Page 50 of Not Moving Out
I nodded, and after a few more questions and discussions about other topics, we said our usual goodbye, before I left and headed outside.
Dolly was at college, Freya was at work, and so I had no reason to rush home. I probably wasn’t going to get much work done for the rest of the day. I stopped at the Marks and Spencer in town and got something nice for dinner. I fancied pushing the boat out and making Dolly and Freya something a little bit special. I browsed the meat aisle and ended up getting a nice leg of lamb, and I was going to roast that, make a red wine gravy, some mashed potatoes, and I got some broccolini, too. I also bought a nice bottle of red wine we could share, all the while thinking about what Karen had said. I was trapped in a state of limbo, unable to properly move on while I was still living in the past, and while I couldn’t do anything about our living situation until Dolly moved out, I could do my best to control it. I could make it the best version of itself, and maybe that might help me – and perhaps all of us – transition a little easier.
I got home, and after making some brief notes on my morning’s work, I started on dinner. I put on a Spotify playlist of my favourite Nineties songs, and began cooking. When Freya and Dolly got home, we would sit down together and share a nice family meal. My relationship with Freya was complicated, but she was also someone I could rely upon when things were rocky.
The lamb was just coming out of the oven, and I was going to let it rest for thirty minutes under a sheet of tinfoil, when I heard the front door open and then close.
‘In the kitchen!’ I shouted.
I heard footsteps, and then Freya walked into the kitchen, dumping her handbag on the dining table.
‘Something smells nice,’ she said.
‘I thought we could have a nice family dinner. I made a roast leg of lamb with a red wine gravy, mashed—’
‘Dolly texted and she’s going to Maya’s after college.’
‘Oh, right.’
‘But I’m here for dinner.’
‘Great. Good. We can have a nice dinner.’
‘I’m just going to jump in the shower first,’ said Freya. ‘Fifteen minutes?’
‘Sounds good. I’ll plate up,’ I said, and there was a slight moment of nervous tension between us as we realised we were going to sit down for a meal together without Dolly. She was the buffer, and we could point most of the conversation towards her, but without her we would have to talk to each other, and although things between us were so much better than they were directly after the summer party, it was still awkward. I also had the sitcom secret I knew had to come out at some point. Would that be tonight? And if so, how would Freya respond? I heard the shower being turned on upstairs, and I began getting the food ready and plating up.
Ten minutes later, Freya came walking into the kitchen, drying her damp hair with a towel.
‘That feels better and this looks lovely.’
‘Glass of wine?’
‘Sure, why not?’
I poured us both a glass of wine and placed them down on the table, before I joined Freya with my own plate of food.
‘Cheers,’ I said, lifting my glass up. Freya chinked her glass against mine, said cheers, and we tucked into our food. This would be the perfect chance to tell her about the sitcom. We were alone, eating a delicious dinner, and I could explain myself calmly and give her the appropriate time to respond. I just needed to pluck up the courage to do it. Maybe Karen was right and she would take the news better than I expected, and then we could move on. Surely it was best to get everything out in the open and then just see what happened, right?
‘Joe?’ said Freya after a moment.
‘Yes?’
‘I don’t want to cause a fight or anything, and I’m not being petty, but have you cleaned the bathroom this week? It just looks a bit, you know, messy. Sorry, again, not trying to be difficult or anything.’
I couldn’t believe it. There was me, having just cooked her a slap-up dinner, and perhaps about to tell her about the sitcom, and she was picking apart my fucking cleaning skills.
‘Oh, right,’ I replied, not sure what to say. ‘I, umm, actually now that you mention it, I haven’t cleaned it this week. I’ve been busy with work, and—’
‘It’s fine, honestly. No need to explain,’ said Freya, and immediately I felt defensive and like I had to explain. In all the years we had been together, she had never mentioned anything about my cleaning, and there had been times when I was busy when I hadn’t always kept things up, and she hadn’t said a word. Now, apparently, I was being monitored. It was an issue.
‘I will do it tomorrow. I’ve just been busy with work, and I had a meeting with Carl—’
‘Like I said, Joe, no need to explain, and you have the lion’s share of the housework, so—’
‘But you mentioned it, so obviously it’s an issue, Freya,’ I said, popping some mashed potatoes in my mouth.
‘I’m sorry, Joe, honestly,’ replied Freya quickly. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything.’
