Page 5 of Sorry, Not Sorry
‘Me too! Me too!’ Maya squealed, running over to grab them both by the legs.
‘Salome! You are literally smothering me!’ Delilah protested, her voice muffled by the thick wool of her sister’s jumper.
Laughing, Salome released her and walked over to the cupboard, taking out a box of herbal tea. As she reached for the kettle, her eyes lasered onto the tea Delilah had spilt on the counter.
‘Honestly, Del, you are so messy!’ She tutted, immediately tearing off a strip of kitchen paper to wipe up the liquid.
Delilah rolled her eyes with exasperation. ‘And you are such a neat freak. Sal, it’s literally a drop of tea!’
Salome tossed the used tissue in the bin and reached for the kettle, giving it a gentle shake. ‘Is there enough water for another cup?’
‘Yes, and it just boiled a minute ago.’ Delilah walked over to the highchair and kissed the baby’s cheek, ruffling his soft curls gently.
‘Hi, Arin,’ she cooed sweetly.
Unmoved, Arin pursed his lips and stared back through huge unblinking brown eyes before sticking his thumb in his mouth.
‘Come on, sweetie, give your favourite auntie a smile. I’ve had a ton of stress today. I’ve already been given the fishy-eyed treatment from the Wicked Witch of the West, so please be nice to me.’
Salome had been pouring hot water onto a teabag, and she stopped and looked at Delilah with raised eyebrows. ‘You ran into her again?’
‘Imagine! Second time in two weeks. I think the gods are punishing me.’
‘That’s so weird. I live next door, and I hardly see anything of her. Did she speak to you?’
‘What do you think?’ Delilah said derisively. ‘Nope. Just glared at me, as usual, and walked off.’
Salome steered a path around Maya, who was sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor behind Arin’s highchair, playing with Bertie, and set her mug on the table. Pulling out a chair, she sat down while Delilah retrieved her cup of tea from the kitchen counter and came to sit across the table from her sister.
‘Honestly, Sal, she’s so rude!’ Delilah said moodily.
‘Who’s so rude?’
Farhan walked into the kitchen and strolled over to the fridge. Taking out a small bottle of water, he twisted off the cap and took a long sip before repeating his question with eyes bright with curiosity.
‘Your next-door neighbour,’ Delilah muttered. ‘I don’t know what the hell… Oops!’ She caught herself and glanced guiltily towards Maya, who could be relied upon to repeat anything she heard. ‘I don’t know what I need to do for her to stop treating me like I’m some kind of serial killer.’
Farhan scoffed, and Salome shot him a warning look. ‘Never mind about Mrs West, Del. You sounded really upset when you called earlier. What’s going on? Is there a problem at work?’
Farhan was mid-swallow and promptly choked on his water, earning a glare from Delilah.
‘What is so funny?’ she demanded.
‘You.’ Farhan gestured towards her with the bottle. ‘I should have been smart enough to put a bet on how long it would take you to jack in this job. Although, to be fair, you’ve lasted a lot longer this time round.’
Delilah gripped her mug and fumed in silence. She knew Farhan was only teasing, but in her current frame of mind, his words were as welcome as ice-cold water on a sensitive tooth.
‘Take no notice, hon. He’s just trying to wind you up,’ Salome intervened. ‘Sweetheart, can you take the kids into the living room for a bit so Del and I can chat? Without interruption,’ she added pointedly.
Farhan grinned. ‘Come on, Del, lighten up. We’ve always had a laugh about your career – or should I say careers?’
‘Farhan…’ Salome warned.
Farhan ignored his wife’s attempt to silence him. ‘Let’s see, you’re now on, what, your fifth career change?’
‘Fourth,’ Delilah replied through gritted teeth. ‘You know full well I was only waitressing until I worked out what I wanted to do.’
‘Hmmm… two years is a bit of a stretch for a temp job, but whatever. Okay, then there was that stint in the call centre, then the traffic warden job, and after that – remind me, what came next?’
