it. His women-folk seem oblivious to any of that, though.
‘If you’re cold I can always put some more wood on the fire?’ I offer.
I shoot my uncle a glance, give a little shake of my head, so he knows I’m not going to bring the topic up again now, in front of his two women, this question of what’s going to happen to Dad. I get the impression if there’s to be any chance of this happening at all - Dad going to live with them - then it’s all going to have to be broached very delicately and sensitively with all parties concerned.
‘Coffee?’ Sam offers brightly, holding up her cup. I take my cousin in with a teensy pang of envy. At just fourteen she already looks suave and sophisticated and has the air about her of being generally well-kept . I wish I could be well-kept. I push my hair back self-consciously and my shabby, faded jeans that I’ve worn for ages are suddenly embarrassing in a way that I’d never even noticed before.
‘Sure,’ I say, ‘I’d love a cup,’ and my voice sounds over-grateful, as if it weren’t my own coffee, in my own home, that is being offered. ‘How long do you think you’ll be here for?’
‘Not long,’ my aunt says quickly. Too quickly. When she glances a little coyly at her husband I get the impression that this is a rehearsed line; something they’ve already talked about on their way up here. We won’t stay, okay? We’ll tell them we’re only stopping over briefly, that we have to be on our way …
‘But ... if it takes a while to fix the car you may be here for Christmas after all?’
This time, Carlotta’s smile is a little more strained.
‘We’re not planning on that happening, Rose.’ As we move into the living room she goes over and pulls back the curtains, immediately frowning at the sheet-snow that’s coming down thick and fast. ‘ Bloody hell!’ I hear the annoyance surface in her voice at the sheer scale of it. I can well recognise the feeling of frustration.
‘We’ve got somewhere else that we need to be, Rose.’
Snap, I think. I do too. My uncle’s forefinger and thumb, squeezing gently on my elbow says a whole host of things that I can only guess at; well done for not letting the cat out of the bag, we’ll talk about this a little later, I’m on your side . I imagine it means all of those things.
Right now I can only hope.
Rose
‘South East trains have all just been cancelled,’ Mrs P mutters as she joins me at the kitchen sink an hour later. ‘Mr P is walking up to fetch me - should be along any minute - but Rose, I think you’d better start planning how you’re going to put this lot up?’
‘ All cancelled, you sure?’ I’m placing the coffee cups carefully one by one on the draining board and she’s picking them up and slowly wiping them dry. No trains. I’ve had the growing sense in the last hour since the family arrived that they weren’t getting away and this confirms it. I feel a sense of satisfaction flood through me at the news, a quiet excitement. It means I’ll get a proper chance to talk to Ty about what we opened up before. We might actually be able to rough out some kind of plan, agree something in principle. I hope it’ll also mean Dad can get some quality time with his brother, something I know he’s yearned for.
‘It’s going to be a big let-down for them, Rose,’ Mrs P warns. I see her give a swift glance over her shoulder. ‘At least they’ll have a roof over their heads.’ She shakes her head reprovingly and I know that a comment Carlotta made earlier is still rankling with her; something about how she’s not sure Dad and I are coping with everything and how this place is ‘looking a bit run down’. I’m washing up quicker than she’s drying. I tap the draining board with my fingers and she wakes up again.
‘It means we’ll have to clear out the living room,’ Mrs P thinks out loud. ‘We’ll put the sofa bed to one side and pump up an air
‘If you’re cold I can always put some more wood on the fire?’ I offer.
I shoot my uncle a glance, give a little shake of my head, so he knows I’m not going to bring the topic up again now, in front of his two women, this question of what’s going to happen to Dad. I get the impression if there’s to be any chance of this happening at all - Dad going to live with them - then it’s all going to have to be broached very delicately and sensitively with all parties concerned.
‘Coffee?’ Sam offers brightly, holding up her cup. I take my cousin in with a teensy pang of envy. At just fourteen she already looks suave and sophisticated and has the air about her of being generally well-kept . I wish I could be well-kept. I push my hair back self-consciously and my shabby, faded jeans that I’ve worn for ages are suddenly embarrassing in a way that I’d never even noticed before.
‘Sure,’ I say, ‘I’d love a cup,’ and my voice sounds over-grateful, as if it weren’t my own coffee, in my own home, that is being offered. ‘How long do you think you’ll be here for?’
‘Not long,’ my aunt says quickly. Too quickly. When she glances a little coyly at her husband I get the impression that this is a rehearsed line; something they’ve already talked about on their way up here. We won’t stay, okay? We’ll tell them we’re only stopping over briefly, that we have to be on our way …
‘But ... if it takes a while to fix the car you may be here for Christmas after all?’
This time, Carlotta’s smile is a little more strained.
‘We’re not planning on that happening, Rose.’ As we move into the living room she goes over and pulls back the curtains, immediately frowning at the sheet-snow that’s coming down thick and fast. ‘ Bloody hell!’ I hear the annoyance surface in her voice at the sheer scale of it. I can well recognise the feeling of frustration.
‘We’ve got somewhere else that we need to be, Rose.’
Snap, I think. I do too. My uncle’s forefinger and thumb, squeezing gently on my elbow says a whole host of things that I can only guess at; well done for not letting the cat out of the bag, we’ll talk about this a little later, I’m on your side . I imagine it means all of those things.
Right now I can only hope.
Rose
‘South East trains have all just been cancelled,’ Mrs P mutters as she joins me at the kitchen sink an hour later. ‘Mr P is walking up to fetch me - should be along any minute - but Rose, I think you’d better start planning how you’re going to put this lot up?’
‘ All cancelled, you sure?’ I’m placing the coffee cups carefully one by one on the draining board and she’s picking them up and slowly wiping them dry. No trains. I’ve had the growing sense in the last hour since the family arrived that they weren’t getting away and this confirms it. I feel a sense of satisfaction flood through me at the news, a quiet excitement. It means I’ll get a proper chance to talk to Ty about what we opened up before. We might actually be able to rough out some kind of plan, agree something in principle. I hope it’ll also mean Dad can get some quality time with his brother, something I know he’s yearned for.
‘It’s going to be a big let-down for them, Rose,’ Mrs P warns. I see her give a swift glance over her shoulder. ‘At least they’ll have a roof over their heads.’ She shakes her head reprovingly and I know that a comment Carlotta made earlier is still rankling with her; something about how she’s not sure Dad and I are coping with everything and how this place is ‘looking a bit run down’. I’m washing up quicker than she’s drying. I tap the draining board with my fingers and she wakes up again.
‘It means we’ll have to clear out the living room,’ Mrs P thinks out loud. ‘We’ll put the sofa bed to one side and pump up an air
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