‘Eva speaking.’
There was a pause. ‘Hi, love.’
Eva froze. It had been years since she’d heard that voice, and even longer since it sounded like this. Clear and sharp.
‘Mum?’ Eva asked carefully. But she wasn’t questioning who the speaker was. More the idea of getting a call from her like they were a normal mum and daughter.
‘Yeah. It’s me.’
Eva closed her laptop slowly. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked because it was the only place to start.
‘I got my chip today,’ Patsy said. ‘One year.’
Eva didn’t speak immediately. ‘One year,’ she eventually repeated.
‘Yeah,’ Patsy said. ‘I thought you should know.’
Eva leaned back in her chair, her free hand pressing lightly against her forehead. A year. That wasn’t nothing. Not for Patsy. But it wasn’t enough for Eva.
‘That’s…’ she began, knowing it would be easy to wreck this for Patsy, then stopped. No point raking her over the coals. It wouldn’t change anything. ‘That’s really good, Mum.’
‘I know I’ve said it before,’ Patsy went on, quickly now, as if she needed to get it out before she lost her nerve. ‘About things being different. But this time, it actually is. I can do it this time.’
‘Is this call a step?’ Eva asked. ‘Amends?’
There was quiet for a moment. ‘I’m not going to do it if you don’t want it. And I could imagine you wouldn’t.’
Eva glanced out of the window, her reflection faint against the glass.
‘Have you heard from Dad?’ she asked after a moment, deciding not to tackle the question of whether she wanted to be apologised to for such a terrible start to her existence.
Patsy exhaled, slower this time. ‘No. We split up when I went into rehab.’
Eva nodded, absorbing that without surprise. Their relationship had always been held together by habit. One in particular.
‘Do you know where he is?’
‘Around,’ Patsy said vaguely. ‘He’ll be fine.’
That was probably true. Jeff had always had a way of landing on his feet, regardless of what happened to anyone else in the process. She wasn’t expecting an amends call fromhimanytime soon.
‘And you?’ Patsy asked, her tone shifting slightly. ‘How are you?’
Eva hesitated, just briefly. There were a dozen possible answers. But none that her mother deserved.
‘I’m good,’ she said finally. ‘Work’s busy.’
‘Still fixing everyone else’s weddings?’
‘Something like that.’
Patsy gave a small, familiar laugh. ‘You were always good at sorting things out.’
‘Someone had to.’
Patsy took a big pause. ‘I don’t want anything,’ she said after a moment. ‘Just wanted you to know. About the year.’
‘I’m glad you told me,’ Eva said. And she was.
