Page 25 of The Rebound
“It’s a little surprising,” she says. “Is this because of what happened at work?”
“No,” I say quickly. “No, come on, Mam.”
“It’s a reasonable question.”
“It’s not like that.He’snot like that.” The looks on their faces tell me they don’t believe that for an instant but I’m not really in the mood to defend him further.
“It’s definitely over?”
I nod, nervous.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Her voice softens and for one relieved moment I think that’s it. Then: “You’ve canceled everything? You know how these companies can get with their deposits. I hope you went with refundable choices.”
“We hadn’t booked anything yet. We hadn’t even made any plans other than—”
“You hadn’t booked anything at all?” She sounds personally offended. “You’ve been engaged for months.”
“I was busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Going down with a sinking ship, Mam. I don’t know if you heard the news.”
“There’s no need to get so tetchy.”
“I’m not getting—”
“I didn’t like him,” Dad barks suddenly, making me jump. “I never did. He was too clean.”
I’m lost. “What does that even mean?”
“And the way he paid for dinner that last time we were over,” he says, ignoring me.
“He was trying to be nice.”
“He was being smug,” Dad says. “There’s a way you go about these things. And it’s not brandishing a credit card about like you’re the Queen of Sheba.”
“What happened happened,” Mam says as Dad’s face starts to go red. “Better now than a week after the wedding.”
Better not at all, but I suppose I should appreciate the positive attitude.
“You should have married an Irishman,” Dad continues.
I try to stay patient. “Louise didn’t marry an Irishman.”
“The Polish are grand.”
“You can’t say things like—”
“What was his excuse?” Dad interrupts. “Some other girl is it?”
“He wanted to focus on his career.”
“And he can’t do that with a wife at home?”
“Dad!”
“A wife in the office then.”
