The Australian Affairs Collection. Margaret Way

you’ve covered everything.’

      He wasn’t fooled by his mother’s resigned tone.

      ‘Will we see you when you return?’

      He hesitated. Dared he trust them around Alina, especially as her pregnancy would soon be apparent?

      ‘That depends on your attitude. Our baby’s due in October.’

      Ignoring their gasps and aggrieved expressions, he stood up.

      ‘I’m happier right now than I have ever been in my life, and thrilled that my wife is carrying my baby. Anyone who isn’t can just stay away.’

      He said goodbye soon after, breathing a sigh of relief as he went through the gates. He ought to feel guilty for the subterfuge. Instead his head was filled with Alina—her beguiling smile, the way her violet eyes revealed her emotions. Her extraordinary courage.

      My wife. The simple yet profound phrase kept repeating in his brain. As he drove, singing along off-key with the radio, he felt giddy and irrationally happy. He was going home to claim another long kiss, as sweet as the one they’d shared before he left.