Page 57 of Unwanted
“No.” I shook my head twice. “I couldn’t…” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We gave it to another firm.”
“Not a high profile enough job for you?” Mrs York said, still trying to have a dig at me.
I looked at her square on. “I would have torn the place down until it was just a hole in the ground.”
“Er… okay,” Steph said slowly.
“I think the kids need better than a hole in the ground, so I let someone else do it.” I felt my hand enclosed in Harry’s warm, large one and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. There was an awkward silence which was thankfully broken by John and Mr York as they crashed back into the kitchen laden with bags.
“What’s going on?” Mr York asked, glancing between his wife and me.
“I’d like to know the same thing, Dad. Mum’s being kind of weird.”
“Well,” huffed Mrs York. “That’s no way to speak to your mother after you’ve not seen her for months.”
“It’s beenonemonth, Mum, and you know what I’m talking about.”
“Right, well, I’m starving,” John cut in whilst dumping what seemed like hundreds of bags on the kitchen island. Clearly the Yorks were planning on staying, and from the strong side-eye I was receiving from Mrs York I was not wanted. Well, at least that was something I already had lots of practice with.
Chapter28
Your son makes me happy
Verity
“I don’tcare,” said Tilly, her little body rigid with anger. “I hate school and I’m never ever going back.” Barbara was sitting in Tilly’s lap, and they were both looking at Steph with matching angry expressions.
Steph sighed. “We’ll talk about this later, love.”
“What’s all this?” Mr York asked as he ruffled Tilly’s hair from across the table. “I thought you loved school.”
“I hate it. They have yucky gravy, and theytorturekids.”
“By torture she means they make the kids sit down for the odd maths lesson.”
Tilly shot her dad a disgusted look. “You don’t understand. I’m never going back ever, ever!” She turned to me then and, much to my terror, addressed me directly. “Unca Hazza lady friend – did you hate school?”
“Tilly, her name’s Verity.”
Tilly gave Harry an impatient look then focused back on me. I opened my mouth to speak then shut it again. There weren’t that many children in my life other than my pseudo- niece, and I had very little experience of interacting with them. This one seemed to me to be a bit like an unexploded bomb, and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. However, all eyes were on me at this point, so I had to saysomething. I went for honesty.
“Actually, I loved school,” I said, lowering my fork slowly to my plate.
Tilly huffed and shot me a disgusted look. Clearly she had been hoping for some kind of ally and I’d let her down. The trust we’d built up over the meal where she’d been surreptitiously slipping me her unwanted Brussel sprouts to dispose of was shattered.
“I bet your mummy and daddy didn’t make you goevery day. And I bet you didn’t have to do stupid after school clubs as well.”
I cleared my throat and then met her frown with a small smile. “When I was just a bit older than you, I lived at school, Tilly.” Her eyes, beautiful brown just like her uncle’s, went wide at that statement and she sucked in a shocked breath.
“Nobody lives at school,” her voice was low and horrified, as if the very concept was too awful to fully voice. “There’s no beds.”
I chuckled but the rest of the table was silent – everyone was listening to this exchange. I shifted on my chair.
“There were at my school. And they were super, super comfortable. The sheets smelt of flowers and Ilovedthe school gravy.” I didn’t add that gravy and homecooked roasts weren’t something I’d ever even had before going to school, and nor were sheets of any description, let alone ones that smelt of flowers.
Tilly looked adorably confused. “But didn’t you miss your mummy and daddy? Who tucked you in at night?”
Sometimes it was brought home to me how very unusual my childhood was. Looking at Tilly’s utter bafflement in that moment was one of those times. She couldn’t imagine being away from the safety of her parents.
