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‘I’ll be fine. Love you.’ He kissed the top of her head and watched her safely to her front door on the other side of the courtyard.
Then, after locking up, he slid a couple of his bags into the living room with a booted foot. He left them not quite in the middle of the floor, gave up, and went to the kitchen to get a beer from the fridge.
Flopping down on the sofa, his mind wandered to thoughts of Sophie. He was glad they’d spoken earlier that evening so that she didn’t feel embarrassed about what he may, or may not, have overheard in the coffee shop last week. He was pleased they’d managed to have a civil conversation, too. Most of all, he was happy that they’d arranged to meet to talk about Cassie. Despite it only being a very tiny bit of a plan, he gave himself some imaginary good dad bonus points for the effort and settled down for the evening, trying not to think about the lightness he felt in his heart at having carved out some time to spend with Sophie alone.
Chapter Thirteen
‘Sophie!’ June sounded surprised to see her daughter, despite dinner that weekend having been arranged. ‘Come in, come in. You should have used your key.’ She waved her hands as she spoke. Her cheeks were rouged from the heat of the kitchen, and the hair around her face stuck to the clammy skin at her temples. The heat from the hallway rushed out into the cold.
June pulled the door wide open and hurried back through the hallway into the kitchen, flinging a tea towel over her shoulder.
‘I forgot it, sorry.’ Sophie closed her fingers around the key in her hand and dropped it into her bag. ‘Dad.’ She smiled.
David filled the living room doorway, where, behind him, the TV was on, casting its dancing shadows over the walls.
‘Sophie. How are you, love?’ He stepped forward and drew her into a hug.
‘What took you so long?’ June’s voice travelled from the kitchen down the hallway.
Sophie pulled away, and David gave her a knowing look as she traipsed into the kitchen.
‘Sorry.’
‘Better late than never, I suppose,’ she said.
‘The Tube took longer than I thought it would.’
Her mother tutted. Sophie took a deep breath. It wasn’t like she’d missed the start of dinner. The kitchen was a discordant arena of chaos. Used pots and pans teetered on the edge of work surfaces, and the tap in the sink ran while the bubbles grew precariously close to the edge. The fan was on so that her mother was forced to shout every word. Sophie reached over, opened the window and turned off the tap.
‘Is there anything I can do to help?’
‘No, no. I’ve got it all under control.’
It didn’t look like it. The oven beeped, and there was a faint smell of something catching on the bottom of a saucepan.
‘It’ll be five minutes. Why don’t you go away and help your father lay the table?’ June didn’t turn around. Instead, she bent down to look through the oven door and waved her hand around behind her.
Sophie composed herself with a deep breath and went through to the living room. David was in his chair, which over the years had become fitted to the shape of his body. Even the arm rests had little divots where he liked to rest his elbows while watching his favourite programmes.
‘She kick you out too?’
Sophie opened the drawer of the great Welsh dresser at the back of the room and took out the cutlery she needed. ‘Afraid so.’
‘Lucky escape if you ask me.’
They shared a conspiratorial smile. He settled back into his chair and turned the TV up to signal the end of their conversation.
‘Right, here we go.’ June whirled into the room carrying three plates with the salt and pepper caddies hanging from her forearm.
Sophie took the plates from her and set them on the table. ‘Dad, it’s ready.’
David struggled up from his seat with a grunt and settled himself at the table. Sophie passed him the third plate and took her own seat between her parents. It had always been this way. This was a house of predictability.
‘How’s work, Dad?’ Sophie asked, reaching for the gravy. She poured a healthy portion into the centre of her plate and as it crept towards the edge, she willed it to stop. Out of the corner of her eye she could see June watching too as she settled into her seat.
‘Not too bad, love. Same old, really.’
Sophie was relieved when the gravy came to a stop, millimetres from the edge of the plate. June relaxed too and the three of them set to eating in silence.
