Page 89 of Lessons in Life

‘I like fish fingers…’ Lola started.

‘Well, maybe I can find out more about what he’s up to,’ Lisa said. ‘And then report back.’

‘What? Thirty-five thousand feet up above the North Sea?’

‘Isn’t it the English Channel?’ Lisa said, feeling cross. She’d made new year resolutions to take every opportunity going and now she was being thwarted at every step. ‘And isn’t it only jumbo jets that fly so high?’

‘I wouldn’t know, I’ve never actually been up in a jumbo,’ Jess snapped, concern for Lisa making her irritable. ‘The furthest we ever got with Dean was Malaga and Benidorm with Ryanair.’

‘Well, then, time to expand your horizons and live a little now that you’re single,’ Lisa said, eyebrows raised.

‘Single? Mum, you’re not divorcing Dad, are you? I thought he was coming back.’ Lola pulled a face.

‘We’ll talk about Dad later,’ Jess said, shaking her head in Lola’s direction. ‘I’m more concerned about your granny taking herself off with Kamran Sattar. You do know you’ll need a passport?’

Lisa glared across at her eldest daughter. Surely, she wasn’t taking that waste of space Dean back? Again? ‘I have a passport, thank you very much. If you remember, Jayden and I travelled extensively in Europe before you girls were born. You may also remember, he took me to Amsterdam for my fiftieth.’

‘I’d forgotten that.’ Jess frowned. ‘The one time he came up trumps.’

‘I think it’s brilliant,’ Sorrel said, coming into the kitchen and joining the conversation. She helped herself to a spear of the raw broccoli Lisa had just prepared. ‘So, what are you going to wear, Mum?’

‘I shall go shopping in the morning,’ Lisa said, glancing at Jess, daring her to contradict her. ‘There’s that fabulous dress shop in the village. I’ve already got my eye on a dress I was going to treat myself to.’

‘It’s not your birthday, Granny, is it?’ Lola frowned.

‘Not yet, darling.’ Lisa laughed. ‘The dress and the whole restaurant experience will be early birthday treats to myself.’

‘Butwealways treat you, Mum,’ Jess said, visibly upset.

‘And you still can, Jess,’ Lisa soothed. ‘In May, when it’s actually my birthday.’ And then, remembering, went on, ‘It was so strange today, talking to Eloise…’

‘Who’s Eloise?’ Sorrel and Lola spoke as one.

‘A very lovely lady who is up at Hudson House. Her family actually lived there when she was a girl.’

‘They were all residents at the care home? Weird!’ Sorrel broke off from the broccoli to pull a face.

‘No! Her family owned Hudson’s mills and actually built Hudson House and lived there before it became a care home. Eloise wasEloise Hudson. Anyway, what is weird is that she showed me the bracelet she always wears, and engraved on it was my birth date.’

‘So she’d remember your birthday and buy you a card?’ Lola laughed. ‘That’s really kind.’

‘Now, that is weird.’ Sorrel grinned, finishing the last of the broccoli and pulling a daft face at Lola.

‘No, of course not.’ Lisa shook her head. ‘She had a baby, born on exactly the same day as me.’

‘Hey,’ Sorrel laughed, her eyes wide, ‘now you know your mum was English and not Indian as you’ve always thought, maybe this Eloise woman is your mum?’

‘Good try, sweetheart.’ Lisa smiled. ‘But the baby was a boy. Called Adam. And, he was born in Canada.’

‘Right, Mum,’ Sorrel said, obviously bored with the conversation about old ladies and babies she didn’t know, ‘pick me up from school at lunchtime tomorrow and I’ll do your make-up and your hair.’

‘Absolutely not,’ Lisa said. ‘You’ve missed enough school. And, besides, I’ve an appointment at Luigi’s in the village in the morning. You may think I’m past it, but I’m more than capable of doing my own make-up. Right, anything else or can I get on with this carbonara?’

29

LISA

‘Oh, how did you know I was coming?’ Jayden had let himself in and was sitting in the kitchen, eating the last of the pack of Sorrel’s strawberry yoghurts. ‘Wow, you look absolutely fabulous, Lisa.’ He whistled appreciatively, his eyes taking in the beautiful aubergine midi-dress and the brown suede boots Lisa’d managed to filch back from Robyn.

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