Page 5 of The In-Laws

Theo rolled his eyes. Amanda had the urge to slap him, and Ross.

‘I hated school.’ Katie’s words slurred at the edges. ‘I found it all so rigid and boring. That’s why I ended up leaving a year early. I couldn’t wait to get out. School is not for everyone.’

Amanda thought of the tens of thousands of pounds they had spent on Theo’s posh school in London. There was no way in hell he was going to waste his education and leave school early. If she had to sit on his head, he’d finish school and make something of himself.

Ross snorted. ‘Theo will not be leaving school early. My son will be studying hard for the next year and going to college.’

He sounded so sure of himself. A very different Ross from the one who had sat in the headmaster’s office atSt Oliver’s five weeks ago, pleading with him not to expel Theo. Amanda shuddered at the memory. The shame still made her feel physically ill.

‘Ross is right,’ Nancy said firmly. ‘None of my grandchildren will be leaving school early. They will get a proper education and proper jobs.’

Ouch, Amanda thought. Nancy could really sling an insult when she wanted to. Poor Katie.

‘I agree with Katie,’ Frank said. ‘I think college is wasted on some people. If you’re a truly creative soul, you should follow that path and not waste three or four years studying something you hate.’

Amanda tried not to roll her eyes. Frank seemed to live in some alternative universe where life was easy and chill. Did he really not see that he was only able to live this stress-free life because his mother employed him, and his wife was an extremely successful literary agent who worked her backside off? What if his life got shattered, as Amanda’s had? Then what? Would Frank live on vegan cake and air? Amanda wished she hadn’t been so quick to devote her life to being a wife and mother. If she had her own money and independence, she’d have more choices. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

‘Finishing school is non-negotiable,’ Nancy retorted, ‘for all five of them.’

Amanda watched Frank closely, but he didn’t react. It was as if everything Nancy said just washed over him.

‘What would you like to do, Theo?’ Frank asked him.

Amanda flinched. She wanted Theo to say finance or law or medicine, but he had no interest in ‘traditional’ careers. It was a serious bone of contention with Ross.

‘Travel for a few years, then maybe design video games or do drone videography or something.’

‘Cool,’ Frank said. ‘What people are doing with drones now is incredible.’

‘Rubbish! You need to knuckle down and get a good, solid degree like your father,’ Nancy said.

And your mother! Hello, I exist too, Amanda wanted to shout. Just because I became a stay-at-home mother when I had Theo doesn’t erase the fact that I got a good degree in social studies, even though I never did anything with it.

‘Theo will be going to university to study for a decent degree that will allow him to get a job and earn a living. He will not stumble through life expecting everyone else to keep him afloat.’ Ross glared at his brother.

There was the sound of chair legs scraping on tiles, and Theo stomped out of the room, muttering, ‘Fucking prison,’ under his breath.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Melanie was shooting dagger looks at Ross and he was glaring at Frank. Jamie was glancing worriedly from one to another. Amanda just wished they’d all shut up. Things were bad enough without all this tension and arguing. She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself under control. She wanted to roar at all of them.

‘At Theo’s age, Frank was dealing with a lot of trauma. Let’s not forget that. You can’t compare them,’ Nancy said in a softer voice.

Amanda watched as Jamie patted Frank’s shoulder while Melanie checked her phone under the table.

‘Anyone like more wine?’ Katie asked.

Amanda sighed. No amount of wine was going to make this godawful lunch and crappy situation any easier.

2. Katie

Bloody hell, you could have cut the tension in there with a knife. Katie thought Amanda was going to have a heart attack. The poor woman was so wound up, she could hardly breathe. Katie wondered for the millionth time why Ross, Amanda and Theo had suddenly come home. It was painfully clear they didn’t like it here – well, Amanda and Theo definitely didn’t. Maybe Ross did, but she couldn’t be sure because, the amount of bluster with him, you’d never know what he was thinking.

They’d said it was because Nancy needed help, but Nancy was loaded: she could have hired an army of nurses to look after her. Katie reckoned her mother-in-law would have preferred that to Ross, Amanda and Theo landing on top of her and moving into her house. It was a big ask, to start sharing a space at her age.

Melanie agreed with Katie: they both smelt a rat in this whole story. Amanda was no Florence Nightingale and Ross was a selfish prick, so why were they pretending to have moved home to ‘help Nancy’?

Jamie said it didn’t matter why: it was nice to have his brother around. That was before Ross had started talking about his important role in the company and throwing his weight about, so she reckoned Jamie probably wasn’t so thrilled about it all now. Katie was glad she didn’t work in the agency – she honestly didn’t know how Melanie stuck it. Then again, her sister-in-law was great at her job so Nancy gave her some respect. Katie knew that, as a schooldrop-out who had become a hairdresser, she was at the bottom of the daughter-in-law pile. Nancy barely gave her the time of day. She was so cold and critical of everyone. Katie couldn’t have stuck working with her for even a day.

Lucy came over and pulled her sleeve. ‘Muuuuum, Toby’s annoying me and I’m trying to read the book Granny gave me. Can you tell him to stop?’

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