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Katie said, ‘You’re just jealous because you haven’t got any friends and it means you’ll just hang out on your own.’
Thea sighed heavily. She couldn’t wait until the weekend when Mark would return and she could go home. Thea had had enough of the twins’ squabbling, although it did bring to mind the fights she’d had with her sister when they were young. Her lips curled into a wisp of a smile.
She said, ‘That’s settled then. Shall I pick you up from school, or can the school bus drop you in Aldeburgh?’
Katie shook her head. ‘There is a school bus that goes to Aldeburgh, but that’s not our one. We’d have to pay extra for that.’
Thea didn’t even hesitate. ‘I’ll give you the money.’
‘It doesn’t work like that. You pay termly.’
Thea wasn’t about to pay for a whole term for one trip.
‘And it needs to be organised with the head so they have the correct numbers for the bus.’
‘I see.’ Thea stopped reaching for her handbag, disappointed that she had to pick them up from school. ‘Where do you go to school, exactly?’ She knew it was Leiston, but didn’t know the name of the school.
Kate pointed at her blazer. ‘Alde Academy. It’s not far from Aldeburgh.’
‘Okay.’ Thea was looking forward to seeing them off and having the whole day to herself. ‘What time do I pick you up?’
‘Three.’
Thea put her spoon down. She couldn’t have heard that right. ‘I’m sorry – what?’
‘Three in the afternoon. That’s when the afternoon lessons finish.’
Thea glanced at Toby, who was standing by the door, hooking his bag over his shoulder and nodding.
‘Haven’t you got any after-school clubs?’
They both shook their heads. ‘We can’t afford it,’ said Katie. ‘I wanted to join the drama club.’
Thea looked at her. Since when were school clubs not free? She asked them that question. And since when did her sister and brother-in-law not have any money? He had a good job in the city.
Katie shrugged. ‘I guess because they are a drama group separate from the school, they have to pay for using the facilities, and so the teacher charges for the lessons. I don’t really know how it works, but I wish I could afford to go.’
‘How much are they?’
Katie frowned. ‘A lot.’
‘How much is a lot?’
‘I don’t know really.’
Thea wasn’t exactly flush with cash either. The archivist job she enjoyed wasn’t the best-paid job in the world, although unlike her sister, she didn’t have a mortgage – just bills. It meant she could save a good proportion of her income. She expected that most people her age would love to get on the housing ladder and have their own place. She had it even better – all because her mum had converted the family home so that Thea had one flat, and her sister the other when their mum ‘popped her clogs’, as she often phrased it, although Thea didn’t want to think about that.
As Jenna was married, and had a home of her own, their mum hadn’t envisaged she’d need the flat, or the money out of it, just yet. But Thea knew there was nothing stopping her sister from selling it if she wanted the cash.
Their mum had included a legal clause when she’d signed over the property. She had a right to stay in the property until she died. The problem was that the legal document didn’t specify which flat she had a right to stay in; just that she could live in the house. She’d set up the legal side of things before converting the house. That had been an oversight on her mum’s part. Thea hadn’t been unduly bothered about it – she hadn’t envisaged that her sister would want to sell up her share of the house just yet. But from some things she’d heard, Thea was no longer so sure.
What if Jenna sold up, and her mum came to live in Thea’s flat? If the thought of sharing her personal space with a man she was in love with was a problem, then living with her mum again – who, like her sister, was not the tidiest of people – filled her with dread. She made a mental note to email her mum again; someone had to tell her about Jenna’s accident. Not that she imagined her mum would hurry home from her yoga retreat in Nepal, but it was certainly possible.
Thea’s thoughts turned to Katie and her drama lessons. ‘Look, when I pick you up from school, I’ll have a quick word with your drama teacher.’
‘I told you – Mum hasn’t got the money.’
‘Well, I have. So let’s get you signed up for those, shall we?’
