Page 136 of The Reboot
Roly frowned. ‘Don’t think of it like that. Any money I gave you is yours. And these are a gift. So thank you.’
Loretta smiled, her eyes welling with tears. ‘You’re such a good kid, Roly. I don’t know what I did to deserve you,’ she said shakily.
‘Don’t you?’ he asked softly. ‘You did everything, Mum. You did everything for me.’
She shook her head. ‘If it hadn’t been for your nan…’
‘Nan’s great, but she’s not you.’
‘Sometimes I think you’d have been better off without me. Maybe I should have just let you live with her. She was a better parent than I ever was.’
‘I know she’s sensible and all that, and she has her head screwed on. But being a kid wouldn’t have been half as much fun with her as it was with you.’
‘You wouldn’t have got away with half as much, you mean.’ Loretta laughed.
‘Yeah, that too.’
Loretta’s face softened, and she smiled. ‘We did have a laugh, didn’t we? Despite everything. Even when we were skint, we had fun.’
‘Yeah, we did. We do.’
‘And we will again. Screw Mike!’ Loretta said loudly, raising her glass. ‘And the horse he didn’t ride in on.’
‘Screw Mike!’ Ella and Roly chorused, as they crashed their glasses together.
Loretta cheered up considerably after that, and Ella was impressed with how quickly she rallied. All her romantic disappointments had made her resilient, if nothing else. The dinner was delicious, and it quickly turned into a light-hearted affair. Roly offered to stay the night, but Loretta waved away his concerns, and told him there was no need.
‘Don’t worry about me. I can’t say I won’t do anything stupid,’ she said with a laugh, ‘because that ship has sailed. But I’m fine.’
‘You’re sure?’ Roly asked.
‘Yes, absolutely.’ She did look a lot perkier already. ‘I’m just a bit tired. But come to dinner on Sunday. You too, Ella, if you like.’ She looked between the two of them curiously as if just realising how strange it was that they’d come together. Her eyes twinkled, and she looked like she was dying to ask questions, but restrained herself. ‘And bring Ruth and Nora, if they’re free. I’d love to see them again.’
‘Thanks,’ Ella said. She gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘I’ll let you know.’
38
‘Doyou think she’ll be okay?’ Ella asked as they walked away.
‘Yeah.’ He dug his hands into his pockets. ‘She’ll bounce back. She always does.’
‘You were so good with her. You really cheered her up.’
‘I just wish … I wish she didn’t keep having to pick herself up again. God, I could kill those bastards! It’s not fair. I’ve seen her getting knocked back so many times, and it … it just kills me, you know?’
‘I know. It’s awful. She’s so lovely.’
‘Thanks for coming with me. It was better with you there.’ He took her hand. ‘It’s always better with you there.’
Ella wasn’t sure what to make of it, but it was nice. She stopped at the corner. ‘Well, I guess I should get a cab. Are you walking?’
‘Yeah.’ It was almost eleven, but it was still bright. ‘Come home with me? I want to talk.’
Ella’s heart picked up a beat. He’d already said all the worst things. Talking could only be good. ‘Okay.’
He smiled and they walked on, hand in hand in silence.
‘How are rehearsals going with Oh Boy!?’ she asked.
