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‘I think, actually, it might be more to do with the fact his wife died, and he’s having to deal with his own grief as well as Cassie’s.’ Sophie could feel her blood pressure rising. Kate was beginning to wind her up.
‘His wife died?’ Kate said, sipping her tea.
Sophie nodded.
‘Wow, that’s awful.’
‘Yep, five or so years ago now.’
‘You’d have thought he’d be a little more adjusted to it, though, if it was that long ago.’
‘Kate!’ Sophie put her tea down on the coffee table a little too forcefully and it sloshed over the edge.
‘Well, you know. He’s got a daughter to worry about. Maybe he needs to work through his own grief so that he can support his daughter through hers.’
‘That’s so unkind,’ Sophie said.
‘Is it? Sorry.’ Kate rubbed her hand over her stomach.
Kate’s apology seemed genuine, like her comments might have been the product of a tiring day. But Sophie’s heartbeat throbbed in her ears and her eyes stung with the threat of tears.
‘It takes a long time to get over something like that.’
‘I know, you’re right. Sorry, that was insensitive. This pregnancy is throwing me off. I’m just so tired and irritable all the time,’ Kate said, laughing off her comments.
‘It’s not funny. The man’s wife died. Sometimes people never get over something like that.’ Sophie’s voice was getting louder, and she thought her tears might actually come. She wasn’t sure she could hold them back any longer.
‘I’m sorry, Sophie. I didn’t mean to … are you OK?’
Kate made to stand up, but Sophie shook her head and wiped a sleeve across her face.
‘I’m fine.’ She ran out of the staffroom and, for once, left school on time.
‘So, do you want to talk to me about what happened today?’ Liam asked as he and Cassie drove home in the Land Rover. Sophie’s advice about being ready to listen was fresh in his mind, and he was eager to let Cassie know he was there for her.
‘It was just what Miss Lawson said.’ Cassie shrugged. She looked out of the window, deliberately avoiding eye contact with her father.
‘I know what Miss Lawson told me. I just wanted to hear your version.’ He indicated into the single-track lane that would take them back to the farmhouse.
Cassie shuffled in her seat and eventually turned so that Liam could just about see her face if he took his eyes off the road.
‘Lily and a couple of the other girls were being mean about Mum. They were laughing at how we don’t have a Christmas tree. They thought it was funny, that was all.’
Liam’s heart twisted in his chest. This was his fault. The first year after it happened, he hadn’t felt like putting up the Christmas tree, and Cassie had been too young to notice. After that, it had kind of become their own tradition. Emily had been the one who loved Christmas, and it hadn’t felt right to celebrate it in the same way since she died.
‘Do you want to put up a Christmas tree?’ Liam said.
‘Don’t mind,’ Cassie mumbled. That was code for yes. Liam knew his daughter, and if she avoided a question, then the answer was probably yes.
‘Well, maybe we could put one up this year,’ he said.
Cassie turned to look back out the window again. Every time Liam thought he’d made some kind of breakthrough with her, she pushed him back, and he felt as though he was starting again.
He tried a different tactic. ‘Miss Lawson was helpful today, though, wasn’t she?’
‘Miss Lawson is always helpful, even though I’m not always very nice to her,’ Cassie said, continuing to look out the window as they pulled into the courtyard of the farmhouse.
‘What do you mean?’
