Page 53 of The In-Laws

‘Into the car. We’re leaving,’ Ross snapped at Amanda and Theo. Melanie felt sorry for Amanda, going home with a hyped-up Ross and a furious Nancy. But, to her surprise, Amanda shook her head.

‘You go on, love,’ she said to Theo. ‘I’ll stay and help clear up here.’

‘Seriously?’ Ross said. He looked furious.

‘Yes,’ Amanda said. She turned on her heel and walked back towards the house.

Wow! Melanie thought. So she does have a spine. Good for her.

Ross climbed into the car, slammed the door and drove off at speed.

Jamie stormed back into the house, followed by Katie, who looked pale and shaken.

Melanie and Frank looked at one another, and Melanie nodded towards Lucy, who was still standing on the path, crying as though her little heart was breaking.

‘Hey, Lucy.’ Frank bent down and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. ‘All families argue, sweetheart. This will blow over. Don’t worry.’

‘Really, Uncle Frank?’

‘Absolutely, pet. I promise you.’

The twins made anawwsound. Lucy went back inside.

‘Dad is so kind,’ Janis said.

‘So nice,’ Joni agreed.

‘It’s a good thing he married you, Mum, or people would probably walk all over him,’ Janis said.

Was that a compliment?

‘Totally. He needed a tough, hard wife,’ Joni agreed.

‘Gee, thanks.’

Janis nudged her mother. ‘Tough and hard in a good way.’

‘Yeah, in, like, a don’t-mess-with-me way. It’s a good thing.’

Melanie smiled. It was so rare that her daughters ever did anything but complain to or about her. She’d take this as a compliment.

‘Do you think Granny will forgive Auntie Katie?’ Joni asked Melanie.

Melanie reckoned hell would freeze over first, but she didn’t want her daughters to worry about a family feud so she lied. ‘I’m sure in time, when Nancy cools off and Katie apologizes, it’ll be fine. We’re all tied together by the agency, so we have to forgive and forget.’ She smiled at them. ‘Why don’t you go home with your dad and watch a movie? You all need to decompress after that. I’ll help the others with the tidy-up.’

‘Thanks, love,’ Frank said. ‘A bit of decompression sounds good. Come on, girls. You choose the movie. I’m at your mercy. See you later.’

Melanie watched them walk away, then headed back into the kitchen where Amanda was stuffing paper plates and cutlery into a black sack. Katie was scraping leftovers into the food bin. Melanie opened the dishwasher and started stacking it.

Jamie walked in, dressed in running gear.

‘I’m going out. Clear my head,’ he said.

Katie nodded. ‘You do that, babe. I’m sorry.’

Jamie didn’t reply. He just headed off, sticking in his earbuds. He clearly needed to let off some steam.

Katie took Toby and Lucy to bed while Melanie and Amanda put everything back the way it had been. When Katie came down, she smiled at them.

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