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‘Has she said anything to you?’ Liam asked. It was the same question he asked Barbara daily as he tried to work out his ten-year-old-come-teenage daughter.
‘Sorry, love.’ Barbara shook her head and stood up, clearing their mugs away. ‘Why don’t you go and relax for a bit? I’m just finishing dinner. It’ll be ready in half an hour or so.’
‘Thanks, Mum.’ He came round the table and hugged her tightly. ‘I’ll just pop down and put the chickens in for the night,’ he said, adding hopefully, ‘if Cassie wants to find me.’
On the other side of town, Sophie was just leaving school. It was late, and the sun had set a long while ago. The stars were twinkling in the dark sky. It was one of the things she loved most about living in the countryside.
She realised she was stomping across the car park. She was still reeling from her meeting with Liam. It had been their third coincidental meeting in a week, and all of them had been unpleasant. Sophie was starting to wonder what it was she was doing wrong. All she’d wanted to do that afternoon was to sort out the situation with Cassie and Lily so that Cassie could move on and work through whatever was making her sad at the moment. The more Sophie thought about it, the more she realised Cassie was behaving strangely, and she just wanted to help. Even now, as she reflected on what had happened, she couldn’t believe Liam had snapped like that.
She realised she was frowning, and her head was beginning to ache. As she ferreted in her bag for her keys, muttering under her breath, her entire bag lit up and the festive steel drums rang out from within. She picked up her phone and swiped to answer without thinking.
‘Hi, love.’ June’s nasal voice was made tinnier by the dodgy signal.
‘Hang on.’ Sophie fished the keys out of her bag and climbed into her freezing car. Her breath was visible, and the windows steamed up instantly. ‘Hi, Mum.’
‘Hi, love. How are you?’
‘I’m—’
‘Everything’s OK here.’
‘Good.’ Sophie decided not to go into detail about her own rubbish day, even if she did get a chance to, which was unlikely.
‘Busy, as always. I got your text about using the charity for your concert,’ she said. And then after a moment, ‘That’s a lovely gesture.’
‘Well, you know,’ Sophie said, fiddling with the edge of her coat. ‘It’s close to my heart.’
‘It’s always nice to get extra support, even if it is in our busy periods.’
Sophie wished she’d not bothered answering the phone. She berated herself for not having looked at who was calling. ‘Sorry, I thought you’d be pleased.’
She had hoped that June would be thrilled with a sizable donation coming her way at the end of the year. Her thoughts slipped to Liam’s suggestion for a moment. Maybe they should reconsider the charity choice and think about Nigel’s mum instead. She’d definitely be more grateful. No. She was being pedantic. She’d made her decision. She’d stick with it. June would be happy with the money in the end, she was sure.
‘No, no,’ June said, dismissing Sophie’s apology. ‘It will all come good. You know how I like to be busy.’
‘Speaking of which, I should go, really,’ Sophie said, seizing her opportunity. ‘I’ve not made it back from work yet and I’m hungry and cold in my car. Can I phone you when I get home?’ She shivered and sat on her spare hand to keep it warm.
‘It’s eight thirty. Why are you still at work?’
For a moment, Sophie thought her mother sounded almost concerned.
‘You’ll never find a new boyfriend if you spend all your time at that silly school.’
And there it was.
Sophie’s gaze flickered to the roof of the car and her jaw tensed.
‘Well, actually, I’m sort of OK without one.’ She attempted to keep her tone light. ‘Besides, I like my job.’
‘Don’t be silly, Sophie. Everyone wants someone.’
Silence. Sophie’s deep breaths came out as storm clouds in the car. She pinched the bridge of her nose and scrunched her eyes closed.
‘And you’ll never find one living in a village.’
‘It’s a town, Mum.’
‘Barely. At least here in London there are men everywhere.’
