Page 120 of Even Ground

“You think I’m charming too. I mean, you weren’t complaining last night. And we’ve still got—” I count on my fingers—“thirty-three condoms left. Or is it thirty-two? I lost count.”

Pania laughs as she pulls up a driveway. The house is one storey, and it reminds me of the first house I remember living in. Big enough for a small family. There’s not much in the way of garden, but there’s plenty of lawn out the back.

“More than enough for the weekend at least.” She pokes out her tongue as she reaches behind her seat for her bag.

“Depends on how busy a weekend it is.”

She shakes her head before opening the driver’s door and climbing out. I follow suit and close my eyes, taking a deep breath of the warm air.

Locking the car with her key fob, she then leads me to the back door of the house, and kicks off her shoes on the doorstep. I do the same while she turns the door handle and pushes.

“Mum,” she calls.

“She’s gone to the shops.” A male voice comes from inside the house.

“Her car’s there.”

“I’m doing some work on it. She took my car.”

I follow Pania through the kitchen and into the living room. A large TV is up on one wall, a couch opposite, and two recliners sit either side.

“She’ll be happy you’re here. It’s all she’s talked about for days.” The man who called out sits in one of the recliners, leaning back, his feet up.

Pania turns and smiles, taking my hand.

“Reece, this is my cousin Wiremu. Wiremu, this is Reece.”

Wiremu waves. “Nice to meet you, Reece.”

“You too.”

“When did she go to the shops?” Pania asks.

He shrugs. “A while ago. She won’t be far away.”

Pania drops onto the couch, and I sit beside her.

“She’ll freak out when she sees you.” Wiremu grins at me. “She buys those stupid magazines with you and Josh and Delaney in them.”

I grimace. “I hope she doesn’t believe all the stories they print.”

Wiremu shakes his head. “Pania told her not to. But who knows.”

The back door opens, and we all turn our heads at the sound. There’s a rustle of shopping bags.

“Do you need some help, Auntie?” Wiremu calls out.

“Yes. You could put these groceries away while I see my baby.”

He grins. “On it.”

An older Maori woman appears in the living room doorway. “Pani—Reece Evans?” she exclaims, holding up her hands. “Pania didn’t tell me it’d be you paying a visit.”

I stand and turn toward Pania. Her eyes are cast up toward the ceiling, as if she’s trying really hard not to look at her mother.

“Pania’s full of surprises,” I say.

“Reece arrived to see me a couple of days ago, Mum. He’s here for two weeks.”