Page 83 of Good Sisters

Dad pulled his gloves off. ‘I stood on the sidelines of everymatch you played, hail, rain or snow. Don’t give me that boo-hoo my-dad-wasn’t-there-for-me crap. I was there every single Saturday without fail.’

‘I know you were, Dad, and I appreciate it, but you were short on compliments.’

‘I was balancing out your mother, who told you the sun shone out of your arse every day of your life.’

Sophie and I giggled. ‘So true. You could do no wrong in Mum’s eyes,’ Sophie said.

‘Well, me and Shania are going to tell Lemon she’s brilliant every day of her life.’

‘You’ll need to build her confidence with that name,’ Jack muttered. Sophie stifled a laugh.

‘We all parent differently. There’s no right or wrong way,’ I said, wanting to shut the conversation down.

We went over to congratulate the team. The triplets all hugged me, which was a miracle. They were clearly on a high from the win. Dad clapped them on the back enthusiastically and congratulated them, keeping his criticism to himself.

Harry put his arm around me and we beamed at each other – we were bursting with pride but trying to be cool.

‘They were just …’ He couldn’t finish his sentence.

‘I know …’

‘It’s all just so incredible …’

‘I want to jump up and down and scream, “They are my beautiful sons.”’

‘Me too.’ He laughed and we hugged, ridiculously proud parents.

Over Harry’s shoulder I saw Sebastian approach Jess, whose face went bright red. He said something to her and she half smiled, but thankfully Sophie made a beeline for her and pulled her away. I still felt rage every time I looked at him. All I could see was him at the bedroom door, allswagger, and Jess on the bed behind him. I shuddered. I sincerely hoped she’d kept up her part of the agreement and broken all ties with him.

Harry went off to chat to the other dads and I was feeling all warm and fuzzy from the glow of the match when I heard, ‘She’s incapable of ordering anything. These scarves are appalling. They’ll give us all rashes. I’m ordering a set from Atelier de Cashmere tonight. These are going straight in the bin.’ Of course, it was Victoria.

I felt Sophie’s hand on my arm. ‘Ignore her. She’s a bitch.’ Then, loudly, she said, ‘These scarves are so cosy. It’s wonderful to support local Irish businesses. I don’t understand people who order from abroad when what we have here is such good quality. We need to support local to help businesses survive and thrive. Well done, Julie, for sourcing these home-grown and home-made products.’

A few of the parents murmured their approval. Sophie winked at me and walked off, her arm protectively around Jess.

20. Louise

Clara was curled up on the couch petting Luna while she hummed ‘Fernando’. She was small for her age. Small and pale because she hated sports and only liked being outside if we were bird-watching or in a quiet park or forest.

I sat down beside her. ‘Well done on your tests, sweetie. All As, you clever girl.’

Clara stopped humming. ‘I only ever want to get As. Never, ever Bs.’

I stroked Luna. ‘I know, but it’s okay if you do get a B sometimes.’

‘No, Mummy, it’s not okay. I want As. I want to be as clever as you.’

‘You’re cleverer than I was at your age.’

‘Am I?’

Probably not, but Clara was very bright and had a photographic memory, like I did. Still, I didn’t want her putting too much pressure on herself because if she did get a B, it would lead to a meltdown.

‘I think so. I got Bs sometimes,’ I lied.

‘Julie said you were the cleverest in the whole school.’

‘It wasn’t that hard, our school wasn’t a particularly good school, to be honest.’

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