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“Everything quiet there, Caitlin?” Sean reached past Liza and stole an olive. “House still standing? No calls to the emergency services... What?... Yes, of course I’m joking.” He gave Liza a look that said, You see? I’m checking on them. “Make sure you lock up properly before you go to bed. And check you haven’t left the freezer door open.”
Liza sprinkled chopped garlic over baby tomatoes, red onion and peppers and put them in the oven to roast.
“That smells good.” Sean hung up. “The twins sound fine. They’re having a quiet night in and all is well.”
“What about the party?”
“You told them they couldn’t go.”
“Since when did anyone listen to me?” Liza sliced a sourdough loaf and pulled butter out of the fridge.
“They obviously are listening to you.”
She felt guilty for not being as trusting as he was. “Did you talk to Alice?”
“No. Why?”
Because she wasn’t as good a liar as her sister.
Caitlin was very much the dominant one.
“Nothing. Ignore me.”
Why didn’t she feel reassured? It was that look Caitlin had given her before she’d left the house. The yes Mum, that didn’t mean yes at all.
These were her children. She loved them more than anything. She should trust them too. She was never going to heal the relationship unless there was trust involved. She was going to be more like Sean, and always assume the best and not the worst.
“Thank you for checking. I appreciate it.” She kissed Sean on the cheek and took the glass of wine he offered.
The first sip was bliss, like tasting sunshine in a glass. Some of the tension left her.
They ate dinner outside, watching the sun dip over the fields and the ocean in the distance.
Popeye appeared, as he so often did when there was food to be had.
They talked about the trip, and Liza talked about the summer plans for France, and carefully resisted all temptation to urge her mother to be careful.
She closed her eyes, savoring the wine and the sunshine until the air grew chilly. When the sky darkened, she cleared the plates into the kitchen and Kathleen headed for bed.
Liza had the feeling she would have been as happy to be alone.
It was clear that her mother was frustrated by her attempts to be caring, and Liza didn’t know how not to care.
“We should have an early night too,” she said to Sean. “All that sea air has made me tired.”
Feeling isolated and unappreciated, she took ages in the bathroom and was relieved to find Sean already asleep when she eventually slid into bed next to him.
It took a long time for her to fall asleep but eventually she did and she was dreaming of the South of France when Sean’s phone rang.
He groped for it in the dark and Liza switched on the light, heart pounding.
“Is it the girls?”
He focused on the screen. “No, it’s Margaret and Peter from next door. Why on earth would they be calling in the middle of the night?” He sat up and answered the phone. “Margaret? Yes—don’t worry about that—” He listened and rubbed his hand over his face. “You’re kidding—oh no—”
“What?” Liza mouthed the question but he shook his head and held up his hand.
“All I can do is apologize... Yes, absolutely. We’ll leave now, but it will take four hours to get home. Of course you called the police—I understand.”
