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When they returned to the house, she’d put Izzie to bed, and had stayed in their room until the little girl had fallen asleep, then she’d rounded up Jake and Sam and had persuaded them that they should retire, too. By this time most of the others had also gone to bed, although she didn’t venture upstairs to check who was still up, for fear of running into Ron.
The following morning had been bittersweet, as she was sad to leave Rest Bay and all the memories that she had made with Ron. She was also glad to go because her holiday romance was well and truly over, and she needed to get away from him to lick her wounds and give her heart a chance to heal. The drive back had been quiet, the children snoozing in the back, and she’d realised that the last day or so had been a drain on them. Annabelle had also felt wrung out, her emotions all over the place. One second she was consumed with anger at Troy, and the next she was filled with sadness at the thought of what they could have had if only he hadn’t been such a prat.
After that, a much deeper heartache rose in her chest, and she thought about what she’d had with Ron, and how easily it had slipped through her fingers. In such a short space of time she’d given herself to him completely, body and heart, and now she was paying the price for her recklessness. She knew it would be a long time before she got over Ron, and she’d carry both the joy of knowing him and the sorrow of losing him with her for the rest of her life.
‘There’s Granny and Grandad!’ Izzie cried, pulling Annabelle out of her reverie and bringing her back to the present.
School uniform, that’s what she should be concentrating on, not lost loves or broken hearts. Her children could do with her full attention, otherwise she might end up buying something totally inappropriate, or had the wrong logo on or something.
‘Where?’ she asked, and looked in the direction Izzie was pointing. Annabelle squinted. ‘Yes. I think it might be.’
Her mum and dad were standing outside an estate agent’s window, peering through the glass. Her mum had her hands cupped around her eyes, and Annabelle wondered what on earth they were doing. She was even more puzzled when her dad took hold of her mum’s elbow and led her inside.
That was something else that was bothering her: Annabelle’s parents had returned from their cruise shortly after Annabelle and the children had arrived home from Rest Bay, and they had been acting oddly ever since. For a start, Annabelle would have expected her mum to have spent that first morning doing all the laundry, but she hadn’t. Instead, May had informed her that they were off out, and she and Terence had left the unpacking and the laundry, and had disappeared out for a few hours. When they’d come back, they had still been acting very strangely. When the phone rang, her dad had gone outside to answer it, and Annabelle’s mum had followed him, and every so often they would send furtive glances back at the house as though they were checking they weren’t being overheard. Annabelle had been fascinated, wondering what could be going on, but it all became clear when she saw them going into the estate agent today – they were looking for somewhere for her to live.
She closed her eyes and opened them again slowly, feeling slightly nauseous. She knew it wasn’t ideal moving back in with her parents and bringing two children with her, and it must be hard for them, having lived on their own for so many years, to suddenly have a house full. They must have had a good long talk about it during their holiday, and had arrived at the conclusion that they wanted her out.
It was all very well them trawling around estate agents to look for a suitable place for her, but there was no way she could afford to rent anywhere until she found a job. She hadn’t had much luck yet, but she was trying, and she must have applied for about twenty positions in the past few days. Every time her phone rang, or vibrated with a message, she hoped it would be good news and that someone wanted to interview her. So far, nothing. She wasn’t giving up hope yet, though – she was a damn good administrator, even if she did say so herself, and sooner or later someone would recognise her qualities and give her a chance. But until that happened there was no way she could afford to pay rent, plus all the other bills, on a home of her own. Goodness knows what her parents were thinking.
Briefly she wondered whether she should follow them inside and confront them, but then she remembered she had the children with her, so it wouldn’t be a very good idea.
Annabelle shifted her concerns to the back of her mind and got the list out of her bag. It was time to tackle the dreaded school uniform shop, and worry about what her parents were up to later. If she didn’t sort the children out, she’d be in hot water with the school before they’d even started.
