Stella shook her head. ‘It’s not worth repeating; it was nothing.’
The last thing she wanted was to stir him up – or the children, for that matter. She’d rather make light of the incident.
Jon wasn’t going to let it go, though. He opened his mouth to speak, but Louise interrupted.
‘We stopped by the bay to look at a painting she was doing. She made a couple of stupid comments about our appearance, that was all. I don’t think she meant any harm, but we were keen to get away.’
She turned to Amelia. ‘Can you clear the plates and bring out the dessert, please? I’ve put some bowls on the countertop. We can use those.’
‘Great,’ Hector muttered. ‘A lunatic in our midst.’
Louise shot him a look which made him shut up, and he rose reluctantly to help Will and the girls with the plates.
While the others were in the kitchen, Louise asked after Jon’s daughter, Jemima. He confirmed she was still enjoying university and had a new boyfriend, Ahmed.
‘Have you met him?’ Louise wanted to know.
He shook his head. ‘Not yet. Maybe she’ll bring him home in the summer. She’s talking about going to Thailand and Cambodia with him.’
‘Gosh! That’s adventurous. How do you feel about it?’
Jon flapped an arm clumsily in front of his face, knocking over his empty glass, which he left on its side.
‘It’s fine, you know, they’ve got to grow up.’ His speech was slow and deliberate. ‘I told Stella earlier, it’s time I moved on from Harriet. Jemima should, too.’
His gaze fell on Stella, who stared at her plate and wished he’d have the sense to call it a night.
‘Oh!’ Louise’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Well, that’s good, I guess…’
She was sitting beside Stella and reached out to touch her hand.
‘You okay?’ she whispered.
Stella nodded uncertainly. ‘Ish. I mean, it’s difficult for me to hear, as you can imagine, but I’m sure it’s the right thing.’
Louise and the girls devoured the sticky tart but the others didn’t want any. Jon cast around for more wine, but Stella had screwed the top firmly on the bottle of white and hidden it by her feet.
‘I’d better go to bed,’ Jon said at last, rising unsteadily and grabbing the back of his chair for support.
Lily giggled and at his mother’s behest, Will leaped up to offer help.
‘Nah, I’ll be okay.’ Jon flapped his arm again dismissively before staggering towards the door.
‘Sleep well,’ Stella called after him, and he gave a drunken thumbs up before stumbling on the first step. Luckily, he managed to right himself just in time.
Once he’d gone, Stella and Louise exchanged glances.
‘He’s very drunk, isn’t he?’ Lily sounded in awe. She’d sobered up completely, having been allowed soft drinks only since returning from Porto Liakáda, and she looked happy but exhausted.
Hector laughed nastily. ‘Absolutely rat arsed.’
Amelia couldn’t stop yawning and had black bags under her eyes. Louise said she and Stella would clear up.
‘You all go to bed. Thanks for getting the pizza.’
While the two women were bent over, loading the dishwasher, Stella felt the need to apologise for Jon’s behaviour.
‘He drank practically a whole bottle of wine in Porto Liakáda before we even got here. I really didn’t want any but he was dead keen. With luck, he’ll have calmed down by tomorrow and won’t get so carried away.’
