He didn’t really want to tell her; she’d only worry. But he wasn’t about to lie to her either. “Monty’s new owners returned him to the shelter.” Blowing out a breath, he rubbed the back of his neck. Sending him back now would mean he’d be in there over Christmas. No chance of being put up for re-homing until the new year.
“Poor Monty.” She had the same expression Oliver was certain he’d worn when he found out. But then she started to look around, eyebrows scrunching together, and bless her, he knew exactly what she was thinking.
“You can’t take him, Betty.” He shook his head. “He needs to be the only cat.”
“I know, but...” She let out a deep sigh. “Poor thing. Did they say why he was returned?”
Oliver scowled. “Apparently the family who took him in got a new kitten, and Monty didn’t get on with it.” Which is why he’d been sent to a one-cat home in the first place, for fuck’s sake. “So they kept the kitten and returned Monty.”
Betty tutted. “What’s wrong with people?” She looked at him as though he held all the answers.
“I don’t know, Betty. I really don’t.”
OLIVER’S MUM, Sam, and Betty’s daughter, Claire, arrived home around lunchtime on Thursday the nineteenth.
Oliver had offered to take the day off work and pick them up from the airport, but his mum insisted they’d be okay catching the train. Picking them up from the station was his compromise.
“Oliver!” his mum shouted to him across the station car park, like he hadn’t spotted her a mile off anyway. Bright pink hair blowing about her face, she grinned at him, waving like mad as he made his way over to them. Claire was sporting blue streaks in her shoulder-length bob, and Oliver laughed as they came within earshot.
“I see Mum’s rubbing off on you.”
Claire’s grin was almost as wide as his mum’s. “Of course.” She fingered one of the blue strands, pulling it forward to look at it. “Just like old times.”
Oliver shook his head but gave each of them a hug, holding onto his mum for a little bit longer. Claire was like the aunt he didn’t have, but he’d really missed his mum. Six weeks was the longest he’d ever been without seeing her.
After grabbing their luggage, he led them over to his car and loaded everything in.
“So,” Claire said as they set off towards home. “Betty tells me you’ve got a new boyfriend?”
Thankfully they were stopped at traffic lights, so Oliver was in no danger of crashing when he turned to look at her in the back seat. “When did she tell you that?” He’d seen Ed a few times since they’d decided to be more than friends, stopped over twice, but Betty had been asleep both times when he’d left and when he’d snuck back in before work. He didn’t think she’d noticed.
Not that he was hiding anything by coming back early in the morning; it was easier to get ready in his own house, that was all.
“Last week when I phoned her. Said you were sneaking in and out of the house like I used to do.” Both Claire and his mum laughed at that. “Except she used to shout at me, whereas she thinks you’re cute.”
“I am cute.” The lights changed and Oliver set off again. “So, um... did she say anything else?”
His mum shared a smirk with Claire, then turned in her seat. Oliver felt her eyes on him as she spoke. “She said your new boyfriend is, and I quote, ‘Elise’s very handsome nephew who moved in next door.’?”
Right.
“He’s not staying.”
“Staying where?” His mum looked confused for a minute.
Oliver spent a lot of his time trying not to think about the fact Ed was leaving after Christmas. Date still yet to be confirmed. So it took him a moment to reply. “Ed. He’s not staying in the bungalow indefinitely. He’s moving up to Nottingham sometime in the new year.”
“Oh.” She reached over and patted his knee. “Well, Nottingham’s not that far, is it?”
“I guess.” Considering his mum and Claire had just flown over eleven thousand miles, then no, it really wasn’t. But he got the feeling that wasn’t the kind of relationship Ed wanted. And if he was honest, he didn’t either. It was all still so new. Would they survive weeks spent apart?
“Hey.” His mum patted his knee again. “It’ll work out.”
“Yeah.” Oliver wasn’t so sure. The more time he spent with Ed, the more certain he became that Ed was having second thoughts about going. Not that he’d voiced them. But Ed was stubborn. He’d set this move in motion, and no matter what doubts he might have, Oliver couldn’t see him changing his mind.
BETTY HAD the door open before they’d even got out of the car.
Since it was just dropping dark, most of the street was lit up outside with Christmas lights.
