AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What are their names?”
I swear she winces as she mumbles, “Angelina and Brad.”
“Are you serious?” I laugh out loud, and she rewards me with a scowl. “Listen, my sister was a huge fan and wanted to honour that fact by naming her children after them. She believed having successful names would give them a good start in life and she must be applauded for that.”
“I suppose. I mean, it could have been a lot worse. What if she was a fan of the Teletubbies? I wouldn’t wish those names on my worst enemy, even though they were a very successful brand making millions and adored by all.”
“You make a valid point.” She sighs. “Do you want children, Robert?”
“I never really gave it much thought.”
“Me neither.”
I’m surprised because I thought all women wanted children. Mind you, Jessica is different to most and she shrugs. “I never decidednotto have them. I just never envisioned I’d reach that point.”
“What do you mean?”
I’m a little confused, and she says briskly, “I couldn’t see myself married with two kids and a mortgage, I suppose. It didn’t tick any of my boxes, and all I wanted was to be a detective. I saw nothing past that and when Sally had her own family, I wanted it even less.”
She laughs softly, which makes me smile because I am fast realising I love it when she does.
“You say, saw.” I nudge gently and she shrugs again. “Did I?”
She offers no more explanation and settles back in her seat and gazes out of the window at the landscape flashing past.
“Do you have any sisters or brothers, Robert?”
Her question comes from nowhere and I say ruefully, “No. I wish I had, though.”
“It’s not that great, trust me.”
“Don’t you get on with your sister, then?”
“We’re different people. To be honest, we’re only in each other’s lives because of our parents. Sally is nothing like me, way more dramatic and content to drift along in life. Me, well, I always wanted more.”
“And you achieved that. You should be proud of yourself.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” I’m surprised that she is so down on herself because I would have thought becoming a detective at a young age was an amazing step up and she says sadly, “When I got my badge, I considered I’d made it. To be honest, I’m still waiting.”
“Are you saying this job isn’t good enough?” I gently tease, and a small smile flickers across her lips.
“It will do.”
As I turn onto the road where the school is, I stare in disbelief at the lines of traffic all jostling for space on the side of the road. “What’s happening?”
She grins. “You’re about to discover the joys of the playground mafia. Don’t worry, you have the best protection there is.”
Before she even draws breath, she shrieks, “Indicate.”
Without waiting for me to react, she does it for me and I can see why as a delivery van drives out of a space opening like a desert mirage before us.
A honking horn on the other side of the road reveals a furious woman who is gesticulating in a rather shocking manner, and, to my surprise, Jessica merely raises her middle finger and grins at me with triumph. “That showed her.”
The woman screeches past, and I say with amusement, “You may have forgotten she could be in the same playground as you. Aren’t you afraid of anyone?”
“No.” She shrugs and unfastens her seatbelt. “I can disarm a criminal, knock an assailant out — from behind me and restrain a grown man. I’m not afraid of a mother driving a Volvo estate. The children inside that school, though, they scare the pants off me.”
