‘Chilly out there?’ Oliver piped up, breaking the silence.
‘Yes. It is a bit. Nice though,’ I replied, the words sounding banal.
‘Good. Good.’
Silence fell again. I chewed the inside of my mouth. Oh, sod it. It wasn’t really my style to air dirty laundry in front of strangers, but bearing in mind Oliver had already been witness to the original argument, his being here while I tried to make up with my sister wasn’t exactly a huge deal.
‘I’m sorry you’re upset about the book club thing, Sally. I don’t want to fall out with you over it.’
‘It’s fine. I’ve texted Delilah. She’s going to host it when I’m not available. She’s probably dying to show off her new kitchen anyway. Not that she ever cooks, of course. But it is beautiful.’
‘What’s the point if she never cooks?’ I asked what I thought was a fairly reasonable question.
Sally looked at me and I guessed she was frowning. ‘Some people just like beautiful things to look at, Lottie.’
‘Oh… right,’ I said, understanding and not understanding at the same time. Giving a glance towards Oliver, I couldn’t help wondering if he was one of those people and, if he was, whether my sister cared. Perhaps just revelling in being that beautiful object was enough for her.
‘Tea is served,’ my dad announced in a deep, sombre voice as he entered holding a large silver tray filled with tea things. He put it down on the table and then bowed. He’d been doing this butler routine for decades, but it never failed to make us giggle. Even Sally.
‘Tea, m’lady?’ Oliver asked my mum, picking up on the thread and taking one of the delicate cups.
‘That would be lovely,’ she smiled, giving Sally an interested look, but Sally herself was distracted, a soft smile unseen by Oliver on her features.
Mum and Dad shifted their eyes to me and we all exchanged a quick look. Perhaps there was hope for this one after all.
10
‘How was the roast?’ Seb asked the next day as I scanned the email he’d sent at silly o’clock this morning, detailing the tasks he wanted me to do this week.
‘The food was great,’ I said, making a couple of notes, ‘although dinner itself was a little tense for a while.’
‘Anything you want to talk about?’
I shrugged. ‘No biggie. Just my sister not really getting the whole thing I did last year or what I’m doing this year.’
‘The years of yes and no, you mean?’
‘Yeah.’
He frowned. ‘Why does that make for a tense situation? Surely it’s your choice, even if she doesn’t get it.’
‘I don’t think she really cares what I do so long as it doesn’t affect her.’
‘Ah. And something is now affecting her? Let me guess. You told her no.’
I pulled a face. ‘I did.’
‘And it didn’t go down well.’
‘Let’s just say it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped it might.’
‘But you stuck to your guns?’
‘I did,’ I said, a little smile creeping on to my face that might have been pride. On the screen opposite me, Seb was wearing a bigger one.
‘Well done, you. I know you’ve said in the past that you’ve found it hard to stand up to her, so that’s great.’
‘It’s not that. Well, it is a bit. I suppose I just grew up looking up to her, and I always wanted to please her. And I guess that got into being a habit.’
