Page 38 of One Moment in Time
‘I’m fine, my darling, and I’m really sorry about last night. I was jet lagged, exhausted, and just a bit out of sorts. I’m feeling much better today, so go on, boss me around and tell me what I’m doing.’
Zara took that as permission to open her backpack and dump a whole load of toiletries and brushes on the desk. ‘Beautifying. That’s what we’re doing this morning, and then we’re taking you and Dad out for a very special lunch. We’ve got about an hour to get ready. Do you want to have a shower before we get started?’
‘No, that’s okay – I had a lovely long bath last night before we went out for dinner and then another one when we got back.’
She didn’t add that she’d only gone for a second bath so that Colin would fall asleep before her, or that she’d had a third bath in the middle of the night, between two bouts of fitful sleep.
‘Okay, I’m all yours. Do whatever you have to do.’
Zara’s thumb made a few clicks on her phone, and Michael Bublé was suddenly in the room with them. Oooh, he was Brenda’s favourite. The sound of his voice, the calming effects of breakfast, the chat from her girls… in only a few minutes she was relaxing into this whole situation and thoroughly enjoying it. She closed her eyes while Zara sprayed her hair with some coconut-smelling liquid, then opened them when she felt her begin to wind huge rollers into it. Millie, meanwhile, was giving herself an overhaul – she had a packet of cleaning wipes out and was scrubbing her face.
‘Did you stay late in the restaurant, or did you go out?’ she asked them, curious to hear what they’d got up to. Two young women, out in a new town – they deserved to have a bit of fun.
A glance passed between them that Brenda knew well. It was the ‘answer the question but don’t tell her everything because we’ll get in trouble’ glance. They’d been sharing it since they were toddlers trying to avoid taking the blame for there being two slices of jammy toast in the dog bed.
‘We just went to the bar across the road in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. It was amazing, Mum, you’ll love it. It’s definitely on our list of places to take you to,’ Zara was too busy winding in another roller to look her in the eye.
Millie’s hangover and general evasiveness and Zara’s chirpiness were definitely signposting that either she or both of them had been up to no good, but Brenda tried not to sound suspicious. ‘Sounds great. Did you meet anyone nice?’
Another glance of conspiracy crossed the room. Ah, so there was definitely a story there.
‘I know exactly what happened,’ Brenda told them, laughing.
Beside her, Zara froze and Millie stopped moisturising her face. ‘You do?’
‘Absolutely. You both went out for a sisterly drink, but then Millie, you spotted someone you liked, and you ended up going dancing while you,’ she turned to Zara, ‘came home and phoned Kev for a blether.’
Zara’s laughter was instant. ‘Mum, honestly it’s like you’re psychic.’
Another look passed between them, but this time it was one she didn’t recognise. She was going to have to brush up on her skills.
‘You’re almost right,’ Millie admitted, now patting concealer on the dark circles under her eyes. ‘Only there was no dancing. I just met a guy from South Carolina and we sat up chatting for a couple of hours, before he, very gentlemanly, walked me back to the lobby downstairs and then went off to his hotel.’
‘Sounds lovely,’ Brenda replied. ‘And will you see him again?’
Millie and Zara both nodded, but it was Millie who answered. ‘I’ve got a feeling I just might.’
Brenda spotted the cheesy grin and the twinkle in Millie’s eyes that gave it away – she liked this one. Brenda was pleased for her. Not that she thought for a second that Millie should settle down, but there was no doubt her youngest liked to burn the candle at both ends.
‘And you’re almost right about Kev. I did call him, but we didn’t have much of a chat, because he was just waking up and he’s not a morning person. I’ll try him again later.’
Brenda kept her thoughts to herself, just as she’d done for years on the subject of Zara and Kev. He was a lovely boy. Kind. Easy-going. But sometimes Brenda worried that Zara would wake up one morning and wonder why she’d spent her whole life with one man, and one who wasn’t very interesting at that. It was the relationship version of apples and trees and Brenda held a latent fear that she was responsible for that. Had she taught her daughters that bland mediocrity was what a successful relationship looked like? Was that what Zara was settling for and Millie was rebelling against?
She didn’t have time to ponder it further, because behind her, Colin came out of the bathroom wearing a white fluffy robe.
‘Can I have my orders please? Dress code and time schedule,’ he requested, getting into the swing of things.
Much as she moaned about him, Brenda couldn’t argue with his general loveliness and caring heart as a father. He’d always been the strong silent one, left most of the front line parenting to her, but he was there when it mattered, he loved his girls and they knew that they could always count on him. It showed now, in how much they both loved him to pieces.
Millie scanned his current outfit. ‘That suits you, Dad, I’d go with the robe.’
‘I was thinking the same thing,’ he agreed, chuckling.
‘Or maybe, smart casual, something for a lunch in a nice hotel,’ Zara suggested.
Colin took that on board. ‘I suppose the robe would be a bit warm in this heat,’ he conceded, grabbing a few things from the wardrobe and heading back into the bathroom to change. Brenda heard the sound of his electric shaver, then a while later, he came back out of the bathroom, fully dressed and smart in his navy chinos and white polo shirt. After his garden, his second love was his golf, so he perpetually dressed like he was about to step on to the first tee.
‘Wow, check out big handsome there,’ Millie teased him. She already looked nothing like the woman who’d walked in here an hour ago. Her old make-up was off, and in its place was a more natural face that took the same amount of time, but made her appear fresh-faced, younger, and more like her sister, who, like today, barely went with more than a quick brush of mascara and some lip gloss.
