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When we get back, Charlie cooks us a bacon sandwich, and then Mum goes in for her afternoon nap while Charlie and I sit out in the garden.
We try to talk again, but it soon becomes clear that we’re at an impasse. Charlie feels I’ve made too many sacrifices for her already, and she says she’ll feel terrible if she agrees to go with Jake, which means that I’ll have to give up Kip to look after Mum. Equally, I don’t feel able to continue my relationship with him if it means she has to break up with Jake. She accuses me of being a martyr, and I accuse her of being a drama queen, and we both cry again, and then hug because we love each other, and we only want the other to be happy.
There’s no easy answer, and by the time Mum wakes up, we’re no closer to a solution, and we’re both exhausted again, wrung out by all the emotion.
We try to talk to Mum again, but she just says, “Let’s think on it,” and refuses to discuss it again. She seems cheerful enough, though, so we leave her to her crocheting, and I go off to my studio, while Charlie does some uni work up at the dining table.
It’s getting close to six when I decide I should really start getting dinner ready. I check my phone before I leave the studio, annoyed that I’m disappointed. I can’t tell Kip not to message me, then get angry that he’s done what I asked. I shove the phone into the back pocket of my jeans, go into the kitchen, and start chopping an onion, hoping that the spicy chili I have planned perks all three of us up a bit.
I’m in the middle of frying the mince when I hear the doorbell.
“I’ll get it,” Charlie calls, and she disappears down the hallway. I suspect it’s a parcel, maybe with some books I’ve ordered, although it’s late for the delivery guy. I add some tomato paste and the chili I’ve already chopped, hearing voices at the door. Then it closes, and I look up, expecting to see Charlie standing there holding a heavy cardboard box.
Instead, I see Kip, standing there hesitantly, hands in the pockets of his jeans. He’s wearing a gray sweater over a white tee, and he looks tired, but he gives me a small smile.
“Hey you,” he says.
He’s come here despite the fact that I told him to stay away. I should be angry with him, and tell him to turn around and go back to Wellington.
I don’t, though. Instead I say, “Kip!” in a breathless voice, drop the wooden spoon with a clatter, run up to him, and throw my arms around his neck.
He laughs and spins me around, holding me so tightly he’s close to breaking a couple of ribs, but I don’t care.
Charlie slips by us and goes into the kitchen to stir the chili. In the living room, Mum puts down her crocheting and smiles.
Kip lowers me to the floor, and I move back and look at him, lowering my arms. I thought he looked tired, but now I’m closer to him, I can see he has a big bruise darkening under his eye.
“What happened?” I ask, surprised.
He lifts his glasses onto his hair so I can inspect it. “You should see the other guy,” he says, and gives a boyish laugh.
“Who did it?”
“Saxon.”
My jaw drops. “What? Why?”
“Long story.” He looks over his shoulder. “Hey, Penny.”
“Hello, Kip.”
Something about her lack of surprise has my spider senses tingling. “You knew he was coming?”
“Might have,” she says.
Charlie comes out, and we both look at them curiously.
“What’s going on?” I ask, heart racing. Now my initial shock has worn off, I’m worried about him being there. I don’t need him adding his two cents to an already tricky situation.
“Come and sit down,” Mum says.
Charlie sits in the other armchair, and Kip and I sit on the sofa. I look at him. He’s resting an elbow on the arm of the sofa, and his fingers are covering his lips.
“I spoke to Kip today while you thought I was having a nap,” Mum says. She’s sitting very upright, her hands in her lap, and she looks calm and determined. “We talked for a long time, and I think we’ve come up with a solution that might work for all of us.”
I frown at him. He just lifts his eyebrows.
“I want to start by saying that I really appreciate how both of you girls want to do right by each other,” she begins. “You’re good girls, and I know you both love me, and you love each other. I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me, and I’m touched at how much you’re willing to sacrifice to look after me. However.” She glares at us. “You’ve both frustrated me so much over the last couple of days that I want to bang your heads together.”
