Hey guys, sorry for the terribly long delay between chapters but I was unfortunately just too busy to do any writing over the last few months. Things have luckily started to slow down now for a while so I'm hoping to be able to get a few more chapters finished off in quick succession. I hope you are enjoying the story so far, thanks heaps for the reviews and the tips, I appreciate the feedback.
Chapter 7(Flash-back: 2 years ago)
Nikki paced up and down the side walk outside a side door of the court buildings, waiting impatiently for Robert to make an appearance. She was getting a bit irritated as she had been standing out there in the cold for the last twenty minutes waiting for the boy. She looked at her watch again and mumbled to herself as she pulled her coat tighter in a feeble attempt to keep the cold at bay. She supposed that she could have sat in the car and waited, but sitting still was not one of her strong points at the best of times.
The court proceedings this morning had gone to plan and she allowed herself a little smile at how easy it had been for her to arrange it all. She certainly had the gift of the gab. Robert's case was heard directly before tea, a good thing too as the judge had been in a hurry to get to his biscuits and whole heartedly agreed with the deal Nikki had arranged with the state prosecutor. Robert pleaded guilty and accepted the hours of community service he was required to do at a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre and that was that, done in five minutes flat.
All that had remained for him to do was sign for and collect the few belongings he'd had with him when he was arrested and they could go. Unfortunately this was what was causing the current hold up. Nikki had just about had enough and was starting to contemplate leaving him here to walk home when she heard voices and laughing coming from just behind the door. "Cheers mate," she heard Robert say with a laugh to one of the security people as the door opened. He came bounding down the steps two at a time and practically knocked Nikki off her feet as he hugged her. Her irritation began to dissipate as she looked into his smiling face, "where have you been?" She asked, still a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. "Sorry Nik, you know how it goes, bloody coppers 'misplaced' my stuff. Took them ages to find it," he said, still smiling at her.
Nikki sighed, she knew all too well. "Come on," she said heading off toward the car, "let's get you home before Helen starts phoning the hospitals asking after us, I told her we'd be there ages ago." She'd filled Robert in before court about the plans she and Helen had made for him. He'd been a bit taken aback by it all. He'd asked her several times why they were willing to do so much for a known trouble maker like himself and he'd seemed close to tears when Nikki had put her hand on his shoulder and replied, "Because you are my family, and that's what families do."
Robert settled into the passenger seat of Nikki's car and tossed the clear plastic bag containing the clothes he was wearing the day he was arrested onto the back seat. He turned toward Nikki with a seriously look on his face. "Thanks Nik," he blurted out, "You really have no idea how much this all means to me. I'll never forget any of it. One day, I hope that I will be able to repay your kindness." Nikki was touched by the sincerity in his voice, "Yeah well, don't make me regret any of this," she said in a mock serious voice, the smile on her lips giving her away.
Helen must have been waiting for them in the hallway behind the front door, as they walked up the steps the door opened and they were greeted by her smiling face. She'd specially taken the day off work to sort out the spare room and make sure Rob's bed had clean sheets on it. Nikki smiled and slid her arm around Helen's waist, "I've missed you," she whispered into her ear and kissed her on her cheek. Turning, her arm still around Helen she introduced Robert, who, ever the charmer, dazzled her with one of his smiles and shook her hand, "a pleasure to meet you Helen." "Likewise," Helen said, returning his smile with one of her own. She was still quite taken aback by the family resemblance between Robert and Nikki, it was uncanny. "Oi, be careful with that Wade charm, with great power comes great responsibility," Nikki grinned at Rob and ruffled his hair. "But trust me mate, if you ever get into a bit of hot water with this one it always works like a bomb," she said, winking at Rob and giving Helen a playful little smack on her bottom as they made their way to the kitchen.
"Nikki Wade, you cheeky sod. How can you go giving away all my secrets to a bloke I haven't even known for five minutes yet?" Helen said, not quite managing to make the indignation in her voice sound real. "I'm terribly sorry my love," Nikki said, looking forlorn, "but I'm quite sure I can make up for my mistakes in some way or another a little later," she whispered to Helen, causing her to blush. Robert decided that this was his cue to make himself scarce for a few minutes. "Do you guys mind if I take a shower before dinner?" he asked, "Let's just say I wasn't too keen on the ones they had in the holding cells." "No problem at all," Helen said, "let me show you to your room while we are at it." As Helen walked passed Nikki she let her hand trace a path across her back and said softly in her ear, "Maybe you should hop through the shower as well, a cold one at that." She turned and winked at her as she led Rob up the stairs, that patented Helen Stewart smile with her tongue pressed to her teeth lighting up her face.
Nikki got out of the shower and slipped into her favourite track suit, that shower was just what she needed, although it would have been so much better if Helen had been there to wash her back, among other things, she mused as she towel dried her hair. A naughty smile crept onto her face as she lost herself momentarily in her plans for later that evening.
As she made her way down the stairs she could here Helen and Rob laughing in the kitchen. "Fast friends those two," she thought to herself with a smile. Helen beckoned Nikki toward her, "Have a seat sweetheart, we are in for a treat this evening, Rob here is going to make us some of his famous spaghetti bolognaise. Homemade sauce and all." "That sounds wonderful, I'm used to the bottle variety," Nikki said, pulling a face and inclining her head in Helen's direction, the side of her mouth curling into a mischievous grin, earning her a jab in the ribs. "It's a good thing I'm absolutely besotted with you Wade," Helen said with a laugh.
As rob went about the cooking Helen and Nikki sipped some red wine and chatted to him about what he wanted from the future and where he saw himself going. The boy had big plans for himself that was for sure. His field of expertise, computers and pretty much anything electronic, was neither Nikki nor Helen's forte and most of what he was talking about went way over their heads but he became so animated and intense when he spoke that neither had the heart to stop him.
Dinner had been amazing, Rob had turned out to be quite the talented cook and everything was so delicious that both Helen and Nikki had overindulged. Nikki decided that now was as good a time as any to share a little bit of good news with Helen and Rob. "I spoke to Trish this morning," she started, "turns out one of their bar ladies just up and left without a word a few days ago. Haven't been able to find a replacement yet and they are struggling just a tad at the moment. So I said to her that I might just know of someone in need of some work, if she didn't mind a bloke behind the bar." Nikki paused and watched the anticipation build on Rob's face. "She said that right now she couldn't afford to be picky and that an extra set of hands was an extra set of hands, which is exactly what they need. So tell me Robby my boy, how talented are you when it comes to serving up cocktails?"
"Bloody brilliant!" He said, a huge, radiant smile plastered on his face, "gay fellows and cocktail parties are synonymous darling. I reckon I could already mix a killer martini when I was still in my mother's womb." "Alright, alright," Nikki said with a laugh, "don't get too excited now, it's only a few nights a week, and it can't interfere with your community service or with uni you hear." "Aye aye captain," Rob said with a little salute. "And..." Nikki began, pausing for emphasis, "If you happen to knock Trish's socks off, there might be a more permanent position in it for you, and one of the perks of a permanent position happens to be a one bedroom apartment above the club. It's not much, but it's clean and sound proofed so you'll be able to study. But first you have to prove you can do the job and do it well, which means a one month trial period."
Even if she'd wanted to Nikki wasn't going to be given the chance to get another word out. Before she knew what was happening Rob was on her lap with his arms wrapped around her neck. Helen was now eyeing the legs of the chair Nikki was sitting on; she doubted whether it would hold both their weight for much longer. Luckily for the chair, before there was even time for a creek, Rob was up and hoping around the kitchen singing Nikki's praises at the top of his voice.