AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve been so focused on Irene, the shock of seeing Shaun embracing his ex on the high street last week has faded into the background. He’s working all hours to put the final touches to the job at Brambleberry Manor so we don’t get a chance to meet up, but we speak every couple of days.
I admit, at first, I was worried that he’d been seeing Harriet all the time, behind my back. But then Shaun actually mentioned himself, with no prompting at all from me, that he’d bumped into Harry, as he calls her, in the village and they’d had a long chat. She was going through a horrible time at work, apparently, and needed some reassurance. After they’d talked, she’d admitted she was really missing him, and she’d kissed him.
And that, as it turned out, was all the reassuranceIneeded. Their meeting was all perfectly innocent. Deep down, I think I already knew it was. Shaun was too lovely to mess me about and see his ex behind my back. I was quite certain about that.
Lois has been spending a lot of time at Rory’s, I guess because it’s easier to avoid Irene.
But when I return from my morning shift at the café, I’m shocked to walk in on Lois and Irene having a row in the kitchen.
‘Don’t youdaretry to make excuses!’ Lois is yelling, brandishing the little teddy I saw in her bedroom drawer. ‘I was making my own bloody packed lunch when I was six because I had a mother who couldn’t give two hoots about my welfare. I could have starved to death and you probably wouldn’t even have noticed! So don’t you dare try to give me some “poor me” sob story to excuse your behaviour. I’ll never, ever forgive you for telling me lies about my real dad. I’ve kept this stupid teddy all these years. But hey, guess what? It turned out to be just a random toy that you bought me. It had nothing at all to do with my dad. The only place it belongs is in the bin.’
She hurls the teddy at the pedal bin and storms past me in the doorway, charging up the stairs and slamming the door so hard that the whole house shakes.
Irene is standing by the kettle, arms clutched around her stomach, staring at the abandoned teddy on the floor. She reaches down and picks it up. ‘Lois is right, of course,’ she says sadly. ‘It’s just something I bought to back up my lie.’ She slumps down in a chair.
‘Are you all right?’
She gives a wry grin. ‘Surprisingly, I am. I’ve been sober for almost a week and it’s been nothing short of hell. But today... well, I thought I might have turned a bit of a corner, which is why I felt strong enough to try and talk to my daughter. But...’ She shrugs uselessly, still staring at the teddy on the table in front of her.
‘Oh, but that’s great, Irene. About being sober, I mean.’ I smile encouragingly, privately cursing Lois for not even bothering to hear Irene out. ‘Honestly, you’re doing so well.’
She snorts. ‘Don’t get too excited, Clara. I’m excruciatingly aware that I could fall off the wagon at any moment.’
‘But you won’t.’
‘No. I won’t. Despite my dear daughter thinking I’m the witch from hell... Professor Bloody Umbridge reincarnated.’
I laugh. ‘Considering you profess to hate Harry Potter, you seem to know an awful lot about the characters.’
She looks down. ‘Harry and I have something in common. We were both locked in cupboards under the stairs by horrible relatives.’
‘Really?’ I stare at her. ‘Your aunts didthatto you?’
‘Oh, yes. And I could tell from their secret smiles that it gave them a real kick to see me so terrified of the dark.’
My heart swoops in sympathy. ‘Oh, Irene. Is that why you find Harry Potter so hard to watch?’
She nods. ‘Daft really. It’s just fiction.’
‘Well, yes. Butyourstory isn’t made up. Your story happens to be heartbreakingly true.’ I shake my head. ‘I can see exactly why watching Harry being treated badly would still resonate with you all these years later.’
‘Oh, giving you some sob story, is she?’ sneers Lois, walking back in and pulling open the fridge.
‘It’s not a sob story, Lois,’ I snap. ‘It’s actually incredibly tragic, if you would onlylistento your mum.’
She glares at me. ‘Yeah, well, not interested.’ Without even a glance in Irene’s direction, she grabs a bottle of mineral water, slams the fridge door and marches out.
I look at Irene and she shrugs wearily, as if it’s all in a day’s work. I’m worried she’ll disappear up to her room again, but she stays downstairs and even offers to make dinner.
‘Great!’ I smile, taken aback.Can Irene even cook?‘What are we having?’
‘Spaghetti Bolognese.’
‘Excellent choice. Right, I’ll let you get on with it.’
It’s been a while since she made a meal– when she was doing on-line dating, she was eating out all the time– so of course she hasn’t a clue where everything is in the kitchen and she keeps calling for help. In the end, I start to think I might as well have made the damn spaghetti dish myself. But I’m not annoyed. Quite the opposite. Bertie is delighted to see his mum in the kitchen, and we end up having a really lovely time.
‘Go and tell Lois we’re having spaghetti,’ I tell him, just before we sit down to eat.
