Page 95 of Meet me at the Seaside Cottages

‘What’s wrong, Owen?’ says Lish, who is, as usual, the soul of kindness.

‘I don’t get it,’ says Owen, holding up his phone. ‘My fax parts person has just gone out of business.’

‘Is it because faxes are Not a Thing?’ enquires Amsan, not as pleasantly as Lish.

‘That’s weird,’ says Owen. ‘Because they’re how we run this hospital?’ He strokes his tiny beard.

Amsan looks at his black beaten-up Honda, with heavy metal stickers all over it. ‘Do you own that car?’ she says.

‘Yeah,’ says Owen sarcastically. ‘It’s a sweet ride.’

‘Are you single?’

‘Amsan!’ whispers Janey.

‘How’s Essie doing?’ says Lish as they reach the rotating door.

‘Good, I think,’ says Janey. ‘She’s at Lowell’s all the time now.’

Lish wrinkles her nose. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

‘Oh, no, it’s good for her. And she’s still working on the houses – I think if she project manages this successfully they might cut her in on the deal or something.’

‘What is the deal?’ says Lish. ‘I don’t understand.’

Janey shrugs. ‘IthinkDwight gives them his money and the properties and they sell them for lots more than he’d get otherwise.’

‘Who to, though?’

‘Investors.’

‘Well, that’s no use, is it? Not to the local community.’

‘It puts money back into the community?’ says Janey, trying to defend Essie. ‘Dwight makes money, and the houses might be for rent . . . ?’

Lish sniffs. ‘Well, I don’t understand business. But I understand we can’t find anywhere in town to move to.’

They want to move so Johnson doesn’t have to drive everywhere and can get about on foot now his recovery is starting in earnest. It does him good to have an incentive to walk about the place. Also, if she’s in town more, Lish can spend even more time with her children and grandchildren than she already does.

‘She’s heading back to Edinburgh,’ says Janey. ‘She’s got an interview for a part-time job there too. She’s hoping to do both.’

‘There’s no stopping your girl,’ says Lish.

‘Well, that’s true enough,’ says Janey.

‘At least she’s getting on. She’s happy,’ says Lish. ‘You’ve done your job. You were there when she needed you.’

‘I don’t think she appreciated it.’

‘She doesn’t have to. That’s the definition of kids.’

‘I suppose.’

But Janey can’t stop musing on the fights, and the distance, and the misunderstandings, and the heating bill. And her awful feeling of failure. She’d hoped that this would be the time Essie and she would heal, get over the divorce, the blight on their lives, the thing Essie could not blame her dad for. Her dad who hadn’t even been over to see her in the past seven weeks. Another reason why her mood must have been so awful, she told herself.

‘You suppose right,’ says Lish, turning to face her. ‘You did your job. Whatever she was like, whatever place she was in. You’re still “home”, until she can build one of her own. Or build one for some weird hedge fund finance guys, but I don’t really understand all that.’

‘Thanks,’ says Janey. And she means it.

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