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‘Greg seemed like a sensible boy – steady job, rents his own place.’
Minnie exhaled loudly. Her mother watched her closely, cogs whirring. ‘He ditched you?’
‘Not exactly,’ said Minnie.
‘Oh Minnie, you’re not twenty-one any more. When are you going to learn to stick something out?’
Minnie shook her head. She felt a tide of tears build instantly behind her eyes. Her mother’s words had knocked a barely healed scab and the skin beneath was paper-thin.
She watched her mother go through the ritual of making tea, pouring the water from a height, pressing the teabag against the side of the cup with the back of a spoon. There was something strangely comforting about the way her mother made tea.
‘I fell out with Leila too, so now I’m totally mate-less.’
Minnie felt her shoulders start to heave and suddenly she was sobbing uncontrollably. Her mother was not usually good with tears, yet to Minnie’s surprise she put an arm around her, led Minnie through to the lounge and sat her down with the cup of tea she’d made for herself. Through sniffing sobs she extracted the whole sorry tale from Minnie; about the fight with Leila, the conversation with Ian, Quinn trying to help them out by ordering pies for his clients but none of it being enough to rescue the business.
Her mother listened patiently, only making the occasional ‘tssking’ sound as Minnie spoke. She stood by the window titivating the net curtains to ensure they were evenly spaced along the rail. Once Minnie had finished, she came and sat next to her on the sofa.
‘It sounds to me like you’re better off out of it,’ she said with a sigh.
Minnie closed her eyes. Why had she been expecting sympathy from her mother?
‘Can I tell you something, Minnie? I always used to think that if you worked hard and you did right by people, life would come out OK. I had this sense the world was fair somehow.’
Minnie opened her eyes and met her mother’s gaze reflected in the blank television screen. ‘When you were born, if I hadn’t helped that woman, we might have won that money, life might have been easier. But it went to her – someone with more money than she could know what to do with. The injustice of it got to me.’ Minnie listenedquietly, turning to watch her mother’s profile. ‘Still, your father and I got on, tried to save, to give you and your brother the best lives we could. Then we lost it all – bad luck, wrong timing, or your father took too big a risk. I don’t know.’
‘It wasn’t Dad’s fault. You can’t blame him, Mum,’ said Minnie.
‘Maybe, maybe not.’ Her mother finally turned to look at Minnie. ‘Never put your chips on someone’s gamble, that’s all I ever wanted you to learn, Minnie. I don’t think this business was ever likely to end well, Minnie, not with your luck.’ She patted Minnie’s leg. ‘You can’t change the wind, it’s always gonna blow. All you can do is plant your feet firmer on the ground,’ she sighed.
‘I always feel like you’re so disappointed in me, Mum,’ said Minnie, hanging her head.
‘You’re too sensitive, love,’ said her mother, reaching out to push a curl behind Minnie’s ear. ‘You always have been. It’s hard for a parent to see her child struggle, and you seem to struggle more than most. I won’t always be here to pick up the pieces.’ Minnie closed her eyes and dropped her head onto her mother’s shoulder. ‘Maybe just avoid taking any more big risks for a while, love.’
‘OK, Mum.’ Minnie let out a sigh. ‘I’m going to go to bed.’
As she got up and headed for the stairs, Minnie suddenly felt calmer than she had done in weeks.
‘Minnie,’ her mother called softly after her. ‘This Quinn Hamilton’s got nothing to do with you ending things with Greg, has he?’
‘No, why? What makes you say that?’ Minnie was taken aback; it was strange to hear her mother mention Quinn’s name.
‘I just wouldn’t trust someone like that, you’ll only end up disappointed. You need someone cut from the same cloth as you, someone who knows what life’s about.’
‘I thought you’d be all for me marrying him then divorcing him and getting that fifty grand back?’ Minnie said with a smile.
Her mother’s mouth twitched in amusement. ‘You don’t need someone else’s money love, you’ll be all right.’
New Year’s Eve 2010
Twenty-nine pounds for sea bream on a bed of samphire and wild rice; twenty-nine pounds! Quinn did some quick mental arithmetic; if they had three courses and the cheapest wine on the menu, this was still going to set him back a hundred and fifty quid. The restaurant was on the top floor of a hotel. Outside he could see the huge expanse of Hyde Park, beautifully illuminated by moonlight and round pools of light from the street lamps, which lined its long wide avenues. The Serpentine looked like a black mirror, still and glassy. The whole park glowed with a pink aura bleeding from the city lights, cocooning it in dark tranquillity. At midnight they’d be able to see firework displays all over London.
When Quinn had reserved the table one month in advance, he’d been on hold for an hour. Now he saw the prices on the menu he knew he’d overstretched himself trying to impress Polly. He closed the menu sharply. There was no point worrying about the bill now; she would love it, that was all that mattered.
‘Quinn, the bathroom is bigger than my flat,’ said Polly in hushed excitement as she returned to the table. ‘We could set up a dance floor in there later.’ She giggled, picking up the napkin from her chair and slipping into the seat opposite.
Polly had short blonde hair and a delicate angular face. She had prominent cheekbones that gave her face a beautifulelfin quality, yet her deep blue eyes transmitted a steely intelligence.
‘Are you sure you can afford this?’ she whispered, lifting a hand to cover her mouth.
