Page 21 of The One Plus One
She picked up the layered tops, one stripy, the other a soft rose. She could already see Tanzie in them. ‘How much?’
‘Ten for the top, five for the T-shirt, and twenty for the trainers. You can see from the tag they retail for eighty-five. That’s a serious discount.’
‘I can’t do that much.’
‘Well, as you’re a new client, I can do you an introductory bonus.’ Aileen held up her notebook, squinting at the figures. ‘You take the three items and I’ll let you have the jeans too. For goodwill.’ She smiled, her missing tooth gaping cheerfully. ‘Thirty-five pounds for a whole outfit, including footwear. And this month only I’m throwing in a little bracelet. You won’t get those prices in TK Maxx.’
Jess stared at the perfect clothes laid out on the floor. She wanted to see Tanzie smiling. She wanted her to feel that life held the potential for unexpected happy things, not just a harassed, overworked mother who never had time to spend with her, and an absent father who communicated once a week through a computer screen.
She wanted her to have something to feel good about when she gave her the news.
‘Hold on.’
She walked through to the kitchen, pulled the cocoa tin from the cupboard where she kept the electricity money. She counted out the coins and dropped them into Aileen’s clammy palm before she could think about what she was doing.
‘Pleasure doing business with you,’ Aileen said, folding the remaining clothes and placing them carefully in the bin bag. ‘I’ll be back in two weeks. Anything you want in the meantime, you know where to find me.’
‘I think this will be it, thanks.’
She gave Jess a knowing look.Yeah. They all say that, love.
Nicky didn’t look up from his computer when Jess walked in.
‘Nathalie’s going to bring Tanzie back after maths club. Are you going to be okay here by yourself?’
‘Sure.’
‘No smoking.’
‘Mm.’
‘You going to do some revision?’
‘Sure.’
Sometimes Jess fantasized about the kind of mother she could be if she wasn’t always working. She would bake cakes with the children and let them lick the bowl. She would smile more. She would sit on the sofa and actually talk to them. She would stand over them at the kitchen table while they did their homework, pointing out mistakes and ensuring they got the best possible marks. She would do the things they wanted her to do, instead of always answering:
– Sorry, love, I just have to get the supper on.
– After I’ve put this wash on.
– I’ve got to go, sweetie. Tell me when I get back from my shift.
She gazed at him, his unreadable expression, and she had a weird sense of foreboding. ‘Don’t forget to walk Norman. But don’t go round near the off-licence.’
‘As if.’
‘And don’t spend the whole evening on the computer.’
He had already turned back to the screen.
She hoicked up the back of his jeans. ‘And put your pants away before I can’t help myself and give you the world’s biggest wedgie.’
He turned and she glimpsed his brief smile. As Jess walked out of his room she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen it.
5.
Nicky
