‘Oh. Great, thanks Trish. . . Hi, Dad, how are you?’
‘Good, love. How are you?’
‘Oh, busy as usual,’ I reply, my mind racing as to why he’scalling. ‘What’s up?’
‘I just wanted to let you know that the sofa came this morning. Cracking-looking thing. It’s a beauty.’
‘Brilliant,’ I reply. ‘I’d forgotten it was coming, you’ll need to send me a photo.’
‘I will,’ he says. ‘I’ll get Sandra to take one on her phone, the camera’s better.’
‘Sandra?’
‘Yes, the cleaner you hired. Sandra.’
I laugh. ‘Of course. Sorry, for a second, I thought you had some new woman stashed away. She’s working out well, then?’
‘Very well,’ he replies. ‘Beautiful woman. A godsend, really.’
‘Dad . . .’
He doesn’t reply.
‘Dad . . .’
‘Well . . .’
‘Oh, Dad, you’re not shagging the bloody cleaner, are you?’
‘She’s amazing, Katie! You’ll really like her.’
‘Of course I will. I hired her!’
‘Don’t be like that.’
‘Like what? You’re the one who said your therapist thought it would be inadvisable to enter into any new relationships while you’re focusing on your sobriety.’
‘Yeah, about that. . . I didn’t think she was quite the right fit for me, so I’m not seeing her anymore.’
‘Dad, are you drinking again?’
‘No. I promise.’
I sigh, unsure whether I believe him or not. ‘So you’re involved with the cleaner and you’ve fired your therapist?’
‘Yes.’
‘But the couch is good?’
‘Oh, yes.’
‘Great. OK, Dad, nice to hear from you. I’d better get back.Speak soon.’
I stuff the rest of the biscotti into my mouth and crunch loudly. Deciding to help my dad get back on his feet has been more stressful than I anticipated. It’s absolutely his right to find a therapist he feels comfortable with and to start seeing someone new, regardless of whether she’s there to clean or not. I just have to trust him. And that’s the problem. I’m not ready to.
Ed
‘You should do one of those singing competitions,’ Graham says, getting started on his third pint. ‘You know likeX-Factoror Britain’s Got Idiots or whatever it’s called. You’ve got that sad puppy-dog face those kinds of shows want. They could film you in school pretending you really like teaching, while also having a broken heart which only fame can heal.’
