1
‘Nina, Eddie!’ cried Lola Adams — née Gianetti — across the coffee shop. ‘Long time no see!’
Nina Wilde hopped to her feet to greet her friend. Lola had, until five months earlier, been Nina’s personal assistant at the International Heritage Agency. The reason for her departure was peering curiously at the world around him from a papoose on the chest of Lola’s husband. ‘Lola, Don, hi! Wow, it’s so great to see you both again! And to meet this little guy in person for the first time. Oh, he’s beautiful!’
Nina’s own husband also stood. ‘Yeah, that’s not a bad-looking sprog you’ve got,’ said Eddie Chase with a grin. ‘Shame about the name, though.’
Lola pouted. ‘What’s wrong with Gino? It was my grandpa’s name.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not as good as my suggestion. Now Eddie, that’s a name for a baby.’ He frowned. ‘Wait, that didn’t come out like I meant it to.’
Nina laughed. ‘Accurate, though.’ The balding Englishman pulled a face, to which Gino responded with a gurgling laugh of his own. ‘Aw, look at that! He’s so sweet.’
‘He is,’ said Lola, embracing the pair, ‘when he’s not occupying every moment of my time. And I thought you were demanding, Nina!’
Now it was Nina’s turn to look affronted, while Eddie chuckled. ‘Come on, sit down,’ he said, pulling a chair out for the young mother. ‘So being a parent’s a bit stressful, is it?’
‘You have no idea, man,’ said Don as he unfastened the papoose. ‘I thought being a firefighter was tough, but pulling people out of burning buildings is a cakewalk compared to watching out for a baby.’
‘Don’s worse than I am,’ Lola said as she sat. ‘There’s danger everywhere, isn’t there, hon? To him, every room looks like a deathtrap out of a Final Destination movie. It drives me nuts, ’cause now I can’t even plug in my hairdryer without unlocking the gadgets he’s put on all the outlets.’
‘Safety’s a serious business, babe,’ Don replied, in a way that suggested it was far from the first time he had been teased.
The big-haired blonde took Gino from the papoose, settling the baby on her lap. ‘Anyway, we’re just about getting a handle on things, so we can finally catch up with everybody. What have I missed? What have you guys been up to? Have you found any more ancient wonders or saved the world again?’
‘What, since the last time?’ asked Eddie with a mocking snort. ‘Come on, it’s only been a few months. Give us a chance.’
‘I’m enjoying the fact that we haven’t been running around the world being chased and shot at and having everything blow up around us,’ Nina said, with considerable relief. ‘It means I get to do the things I joined the IHA for in the first place. Like being an actual archaeologist, you know? Overseeing digs, research, writing papers…’
Eddie yawned theatrically. ‘Yeah, it’s thrilling.’
‘Oh, shut up,’ said the redhead. ‘But it’s amazing how much more productive you can be when you aren’t being attacked by helicopter gunships and hunted by assassins.’
‘And ninjas. Don’t forget the ninjas.’
Don’s eyebrows rose. ‘Babe? You are so not going back to the IHA.’
Lola kissed Gino’s head. ‘This little guy’s going to be my boss for the next few years, don’t worry.’ She looked back at Nina. ‘If things are nice and easy at work, is that giving you more time to plan things at home?’
‘What things?’ Nina asked.
‘You know.’ Lola held up Gino, who let out a little squeak of delight, and kissed him again. ‘Family matters.’
‘Yeah,’ added Don. ‘You’ve been married for, what, two or three years now? I’m surprised you haven’t got kids already.’
Nina found herself feeling surprisingly defensive. ‘My work hasn’t been exactly conducive to it, what with all the… ninjas and world-saving.’
The burly firefighter nodded. ‘But now everything’s quieted down, you’re thinking about it, yeah? I mean, you don’t want to leave it too late.’
Eddie huffed. ‘We’re not that old.’ He put on a crotchety old man’s voice. ‘I’m hip to all the popular tunes of today’s young people, you know.’ Lola laughed.
‘You’re past forty, though, right? Me, I’ve just gone thirty and Lola’s coming up on it, and we were worried that might be pushing it—’
‘Donnyyyyy,’ said Lola, singsong, through her teeth. Her husband got the message and clammed up. ‘So, what’s new at the IHA? How’s my replacement working out?’
‘Melinda?’ Nina said. ‘She’s fine, she’s doing a good job.’ Seeing Lola’s face fall ever so slightly, she continued, ‘Nearly as good as you.’ The younger woman brightened. ‘Okay, what else? Al Little got a job with Apple in California, Lucy DeMille got engaged, Bill Schofield got promoted — oh, and we got a new UN liaison after Sebastian Penrose, uh, retired.’ The United Nations official’s departure had been under a cloud, to say the least, but to avoid a media scandal the details were covered up. Nina had been dismayed at that, but the decision was made at far higher political levels than she had influence. ‘A guy called Oswald Seretse.’
Lola searched her memory, then nodded. ‘Oh — his dad’s a diplomat too, isn’t he? I met them at the UN once, before I transferred to the IHA.’
‘Yeah, I think so. Anyway, that’s all the big stuff.’
‘You should come round to the office sometime,’ Eddie suggested. ‘There’s a lot of people who’d love to see you and your nipper.’
‘Maybe I will,’ said Lola. She looked down at her son. ‘Would you like to see where Mommy worked before she had you? Would you, little snooky-wooky?’ Gino did not appear enthused by the prospect.
‘Just make sure there aren’t any frickin’ ninjas there that day,’ Don said.
‘There won’t be,’ Eddie assured him. ‘I shot ’em all.’ The firefighter’s expression wavered between amusement and a suspicion that the Englishman was not joking.
‘Everyone would love to see you. And Gino,’ said Nina.
Lola smiled. ‘Then we’ll come.’
‘Good! In the meantime, I think it’s time for some caffeine. What do you want?’
Lola and Don named their choices, then Nina turned to Eddie, only to find him looking at Gino, lost in thought. ‘Eddie?’
He snapped back. ‘Hmm?’
‘You okay?’
‘Yeah, yeah. Just thinking about something, that’s all. What?’
‘Coffee?’
‘I’ll get ’em. What’s everyone having?’
Nina stood. ‘It’s okay, I’ll go. You want your usual?’
‘Yeah, thanks.’
She headed for the counter, looking back to find him again seeming preoccupied before returning to the conversation.
The same look was on his face that evening.
Nina was curled up in an armchair reading a book, ignoring the television. She raised her eyes to see her husband, stretched out on the sofa, paying just as little attention to the events on screen. ‘Earth to Eddie.’
He blinked and lifted his head. ‘What?’
‘You were miles away. Penny for your thoughts?’
‘Sounds like a good deal,’ he said. ‘If I’d had a penny every time I’d had a thought, I’d probably have about… oh, three pounds seventeen by now.’
‘That much?’ They both smiled. ‘So what’s on your mind? You had that same look this afternoon when we were with Lola and Don.’
Eddie hesitated before replying. ‘I was thinking about… well, what Don said. About having kids.’ He sat up. ‘I’m wondering if he had a point. Do we want to have kids, and if we do, are we leaving it too late?’