Chapter Seven
All through dinner, Stacie was trying to figure out what had happened to Danny to make him flinched when she kissed him on the cheek. Had she said something that made him uncomfortable? It wasn't until she saw her mother talking to Danny that something clicked. He hadn't been like that before he had gone to the Chinese. She knew she couldn't really ask Danny what was going on, so she knew that she would have to talk to her mum instead.
"Mum, do you mind if I talked to you?" She said, whilst they stood in the kitchen tidying up from dinner.
"Of course not Stacie. What is it?" Aggie replied.
"Uh, not here mum. Come with me." Stacie took her mother's arm and led her to her room. "Did you spoken to Danny? He's acting differently."
Aggie smiled. "Of course I have. We chatted the whole way to the Chinese. He's a really lovely young man."
"What did you talk about?"
"Everything really. Mostly about him and his family."
Stacie was still curious. "Did you say anything that could have upset him?"
Aggie shrugged. "I don't think so. He seemed pretty happy to tell me about himself."
Stacie grinned. "Yeah well that's Danny."
Aggie took a pause before she spoke. "When I brought up matters of the love kind, he did kind of get quiet though."
Stacie raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"
"He seemed like he didn't wanna talk about it that much."
Stacie felt kind of relieved. She was happy knowing that he hadn't mentioned anything about her. Stacie was about to leave the room when her mother spoke again. "He did say one thing though. He told me about this one girl that kept knocking him back. I could tell that he really likes her. Shame really."
Stacie stayed silent. She didn't know what to say. Aggie moved closer to her daughter. "Stacie, he really does like you, you know."
Stacie moved towards her bed and sat down. She put her fingers through her hair and sighed. "I know mum."
Aggie followed and put her arm around her. "What is it, Stacie?"
"I like him too. A lot. But after what happened with Jake I don't think I can do it again."
Aggie began to rub her hand up and down Stacie's back. "Look, I know what happened with Jake really, really hurt you. But you can't let it control your life."
"It's not just that though," Stacie continued, "We work together. I don't want it to screw things up."
Aggie's hand was now stroking Stacie's hair. "I understand. It's just… I don't want you to living your life alone. Just because you do what you do, it doesn't mean you have to be lonely."
Stacie smiled at what her mother had just said. "You know, that's what Ash said at his wedding when he married June."
"I didn't know Ash is married."
"He's not" Stace replied. "They got divorced."
Aggie stayed silent for a few minutes, just sitting holding her daughter. Stacie lent her head on her mother's shoulder.
"I don't know what to do anymore, mum."
Aggie tried to be as comforting to her daughter as she could. "Listen Stacie, I know it's safer for you to listen to your head. You don't want to be hurt again. But sometimes, listening to your heart is a good thing. You should do whatever feels right. Not matter how sensible you think it is."
Stacie lifted her head and looked at her mother. "Thanks."
"What are mothers for?"
The two ladies re-entered into the lounge and sat down where the boys had started a new game of cards. Stacie took a seat next to Danny and leaned towards him. "Do you mind if I talk to you later?" she whispered in his ear. "It's important."
A look of concern came over Danny's face. "Yeah, sure. Are you ok?"
Stacie looked at her mother and smiled. "Better than ever." She rested her arm and Danny's. "So, what are we playing?"
