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Chapter 19
Thea stepped off the train on to the platform and started walking towards the old red-brick building that housed a ticket office, toilets, waiting rooms, and a café. She thought about how different it was to the Tube stations in London. Even the overground ones were nothing like this. These old stations had charm; she loved the potted plants and hanging baskets lining the platform.The stations on the Lowestoft line had remained largely unchanged, apart from the new, trendy coffee shops inside.
Thea could still smell freshly brewed coffee as she walked through the station building and stepped outside into the small forecourt where cars were picking up and dropping off passengers. She waved and walked over when she spotted Mark behind the wheel of her sister’s car. Mark got out and walked around to the back of the car, opening the boot. She was expecting him to offer to put her suitcase in when he shut the boot and walked around the side of the car to greet her. He was wheeling a small suitcase.
Thea stopped in front of him. ‘Hi, Mark.’
He stepped forward, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. She guessed his hair must be dyed; he was in his late forties and still had no sign of a grey hair. He enveloped her in a hug. ‘Thea. I’m so glad you’ve arrived.’
‘Me too.’ She genuinely meant it. Although her trip wasn’t under the best of circumstances, she was surprised at how she felt. When she’d left London behind, and the intercity train had pulled into Ipswich Station, she had quickly made her way down the platform and stepped aboard the two-carriage local service from Ipswich for the next leg of her journey. She had caught sight of the familiar scenery of rolling fields and pretty little Suffolk villages nestled in the countryside and had felt a tingle of excitement at coming back to Suffolk. Although it was now October and the summer had given way to a blustery autumn, she still felt pleased to be there. That was until she had caught sight of the suitcase that Mark had lifted out of the boot.
‘What’s that?’
He followed her gaze. ‘It’s a suitcase.’
She looked at him quizzically. ‘Wait – are you going somewhere?’ She glanced at the train station. ‘Are you catching a train?’
‘Yes.’ He looked at her askance. ‘I do have to work, you know.’
Thea caught that note of irritation in his voice – and something else; Mark could be condescending, judgemental, belittling, and downright rude. She’d been in his company for less than five minutes and had already realised that he hadn’t changed one bit.
Sometimes she wondered why her sister stayed with him. Apart from the obvious – he was good at his job, looked after his family financially, and for a guy approaching fifty, took care of himself physically; hewas tall, slim, and enjoyed riding his bike and training for marathons. Jenna was a stay-at-home mum, managing their sprawling cottage and two kids. Thea knew that helping Jenna out with household choreswas not on Mark’s agenda.
And it turned out he wasn’t going to help Jenna’s sister out either.Wait, thought Thea,I wasn’t expecting him to help me out; it was meant to be the other way around – wasn’t it?
‘You probably remember where our house is, but I’ve put the postcode in the Satnav just in case.’
Thea followed his gaze to the front passenger seat and the Satnav on the dashboard as he opened the driver’s side door.
‘But when will you be back? I thought you’d take some time off?’
‘I did. I had a couple of days.’
Thea frowned. ‘You mean the weekend? Wouldn’t your job give you some compassionate leave, so you wouldn’t have to return to work on Monday?’ Thea hadn’t expected Mark to return to work straight away today; at the very least, she’d thought he would work from home while his wife as in hospital.
Mark sighed heavily. ‘She just broke her leg. It’s not like she’s at death’s door.’
‘But what about the twins?’
He shrugged. ‘What about them? You’re here now, so they’ll have someone to take them to school.’
‘That’s not what I meant!’ Thea stared at him as he looked at his watch and glanced over at the train station, obviously longing to get away. ‘Their mum is in hospital. It’s not the best time for you to go away as well, so there’s no one there to take care of them.’ Thea had assumed she’d just be doing the school runs so Mark could work from home and visit Jenna in hospital.
‘They’ll have you. Speaking of which, here is Jenna’s mobile phone, just in case the school gets in touch for any reason, or they leave a message. When I rushed her to A&E after the accident, I didn’t think to pick up her phone, obviously. Perhaps you can give it back to her when you visit. I’ve let the school know that their aunt is staying with them for a few days.’
Thea didn’t have much experience of looking after children, let alone young teenagers. But that wasn’t the point. Didn’t he get that this would be an emotional time for them? They’d doubtless want to talk about how their mum being in hospital made them feel – and it was their dad they’d want to turn to.
Mark looked at his watch again. ‘Look, I must go. My train is due in any moment. I’ve got a meeting late this afternoon. The kids should be home from school by now. How come it took you so long to get here?’
Thea looked at him and ignored the comment. She’d had to pack, and get to the train station, and catch two trains. She said, ‘I thought I had to pick them up from school?’
Mark shook his head. ‘School bus. Anyhow, here are the car keys, and the keys to the house, but the kids will be home before you, so one of them will let you in. They’re expecting you.’
‘You left them on their own?’ Thea said in surprise.
‘It’s not for long, is it? And they are thirteen.’ They both turned at the sound of a train approaching the station from a distance. ‘Actually, as it turns out your timing is impeccable. It couldn’t have been better.’ He handed her the keys.
Thea still couldn’t believe he was going. ‘When will you be back?’
