Page 39 of The Last Saturday In July
‘Hiya, Dad!’
‘How’s my best girl?’ He straightened and scratched his sun-speckled balding patch.
‘The tomatoes look great.’
‘Good crop this year. I’ll give you some to take home.’
Jess nodded. ‘Thanks.’
Tom cast a glance back to the sitting room. Through the open patio doors, they could hear Carmel talking to Zoe and Finn. Jess could guess what her mother was trying to do. Carmel Bradley could be extremely persuasive when she wanted. It was her nurse’s training, Jess supposed. As if sensing he was being watched, Finn looked out through the patio doors and gave a friendly wave in the direction of the greenhouse.
Tom gave a fond smile and turned back to Jess. ‘Don’t worry about Mam. Zoe and Finn eat with us most of the time, I don’t see that changing in the near future. Here, try one.’ He handed Jess a perfectly ripe, yellow cherry tomato.
Jess turned it over between her hands, inhaling its scent. She dropped her voice when she spoke again. ‘I don’t want to interfere, Dad, but Zoe is twenty-five. Why is Mam babying her?’
He pursed his lips. ‘Your mam thinks that Zoe deserves a bit better than one half of a double bed in a very rundown shared, rented house. Lookit, Zoe will make that move when she wants to, no matter what anyone thinks. In the meantime, we’ll play it a bit softly around Mam, yeah? She’s a bit, well, hormonal, and with the wedding coming up and everything.’
His neck and ears went pink, and Jess resisted the urge to hug him, knowing he’d be even more embarrassed if she made a fuss.
‘What did you think of Finn’s performance last night?’
Tom looked visibly relieved at the subject change. ‘Different, anyway. Not that I’ve any idea what it was all about. Have to say though, I enjoyed it, and I didn’t expect to. I don’t see Finn earning a living from it, but sure what would I know?’ He huffed a laugh.
Jess bit into the tomato, wiping away juices with the back of her hand. ‘I’m just glad Zoe has a decent job.’ She didn’t add that, despite Zoe and Finn being a couple since college, she’d never really seen a future for them. ‘How’s the business?’
‘As much work as I want, pet, people always need electricians. Although if your mam had her way, I’d be working two days a week. She keeps telling me I have to take it easy.’
Jess felt a stab of worry. ‘She’s a nurse, Dad, maybe you should listen to her.’
Tom rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t you start. Sure, didn’t I get the all-clear? And your mam has me eating all this healthy stuff. I’ve forgotten what a good steak tastes like! Now, enough of that.’ His expression softened. ‘Do you need anything done? I’m never too busy to drop over and get your little jobs sorted, you know that.’
Jess gave him a quick hug. ‘I know, thanks, Dad. Simon and I are fine.’
‘Grand, so. Well, we’d better go in for dinner. Maybe you could distract Mam with some wedding talk. It shouldn’t be hard – she’s watchedFather of the Brideso often, I think she must have a crush on Steve Martin.’
Great, wedding talk, that was all she needed. She smiled brightly. ‘I’ll do my best.’
Chapter 16
JESS saw Kate when she dropped into Butlers before work that Monday morning. She paused, knowing that Kate was probably playing advanced Sudoku on her phone, and mightn’t spot her if she slipped back out straight away. She hated herself for even considering it: guilt was the worse feeling in the world. She reminded herself that she’d been working, but she still felt bad that she’d completely forgotten about Luke’s birthday party. Although considering how awful she felt about sleeping with Adam, Jess wondered if it was displaced guilt. Not to mention the double pressures of keeping such a huge secret and having the celebrity wedding clash with her own.
Kate looked up and gave a small wave. Jess plastered on a huge smile, and waved back, before weaving her way through the tables to join her.
Kate put down her phone. ‘Hey, how did Saturday go?’
Jess slid into the seat opposite. ‘Fine, interesting, I guess. Listen, I’m so sorry about Luke’s birthday. There was a last-minute change in arrangements, and the party just completely slipped my mind. Did he have a good time?’
‘He had, in fairness.’ Kate looked at her closely. ‘Have you not been talking to Simon?’
Jess hesitated. She’d barely seen Simon all weekend. She’d arrived home late on Saturday evening, to find he’d already gone to bed. On Sunday, he’d taken himself to the spare bedroom for most of the day to finish up whatever he was doing, and then he’d gone to see his parents on Sunday evening. Jess had excused herself with a headache that hadn’t been a complete lie.
‘Um, not really, but I think he really enjoyed being there for Luke.’ It was a fairly safe bet.
Kate placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her clasped hands. ‘He made his day. I think Luke gets that Simon’s genuinely interested, you know? They just really connect.’
‘Absolutely.’ For the millionth time, Jess tried to imagine having children with Simon. What would happen if she never wanted any? Or just not with Simon? She felt a jolt of shock as the thought slid into her head. Of course she wanted children with Simon. Eventually.
‘Jess?’ Kate looked a bit impatient. ‘Are you listening?’
