Page 26 of Never Too Late
‘People change.’
‘I don’t.’
I raised my eyebrows a little. He’d always been a bit snooty about men who went off with younger women to ‘pander to their ego’.
‘OK. Point taken. But not about bloody camping. I’ve told Tania that’s it now. If she wants to do anything else in that line, she’ll have to go on her own or with a friend. I’m afraid I value my creature comforts far too much.’
‘How did that go down?’
‘Better than expected. To be honest, she was pretty embarrassed about me having to stop every five minutes and find a convenient rock to disappear behind so…’ He shrugged.
‘I’m not surprised,’ Sash spoke.
‘It could have happened to anyone, Sash,’ I said, defending her dad.
‘I know.’ She shrugged. ‘Just…’ She gave a shiver. ‘I’d have been mortified if it was my boyfriend. Ugh. It sounds so weird describing you as someone’s boyfriend, Dad.’
‘To be honest, it feels weird being described as such.’
‘If you care about someone and they’re in distress or ill, you don’t, and shouldn’t, give a damn about what other people might be thinking, Sash.’
As I’d never been able to get Hugh to agree to my much longed-for trip to India in all the time we’d been married, due to his ‘dodgy tum’, I’d been pretty miffed when Hugh had told me of his plan to conquer the Andes with his nubile girlfriend. However, events appeared to have shown that he’d been right to be concerned. Although I would have been sensible enough to stick to the hotel food, as we had in Goa, despite how appealing some of the street food had been. But eating street food in South America apparently did more for Tania’s TikTok likes.
‘You looked like you were having a great time,’ Sash said.
‘Shows you shouldn’t always believe everything you see on social media,’ her dad replied with a wry grin. Hugh had always shown a distaste for social media and, wisely enough, worried about the implications of it when everyone else was lauding it as the new messiah. Although, of course, he made an exception for Sash’s YouTube and accompanying Instagram, he was still constantly reminding her to be cautious and keep herself safe. Seeing him grinning out of a social media post that wasn’t his daughter’s had been very odd when Sash forwarded me a picture her friend had sent on to her. Having been married to him for nearly three decades, I, however, had immediately seen the tension in his eyes, the way his jaw was rigid. To the world viewing the picture, he was living the dream with his young girlfriend, striking out on new adventures in exotic places. But to the person that knew him best, it was clear he was miserable.
Sasha was about to reply when her phone rang. She glanced at it, ready to ignore as she generally did when she was with us, but her finger hovered over the button.
‘It’s a brand I really want to work with. Do you mind if I take it?’
‘Not at all.’ I nodded at the phone. ‘Good luck.’
She blew me a kiss and answered as she pushed her chair away from the table and walked towards the door. Hugh watched her go.
‘Our daughter, the entrepreneur.’ Pride shone in his eyes as he turned back to face me. ‘We did good, Katherine.’
‘We did.’ I took a sip of my wine. ‘Are you sure you’re OK now? Healthwise, I mean.’
Hugh nodded. ‘Yeah. On the road to recovery.’ He shook his head. ‘Stupid bloody idea, really. I don’t know what I was thinking.’
‘I do,’ I replied as I replaced my glass on the table, laughter in my words.
He looked at me for a moment before his own laughter bubbled out. ‘Fair point. But oh, God, Katherine. It was amazing to see the places but what I wouldn’t have given for a comfy armchair in my study with a fire in the grate, a whiskey in one hand and a book in the other.’
‘That does sound more like you. But, as I said, people can change.’
‘I don’t want to change, though. That’s the thing. I’m quite happy with all that. I’ve just described my perfect evening.’
I screwed my nose up. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know. She’s a great girl and we do have fun together. I think it’s something we’ll have to have a discussion about sooner rather than later.’
‘I hope it works out for you.’
‘Thanks. From anyone else I’d have thought was sarcasm but not you.’
‘We’re too old to play silly games like that, Hugh, don’t you think?’
