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Hannah raised her hands in frustration. ‘Who’s Mel?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Luke, breaking the corner off a slab of cheese and putting the clingfilm back. ‘I just heard about Graham and a woman called Mel, from the guy in the Co-Op. I think she’s moved away now, though.’
Hannah threw her hands up in frustration. ‘OK, so why didn’t you tell me about any of this?’
Luke looked away guiltily. ‘I asked Mum if I should, and she made me promise not to. She said there was no proof, and it was a sin to gossip.’
Hannah took deep breaths through her nose, her fists clenched. ‘And adultery is fine, is it?’
Luke shrugged helplessly. ‘You know what she’s like, she made me SWEAR. She said it was between you and Graham.’
‘And Sonia, and Mel and Lucy, apparently.’
‘Who’s Lucy?’
‘Never mind.’
Luke gasped excitedly. ‘Wait. If Graham’s gone, can I move in here?’
‘What? No.’
‘I need to get out of Mum’s. She’s doing my head in.’
‘Then move out. Rent somewhere. You’ve got a job.’
‘I can’t.’ Luke put a slice of bread in the toaster and started opening cupboards in search of something to put on it. His hand wavered between peanut butter and raspberry jam, then skipped to the Nutella. ‘If I rent my own place she’ll be round every five minutes to check if Dan and I are, like, a thing.’
‘Do you want dinner?’ Hannah asked, fishing the bread back out of the toaster. ‘I have actual food.’
‘Yeah, please. I’m starving.’
Hannah opened the fridge and started pulling out the ingredients for a stir fry. ‘And ARE you and Dan a thing?’ Dan was a friend Luke had made at college, who’d been a hovering presence in her brother’s life for the past year. He was quiet and shy – Hannah wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him speak more than three words.
Luke was still for a moment, his hands flat on the kitchen counter and his head bowed. ‘Yeah. I think so.’
Hannah put down all the cooking ingredients and gathered her brother into a hug. ‘Good for you,’ she said quietly.
‘Really?’ Luke whispered.
‘Of course.’ Hannah let him go and turned back to the chopping board.
‘No big-sister wisdom?’
Hannah laughed and put the knife down. ‘Lu, I got married at eighteen, and look how that turned out. I’m happy that you’ve met someone you like; I don’t care if it’s Danielle or Dan or Dan formerly known as Danielle.’ Hannah had been practising that line since she’d first realised there was more than just friendship between Luke and Dan, waiting for the time when her brother was ready to tell her. It felt important to say the right thing at a moment like that.
Tears welled up in Luke’s eyes, but he brushed them away with the heel of his hand. ‘Thanks, Han. You’re the best.’
‘Just be gentle with Mum when you tell her, OK?’
‘I will.’ Luke blew out a huge sigh. ‘She’s gonna go full Heraklion, so might save that for another day.’
Hannah nodded and kept chopping as Luke dug the wok out of the cupboard. She had taught her little brother to cook in this kitchen, on evenings when he needed a break from their mum and Graham was working or watching rugby. They’d put some music on, pick a recipe and make it together.
‘Wow, so you’re single now,’ said Luke with a grin. ‘What are you going to do?’
She thought about it for a moment as she chopped spring onions into tiny slices. ‘I’m going to spend some time with myself,’ she said.
‘Are you going to join a dating site? Like, have you ever dated anyone apart from Graham?’
