Page 128 of The Reboot
‘I know that!’
‘Do you?’
‘Of course!’
‘Why are you questioning me about seeing her, then?’
‘Because … it’s weird. We’re not together anymore.’
‘She’s entitled to have her own relationships, separate from you. We’re friends.’
‘Friends? You’refriendswith my nan?’
‘Yes. Why is that so hard for you to understand?’
‘Well, I mean … she’s seventy.’
‘And you don’t think seventy-year-olds should have friends?’
‘Yes, but … friends their own age.’
Ella rolled her eyes in exasperation. ‘It’s not as if we’re shagging! What’s the age difference got to do with it?’
‘Nothing, just … I mean, what have you got in common with a seventy-year-old woman?’
‘Plenty, if you must know! Not that it’s any of your business. But we have similar interests and we’re on the same wavelength about a lot of things. She’s teaching me to knit, and we watchQueer Eyetogether. She’s a really interesting woman and we like each other. Okay?’
He nodded. ‘Okay. Sorry.’ He couldn’t believe she was making him feel like he was in the wrong.
‘Well, bye,’ she said, but she still stood there. She seemed hesitant, and opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. She turned to go, then turned back to him immediately, her face set, as if she’d decided something. ‘Actually, I’m glad I bumped into you. I wanted to talk to you.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’m a bit worried about your mum.’
‘You’reworried about my mum?’
‘Yeah. About this boyfriend of hers…’
‘Not this again!’ Roly shook his head. ‘Where do you get off, interfering in my family?’
She blushed. ‘Sorry. But I had to say something.’
‘Yeah, because you know what’s best for everyone, right? Look, Mum’s fine. She’s happy. Just leave her be. He’s coming over next week, you know.’
‘Yeah.’ She nodded. ‘Did you know she paid for the flight?’
His stomach plummeted. She could probably tell by his face that the answer was no, and he hated being wrong-footed by her, resented her knowing things about his family that he didn’t.
‘So what?’ He shrugged. ‘Look at all the stuff he’s given her.’
‘What’s the price of a few gifts in the grand scheme of things?’
‘Thegrand schemeof swindling my mum out of the price of a flight? Sounds like the work of a criminal mastermind, all right.’
‘It wasn’t just the flight. She sent him money too.’
‘Well, if he’s after my mum for her money, he’s barking up the wrong tree.’
‘She doesn’t have to have much, just some. Whatever he can persuade her to part with.’
Roly flicked his eyes to the house. ‘Have you said any of this to my nan?’
