Page 80 of A Forever Home at Honey Bee Croft

‘I’m guessing that got a reply?’

‘Yep. Cue enormous rant about precious family time and me being ridiculous for demanding to have so much time with Imogen. I don’t know how she could type it without seeing the double standards. The upshot is that I’ve got a great example of how unreasonable she is to show to my solicitor.’

‘Did you say your parents are seeing her this week?’

‘Yes, all confirmed for Thursday. I’m picking her up from school and we’re meeting Mum and Dad for tea.’

‘Glad you’ve got that sorted. Give her my love.’

‘I will, and I’ll give her that bag of crafts. She’s going to love them.’

I updated Joel on the rest of my day and told him that there’d been no sign of Damon so far but, on Wilf’s advice, I’d ordered a doorbell camera.

I yawned and apologised. ‘I don’t want to say goodbye but I can barely keep my eyes open.’

‘I’m not surprised. You’ve had a long drive and a tough day. You get some sleep and I’ll speak to you tomorrow night.’

I wished him luck with Chez tomorrow and blew him a kiss. Today had been tough but having Joel to talk to was a great comfort. Even though he hadn’t been here in person, I’d felt his hugs. I was going to need a lot of those over the next few weeks.

32

JOEL

I met Mum and Dad at their B&B the following day. There was a small residents’ lounge which the landlady had told them was almost never used during the day – more conducive for a serious talk than going to a busy café.

‘Chester went for a run this morning,’ Mum said after I’d hugged her and Dad. ‘He got lost and was out longer than expected so he’s just having a shower. He sends his apologies and says being late wasn’t intentional.’

I wasn’t surprised at the tardiness – punctuality wasn’t my brother’s strongest point – but I was shocked at the run. Chez had been known to lift the occasional dumbbell or do a few crunches but he detested most forms of exercise, especially running.

Mum was pouring tea from a pot when Chez appeared, his hair still damp from the shower.

‘All right?’ he asked.

‘All right. You?’

‘Yeah. Getting by.’

It wasn’t the finest start to a conversation, but it had at least involved some eye contact. Mum offered him a tea, buthe produced an energy drink from his pocket and opened that before sitting down.

Silence.

I could have kicked things off but I couldn’t help thinking I’d be accused of parenting again if I took control, so I picked up my cup and saucer and sat back in my chair, waiting for someone else to make a start. I wasn’t expecting that person to be Chez.

‘I’m sorry about what I said on Saturday and I’m really sorry about the bottle. I don’t know why I did that. I shouldn’t… I mean, I could have… Erm… I know I was a twat at the wedding and before that with the mess and eating your food and what me and Lorna did in…’ He glanced at Mum and Dad, whose expressions were blank. It was the only part I’d missed out. They didn’t need to know what their teenage son and his girlfriend had been doing on their granddaughter’s bed.

‘Yeah, erm, all of it. Sorry, bro.’

It wasn’t particularly eloquent but it was an apology, it sounded genuine enough, and he’d acknowledged that the issue was bigger than the wedding incident. I wondered how much he actually recalled of what he’d said that night so I wasn’t going to brush it straight under the carpet like I usually did. He needed to know how badly his behaviour had affected me.

‘You do realise that what you said really hurt me? Or was that the intention?’

He shrugged. ‘I’m struggling at the minute and I guess I do need help but you can’t seem to stop being a parent and it kills me. All I want is for you to be my brother! Why’s that so hard for you?’

I bit back a sigh as his voice got higher and louder. What had been the point in the apology when he clearly still thought I was the one in the wrong?

‘Let’s explore what that means,’ Dad said, his voice calm. ‘Imagine we’re living round the corner from you and you’re struggling. What would you want or need from us as parents?’

Chez shrugged once more. ‘For you to listen, to care, not to judge, to be patient with me.’

---