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‘Oh, they’re… happening,’ said Sunny. ‘I’m staying out of it really.’
‘We still would like to pay something towards it, your dad and me. It doesn’t feel right that we’re not.’
‘Oh Mum, trust me, I’ve tried but it’s an absolute no. Karoline’s parents insist. It’s awkward, I know.’
‘Should I talk to them?’ asked Shay.
‘It wouldn’t do any good. Anyway, how’s Dad, how’s you? Did you do anything special for your anniversary?’
‘Oh, he’s fine, working too many hours; I’ve forgotten what he looks like.’ Although a bear with a sore bum would be a good comparison at the moment. ‘We had a couple of nights in the Dales over the weekend which was…nice. Your Auntie Paula looked after your gran while we were away.’
‘Right.’
The way he said that one word summed up exactly what he thought about his Auntie Paula. Mind you, she’d never much bothered with her niece and nephew, had never sent cards or presents for them. The children had felt herfroideursince they were little. Courtney had only been about four when she’d asked her aunt why she had had ‘miserable lines painted down the sides of her face’, which hadn’t been received too well.
‘Have you been really busy at work, then?’ Shay asked him.
‘Yep. I’ve changed positions and there’s been a lot to learn to get up to speed. My brain doesn’t retain those sorts of facts very easily.’
‘I’m not really surprised. It’s not you, is it?’ She winced at her words then because they sounded overly judgemental.
‘It’s okay for now, Mum. It’s steady and they’re nice enough people. How’s Gran?’
‘She’s a bit fragile. The people next door are making her life miserable with building work. It’d cheer her up to hear your voice.’
‘Surely Dad knows someone in the building trade who could help.’
‘He said he’d ask around.’Even if he did keep saying that he hadn’t had the opportunity yet, she added to herself.
‘I went to see Grandad last night. There’s no change, is there?’
‘No, love. He’s hanging on in there.’
‘Look, I’m planning on bobbing over to Gran’s on Monday morning if that’s okay. Be nice to see you too if you’re free.’
Shay tried not to sing the Hallelujah chorus.
‘That’ll be lovely,’ she said. ‘She’ll be delighted. And so will I.’
‘I’ll aim for ten, that work?’
‘Perfectly.’ She gulped. ‘I miss you.’ She couldn’t help herself.
‘I miss you too, Mum,’ said Sunny. ‘Got to go. I’ll see you then. Love you.’
She could barely say it back, her throat was too clogged with tears.
She topped up her glass right to the rim. The way she felt today, she could have sunk the whole bottle but then she imagined Tanya, the voice of reason, telling her that she’d have a crap sleep and have to get up in the early hours and forage for headache tablets. Tanya would also have told her that she was proud of her for standing up to those pieces of work next door to her mum’s. She hadn’t told Bruce about the altercation because she knew he’d tell her she was a prize idiot for going round to confront Drew Balls, and she didn’t want to give him any further excuse to be more neanderthal than he already was.
He’d been grumpy all week, stuffed in his cave, so she’d called in at the local farm shop that morning and bought a couple of fillet steaks for tea, hoping to draw him out of it. She planned to team them up with some potato dauphinoise made with some of the cheese she’d brought back from her weekend in Birtwell. She’d had to give some away to the neighbours at either side to get rid of it rather than waste it. Her dad would have eaten the rounds whole; instead, he was lying in a clinic being fed through a tube in his nose and for what end? He loved to eat and drink and laugh andsing karaoke down at his local – these were the things that gave his life its worth and he would never be able to do any of them again. She wished he’d just let go, not hang on in there because his determination insisted he didn’t abandon those he loved. How could he be so weak and strong at the same time?
Bruce came in just after half-past six. If ever there was a dish that would thaw his mood, it was steak. The air of the kitchen was thick with the aroma of fried onions and garlic and she could almost hear his stomach keen in anticipation of the feast to come.
‘Hi,’ she greeted him chirpily.
‘All right,’ he returned, catching sight of the steaks on a plate, waiting to be fried. ‘Steaks, eh?’
‘Yep. Are you having a shower first?’
