Page 112 of Where Do We Go From Here?
‘Enough of one to say “fuddy-duddy”, though,’ Fiona says, grinning. ‘And please don’t sayit’s complicated. I hate that.’
‘No, even if it is… But I suppose I’d say we’re working on it. How’s that?’
‘OK. That’s good news, I guess. Did you two talk last night?’
‘No, I got in too late. I was shattered. We both were.’
‘Right. Well, in that case I’ll stop being nosy.’
‘You know, I don’t mind you being nosy at all. I’m kind of hoping we can open things up a bit around here. Talk a bit more openly. As a family, I mean.’
Fiona laughs. ‘Todd’s going to love that.’
‘Todd? Why Todd?’
‘Well, he never talks about sh— about anything… does he?’
‘No, I suppose he doesn’t much.’
‘And what about…? I thought Dad said he wanted to come to France.’
‘Yes, he did suggest it. But it just didn’t work out, really. It would have meant I had to stay on till mid-February. And once I’d decided to come home… well, you know how it is.’
‘Given the choice between the Côte d’Azur and Maidstone, I’m not sure I do.’
‘Oh, you do. It’s like, you know, when you’ve got a long journey and you end up leaving early, because you want to get on with it. Or, when you’re on holiday, and you suddenly feel like you’ve had enough and you want to get back to normal life.’
‘Never happened to me, Mum. Never. But OK. I get the point. And what about lovely Mittens? What did you do with him? I hope you haven’t left him to starve.’
‘Of course not. No, Manon’s going to try to catch him and take him to the vet, and then see if she can tame him. And in the meantime she has promised to feed him. She drives past the place three times a day, so… I left some money for food.’
‘She’s sweet,’ Fiona says. ‘But I still think you should have brought him home.’
‘Well, I would have had to catch him, for one. I never even managed to pick him up.’
‘And the cabin? Is it just sitting empty now?’
‘I don’t know. I assume that she’ll re-list it but I don’t know. She refunded me in any case – for all the unused weeks. So that was nice of her. I had a new car booked from tomorrow, the fourth – is that tomorrow? So, yes, from tomorrow. Cancellingthat before it got started saved me a fortune. So those, you know, financial reasons kind of forced my hand to do things more quickly than I otherwise might have. But I’m good with that.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘But I may go back there sometime with your dad. I’d like him to see the place. Because otherwise it will always be one thing we never shared. I’m not sure if that makes much sense, but…’
‘Sure,’ Fiona says. ‘That makes perfect sense. Though it does make it sound like you’re maybe intending to stay together.’
‘Yes. Well, I hope so. We’ll see.’
‘Thank God!’ Fiona says. ‘My friend Glen’s parents are separating and it’s a bloodbath.’
‘Is it?’ Wendy says, glancing at the kitchen clock. She’s about to ask Fiona if she has school today but before she can do so her daughter speaks, pre-empting her.
‘I thought I might skive off today,’ she says. ‘Would that be OK?’
‘On your first day back?’
Fiona nods. ‘That’s why. I won’t miss much. And I could pretend I mucked up the dates. That way I can spend the day with you.’
‘Oh,’ Wendy says, feeling touched. ‘Oh, OK, then. Yes. Of course.’
