris? What on earth are you staring at?’
    â€˜I was just watching that couple.’ Chris pointed down the river path to where the woman could just be seen power-walking her way past the last boathouse, with the man still half walking and half jogging behind her. ‘They were having a great argument.’
    â€˜Oh, I love a good argument.’ Janice stood up for a better view and then clenched her fist and punched it in the air. ‘You go, girl!’
    â€˜You only like a good argument because then you can jump in and grab the guy on the rebound,’ commented Kim, flicking her lighter open to light another cigarette.
    â€˜There is that.’ Janice sat back down, not offended in the least. ‘Rebound sex is one of the best sorts. All that pent-up guilt and revenge and aggression. Mmm- hmm .’
    Ebony shook her head. ‘There’s something very wrong with you, you know.’
    â€˜True,’ replied Janice cheerfully.
    â€˜Anybody for a refill?’ asked Annie, holding up the wine bottle and then proceeding to top up each of the glasses without waiting for an answer.
    â€˜I think we need another bottle.’ Ebony leant back in her chair and tried to spot the waiter.
    â€˜I’ll grab one,’ Janice said. ‘I need to go to the bathroom anyway.’
    They all watched Janice thread her way through the crowded tables, slightly unsteady already on her high heels. As soon as she was out of earshot, the conversation immediately turned to her sexual proclivities and Chris grinned to herself, knowing that their condemnation was tempered, despite itself, by a sneaky admiration. She picked up her wineglass and turned away from the table, gazing up the river path to see if the arguing couple were still within sight. But they were both long gone. And Chris wondered if the man had ever caught up with his partner, or whether he had given up, instead falling by the wayside to simply watch her stride unhesitatingly into the distance. And she wished fervently that she was capable of that sort of certainty. To stride forward without hesitation, with absolute faith in yourself and your destiny. No second guesses and no second thoughts. Not even for a minute.
    Chris got home just before five o’clock and decided to run herself a hot bath. She wasn’t expecting the kids back until after tea, which she estimated gave her at least two hours tosoak away the effects of the alcohol and the unaccustomed freedom. She turned the taps on in the main bathroom, where the bath was both wider and deeper than in the ensuite, and liberally added some strawberry-scented bubble-bath. Then she stripped off her clothes and left them where they fell on the floor of her bedroom before padding, stark naked, down the hallway and into the bathroom.
    Once in the