AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER 2
“Chloe! Tea’s on the table,” Sam Trescott shouted up the stairs to his daughter. He knew she’d be plugged into her iPod, her music too loud for her young ears. Another minute and he’d knock on her door.
He returned to the stove and turned down the potatoes that were boiling, while reading a text from his mate, Daryl, asking if he was up for an impromptu game of badminton. Sam texted Daryl back: Sorry, can’t do tonight. No babysitter.
Sometimes his mates forgot it was just him and Chloe. His sister Heather and her husband Tom stepped in as often as they could, but tonight wasn’t their usual night to help.
OK mate, Daryl replied. Have you tried that online dating site yet?
Sam shook his head at the text. “Give me a chance, Daryl,” he said out loud as he typed: No, not yet. Daryl had only mentioned it last weekend. Sam still wasn’t sure, but Heather was also nagging him to start dating again. Now Joe, his younger brother, was settling down — much to the family’s surprise — Heather was keen to see that Sam was too.
He’d been a widower for four years and still couldn’t bring himself to think seriously about meeting another woman. He’d tried dating too soon after Jade had died from cancer. It had been disastrous. Every woman he’d met, he’d compared to Jade. It had just made him miss his wife even more. If it hadn’t been for Chloe, he didn’t know where his life would be.
Even now, he couldn’t shift the thought that it would be a betrayal to his wife, to sleep with another woman. Daryl, younger than Sam and single, had told him many times that he was allowed to date again. Daryl didn’t understand that dating any other woman felt like trying to find a replacement. Maybe it would feel different, if he’d been like some of his friends who’d divorced or separated, having fallen out of love with their partners. But his love for Jade hadn’t died when she had.
“No, it’s not!”
Sam turned to see Chloe, her expression disapproving with her hands on her hips. OnlyacouplemoreyearsandI’llhaveateenagegirltocontendwith, he thought. He had never imagined the attitude would creep in from the age of eleven.
“No, it’s not what?” Sam asked as patiently as he could, ignoring the tone his daughter was taking with him.
“You said tea was on the table. And it’s not. Clearly.”
“Oh, right, sorry, no. I said that, love, because usually you take forever to come to the table. Have you washed your hands?”
“Yes,” Chloe said with a huff.
“Chloe, less of the attitude please.”
Sam heard another unladylike grunt from his daughter as she took her seat. Concerned he was running late to dish up dinner, he quickly drained the new potatoes, sharing them between the two plates. The steaks were done; he flipped them onto the plate from the frying pan, then shared out the baby carrots and green beans, and poured peppercorn sauce onto his own plate. He would leave Chloe to pour her own, so he placed the jug on the table.
“Can’t I have tomato ketchup?”
“No, you can’t have tomato ketchup and ruin a good steak.”
“I want ketchup.”
“You won’t get anything if you forget your manners. What’s the matter with you, anyway?”
“I want to go to Amber’s next weekend.” Chloe sat, arms folded, knife and fork still lying either side of her plate. “But you said I could never go to Amber’s again!”
“Oh.” Sam picked up his own cutlery. He had said that, very angrily, on the way home in the car after collecting Chloe, who had looked a mess. “I’ll think about it.”
“You always say that!” Chloe huffed. “And then you always say no.” She glared. “You make some excuse we have plans, but I’d rather see my best friend!”
“Oh.” Frowning, Sam cut his steak.
It had been a few months since that party, and Heather had lectured him enough over his overreaction to Chloe looking like some eighties rock chick. She’d laughed, saying how her girls always found her make-up. She’d been more disappointed Sam hadn’t snapped a photo on his phone. He still wasn’t sure about Amber’s mother leaving the two girls unattended; his forgiveness wouldn’t quite stretch that far yet. Heather seemed to think he was overreacting about that too — but he didn’t agree. Although Jade had used to accuse him of being stubborn…
“Oh, Dad, please can I go? Amber’s grandparents are taking them to Bristol Zoo. She’s allowed to take a friend.”
Maybe this would be a good test to build bridges with Amber’s family. The two girls were clearly great friends, and Amber had certainly helped Chloe settle into her new life. In fact, she missed her mother less and loved school more these days.
And possibly Chloe needed to be rewarded. She was a good girl — mostly — and moving to Portishead could have gone one of two ways, but she was thriving.
Now eleven, this September Chloe would be moving up to secondary school. Maybe Sam needed to let go of the reins a bit and let his not so little girl gain some independence. Maybe Heather was right and he was being too overprotective. It was so hard to know what to do for the best — and he was the only one making that decision now, without Jade to discuss things with.
“Okay, you can tell Amber you can go,” he said with a sigh.
