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Thea reminded herself that it was probably Toby who had rifled through her mum’s stuff rather than a trespasser. She finished the pizza and the glass of wine and looked at the time. It was seven o’clock. Should she ask the twins if they had homework and remind them to get it done? What time did they go to bed now they were in high school?
Thea had babysat for them before, but when they were younger, they’d had a bedtime routine. She’d give them a beaker of milk each, remind them to clean their teeth, and then read them a bedtime story together in Katie’s bed before Toby settled down in his own bedroom next door. She’d tucked them in and give them a kiss goodnight, setting their little night lights so they weren’t scared of the dark – or in Toby’s case the monster under the bed.
Thea stared into space wistfully. She’d enjoyed those times, and had loved it when they’d gone to sleep. Then, she had always carefully put away all their toys. Everything had become orderly and the house had been neat and tidy. In those moments, she had longed for a family of her own – until the next morning, when there was chaos, and noise, and mess, and she had longed for the haven of her flat and her job at the museum.
Thea’s wistful meander into the past was rudely interrupted by Katie shouting out, ‘Where is it, Toby? I want it back!’
Thea cast her gaze to the heavens and caught Winston, who was lying on his doggy cushion in the dining room, doing the same. She looked at the dog. ‘Do you want to go up there and see what’s going on, or shall I?’
Winston put his head back on his paws and closed his eyes.
‘I said – give it back!’
Thea downed the last of her wine, realised she felt a little lightheaded – it was a huge glass – and reluctantly left the table.
As she walked up the stairs, she heard Katie shouting, ‘Why do you always take stuff without asking!’
Thea thought of her mum’s things again. She wondered if he’d taken anything.
At the top of the stairs, she saw that Katie’s bedroom door was wide open but that she was nowhere to be seen. Thea sighed and started up the next flight. Katie was banging on Toby’s door and trying the handle.
Thea noted that the door was locked. That wasn’t good. What if he refused to go to school the next day? Thea rubbed her forehead. She wished she hadn’t agreed to help out. If she hadn’t, Mark wouldn’t have been able to swan off to London; he’d be the one dealing with all this.
Katie banged on his door again. ‘I mean it, Toby. I need my compass. I’ve got homework due in tomorrow. What is wrong with you?’
Thea smiled when she realised Katie was doing schoolwork. She was going to tell Katie to leave her brother alone – but not anymore. A stair creaked underfoot.
Katie turned around. ‘What doyouwant?’
‘I heard you shouting, so I came to see what was going on.’
‘What’s going on is he’s always going through my stuff.’ She turned to the door. ‘I know you’ve got it, Toby. Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.’
Thea was just wondering how to deal with this situation, when she heard the sound of a key turning the lock. Toby opened the door.
Katie unfolded her arms and held out her hand.
Thea noted that Toby wasn’t playing computer games. There was an open textbook on his desk, and what appeared to be a paper for school he was writing on his laptop. He walked over to his desk and picked up a compass. It looked old-fashioned, with a gold case and slightly chipped glass casing. The wordsNorth,South,EastandWestwere in old-fashioned lettering.
‘It’s mine,’ said Toby.
‘No, it’s not. You said you found it, and I paid you for it – remember?’
Toby slapped it in her hand and slammed the door shut.
Thea stared at the door. She guessed it wasn’t the right moment to bring up the subject of the boxes in the garage with him.
‘That’s just rude,’ said Katie.
You should know, Thea thought, but kept it to herself. She looked at Katie and thought how sad the situation was, given how close the twins had been as children. She looked at the old compass. ‘You paid him for it?’
‘Yes, he wanted some money, and he’d used up all his pocket money. I needed this for a school project, so it was a win-win.’
Thea glanced at the door. She had got a different impression; Toby obviously regretted selling the compass to his sister. ‘Where did he get it?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’ She frowned.
‘But you’ve got a theory?’ Thea prompted.
