Forever Blue Read Online Free PDF Page A

me. Not that I cared. I enjoyed my own company.
    Dad smiled, and Melinda winked as though we shared a secret.
    The conversation was as awkward as everything else about the day. The chirpy waitress came over and took our orders. Dad ordered the oysters. Melinda wanted them too, but Dad wouldn't let her. Instead, she went for the crumbed, deep-fried camembert starter.
    Dad shook his head. "No soft cheeses, babe, not good for the baby."
    "Actually, Robert," Mum glared at him, "the cheeses are fine. All of them are pasteurised."
    Dad raised his eyebrows at Mum's clear challenge of his orders. "Still better to be safe than sorry, right, babe?" He patted Melinda's hand.
    Mum looked to Melinda, and I could feel the tension slice through the table. Melinda looked down, letting her hair cover her face before telling the waitress she wanted the cheese. Mum smiled triumphantly and Dad scowled.
    "So, Melinda." Mum was confident in her newfound alliance with the younger woman. "Do you know if it's a boy or girl?"
    Melinda smiled brilliantly, letting joy radiate out of her, and I wished she would tone it back, just a little. "A boy."
    It was only for an instant, but Mum let her shield drop and I saw the pain well up again. I pressed my hand on her knee under the table. She didn't look at me. "How wonderful." Mum took a sip of her wine, keeping her eyes glued to the ring of liquid left behind.
    "I thought we were going to keep that to ourselves?" Dad sounded like a whiny child.
    "They're family," Melinda said firmly. "Besides, don't you think Lennon would want to know if she is going to have a little brother or sister?"
    I snorted and sent a fine spray of pink lemonade over the table. This baby would be my brother or sister—half brother or sister. Strange as it was, I hadn't registered to that fact. It was Dad's baby, Melinda's baby, not my sibling.
    "When are you due?" I didn't really care. I just wanted to keep the conversation going and take the attention away from the fact that I was wiping pink droplets from the table.
    "November seventeenth."
    "Not long then. You'll be getting excited," I replied, saying all the things I thought I were expected of me.
    "And nervous!" Melinda laughed and her nose wrinkled delightfully. I found myself momentarily wishing I had her dainty nose instead of my straight and boring one, which snorted instead of wrinkling delightfully.
    "Any names?" I asked.
    "We've narrowed it down to one or two, but your father won't let me tell anyone." She pulled her lips into a pout before playfully grinning at Dad and reaching across to rub his knee.
    "Oh, come on, Dad," I pleaded dryly. "Surely you can let us in on the choices."
    Dad shook his head. "You will just have to wait like everyone else." He took a big gulp of beer, and since the rugby match was at half time, tilted his chair back to face the table. "Your mother had some rather strange names picked out for you. She wanted ones along the lines of what the Deacons used. She actually liked the name they chose for the boy, Phoenix." He shook his head slowly. "The stupidity of some parents. Children need strong, clear names, not pathetic ones that belong in the garden. She wanted to call you Blossom or Petal, or some such rubbish before we settled on Lennon, which I must add was strange enough in itself, but, at least it's strong."
    "It was Aster." Mum frowned and studied her wine glass.
    "Oh, I love that!" Melinda crooned, and clasped her hands together. Dad gave her such a look of disgust I wanted to laugh. Mum caught it as well, and we shared a smile.
    "I've always wanted to call a baby an exotic name like the celebrity babies, something like Kyd or Ocean," Melinda continued.
    "Over my dead body," Dad muttered, then looked at Mum apologetically.
    Thankfully, our meals came in record time. We had depleted our conversation topics. Mum had already asked Dad how the real estate business was going. Melinda had told a couple of funny stories from the beauty therapist