‘What?’
‘I bumped into Rita the other day and she said Rob had been around, looking for you.’
‘Oh. At our old flat?’
‘Yeah. You didn’t tell him you moved?’
‘No. I suppose I should have. I just didn’t think of it.’ That wasn’t entirely true. It had occurred to her fleetingly that she should tell him she and Jack were moving to Dingle, but she had dismissed the idea almost immediately and hadn’t thought of it again. ‘Actually, I did think maybe I should contact him, but I didn’t think he’d be interested, so I didn’t bother.’
‘Well, I can’t imagine what made you think that,’ Karen said dryly.
‘Then I just forgot about it.’ She’d been focused on getting everything set up in their new home and it had gone out of her head. ‘So what did he want?’
‘I don’t know. To spend time with his son, I suppose, like the devoted dad he’s always been?’
‘Yeah, right. He was probably looking for money. It can’t have been very important anyway or he’d have called me. He has my number. When was this?’
‘I’m not sure – some night this week. Rita said she told him you’d moved but she didn’t have your new address. She wasn’t sure if you’d want him to know where you were.’
Lou frowned. ‘Well, I wasn’t deliberately trying to hide it from him. I should have told him we were moving.’
‘You don’t owe him anything, Lou.’
‘No, but just as a formality. Jack is his son, so I suppose he has a right to know where he lives. And he’s his next of kin.’ She felt a chill at the thought of Jack being left to rely on Rob’s less than tender mercy. ‘Even though he’s the last person I’d want looking after Jack.’ She’d made Karen his legal guardian if anything happened to her, for that very reason.
‘Well, I don’t think you need to worry about him fighting for his fatherly rights, do you?’
‘No, I guess not.’ She sighed. ‘But I’ll let him know our new address, just so he can never accuse me of trying to keep him from his son.’
‘And then sit back and wait for him to swing by.’
‘Yeah.’ Lou laughed. ‘Laden down with presents for Jack.’
‘Anyway, on a more cheerful note, I met a guy on Tinder the other night and I’m seeing him again tomorrow.’
‘Oh, interesting. Tell me more…’
Lou forgot about Rob as Karen told her about her date and the chat moved to more light-hearted topics. She was smiling to herself as they ended the call. Talking to Karen always put her in a good mood.
But a sense of unease took over as her thoughts returned to Rob. She sank back against the sofa cushions, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth. They hadn’t seen him in years, so why had he suddenly come looking for them now? Despite what Karen said, she couldn’t help feeling a little guilty that she hadn’t informed him of the move, if only as a courtesy. If hewassuddenly interested in being a father to Jack, she didn’t want to stand in his way, even though she hated the thought of him being back in their lives.
She sighed, toying with her phone. She couldn’t bear the thought of talking to Rob, so she decided to take the easy way out and text him. She typed a quick message to him with their new address, then tossed the phone aside like it was on fire. She’d done her duty, and she’d probably never hear from Rob ever again.
She poured herself another glass of wine and had just flicked on the TV when her phone rang. A chill ran through her as she saw Rob’s name flashing up on the screen. She froze, considering not answering it for a moment. Then she told herselfnot to be such a wuss, lowered the volume on the TV and picked up.
‘Lou!’ She could hear the smile in his smooth, oleaginous voice. It was hard to believe it had once set her pulses racing. Now it just made her skin crawl.
‘Hi, Rob,’ she said flatly.
‘So you’ve moved to Kerry – you’re a culchie now!’
‘Yeah. I heard you were round the flat the other day, looking for me. Was there anything in particular you wanted?’
‘Only to see you, sweetheart. And Jack, of course.’
‘Of course.’
‘I thought that old bat across the way might know where you’d gone. I’m a bit hurt you didn’t tell me you were moving halfway across the country and I had to hear it from someone else.’
