ever dream of working out, she still gets out of breath climbing up to her attic room, but she imagines that’s how she might feel if she did.
Then in the evening Cleo and Jon take their two girls to the theatre to see some new musical or other. The show has been booked up for months and they bought their tickets back in April so there’s no chance Abi can go along with them, which she thinks is a bit of a relief because she really, really needs some more time on her own, and she slouches on the sofa in a way she never feels she can when Cleo and Jon are there, and watches bad TV and eats take-out Indian from the restaurant round the corner. She spends five minutes tidying the place and spraying away the mushroom balti smells with air freshener before the others get back. She’s still not that at home.
On Sunday there’s no Elena so Abi sneaks downand makes herself a big pot of coffee before anyone else is up, takes it back upstairs and sits reading in the stately Louis armchair in her room. The prospect of a whole long day with the five of them all together fills her with horror slightly, but in the end it’s a beautiful morning so they go for a long walk in Regent’s Park – Megan in her 80s get-up, Tara and Cleo both perfectly groomed and made-up, teetering on their heels and Abi slouching along in sweatpants and trainers.
They walk round in circles trying to find the rose garden that Abi has read about and which she cannot believe none of the family seem to know anything about despite the fact that they live only fifteen minutes’ walk away. In the event, it’s a bit of an anticlimax because most of the roses are past their best, so they walk to Marylebone High Street and sit down to a huge pub lunch (well, those of them who eat do; Cleo picks around her roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and in the end just nibbles on some carrots while Tara, eyes always on her mother, flirts with some lamb chops but never gets fully acquainted).
Abi feels much more relaxed around the brother-in-law formerly known as Jonty now, but when they get home she still claims she has things to do upstairs and sneaks off for a nap. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she is running around after two kids all day. It’s hard work. At home when she’s not at the library and Phoebe’s at school (
was
at school, she reminds herself. Those days are over) she spends herdays pottering about, a bit of housework here, some laundry there, a quick fix of
Loose Women
. It’s hardly taxing. She ends up sleeping for nearly two hours. At this rate her job in the bookshop is starting to look like a holiday.
Monday: Tara to street-dance class, Megan to French tuition, pick up Tara, pick up Megan, lunch, Tara to a drama workshop, Megan to violin, pick up Tara, pick up Megan, home. In between engagements Abi drives around London getting lost and failing to find anywhere to park.
At five thirty when Jon sticks his head round the door and says, ‘Salmon en croute, want to help?’ she’s so exhausted she wants to say no, but she’s also keen for any more insights Jon might offer up into her sister, so she drags herself off the sofa and follows him into the kitchen. They chat about their days for a bit (latest suggestions for onehitcomparison.com : ‘get your life back with onehitcomparison.com ’ from him and ‘lazy mothers swear by onehitcomparison.com ’ from her) although Abi struggles to make hers sound like anything other than a day of drudgery.
‘So, new job tomorrow,’ he says as he’s rolling out the freshly defrosted pastry. ‘Looking forward to it?’
‘I am, actually. I’m a bit nervous too, which is stupid but, you know …’
‘It’ll be just like the library except people’ll be handing over cash instead of library cards.’
‘I know,’ she says. ‘That’s the bit I’m worried about.That I’ll forget the taking-the-cash part. Someone’ll get done for shoplifting, but it’ll be my fault.’
He laughs.
Then in the evening Cleo and Jon take their two girls to the theatre to see some new musical or other. The show has been booked up for months and they bought their tickets back in April so there’s no chance Abi can go along with them, which she thinks is a bit of a relief because she really, really needs some more time on her own, and she slouches on the sofa in a way she never feels she can when Cleo and Jon are there, and watches bad TV and eats take-out Indian from the restaurant round the corner. She spends five minutes tidying the place and spraying away the mushroom balti smells with air freshener before the others get back. She’s still not that at home.
On Sunday there’s no Elena so Abi sneaks downand makes herself a big pot of coffee before anyone else is up, takes it back upstairs and sits reading in the stately Louis armchair in her room. The prospect of a whole long day with the five of them all together fills her with horror slightly, but in the end it’s a beautiful morning so they go for a long walk in Regent’s Park – Megan in her 80s get-up, Tara and Cleo both perfectly groomed and made-up, teetering on their heels and Abi slouching along in sweatpants and trainers.
They walk round in circles trying to find the rose garden that Abi has read about and which she cannot believe none of the family seem to know anything about despite the fact that they live only fifteen minutes’ walk away. In the event, it’s a bit of an anticlimax because most of the roses are past their best, so they walk to Marylebone High Street and sit down to a huge pub lunch (well, those of them who eat do; Cleo picks around her roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and in the end just nibbles on some carrots while Tara, eyes always on her mother, flirts with some lamb chops but never gets fully acquainted).
Abi feels much more relaxed around the brother-in-law formerly known as Jonty now, but when they get home she still claims she has things to do upstairs and sneaks off for a nap. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she is running around after two kids all day. It’s hard work. At home when she’s not at the library and Phoebe’s at school (
was
at school, she reminds herself. Those days are over) she spends herdays pottering about, a bit of housework here, some laundry there, a quick fix of
Loose Women
. It’s hardly taxing. She ends up sleeping for nearly two hours. At this rate her job in the bookshop is starting to look like a holiday.
Monday: Tara to street-dance class, Megan to French tuition, pick up Tara, pick up Megan, lunch, Tara to a drama workshop, Megan to violin, pick up Tara, pick up Megan, home. In between engagements Abi drives around London getting lost and failing to find anywhere to park.
At five thirty when Jon sticks his head round the door and says, ‘Salmon en croute, want to help?’ she’s so exhausted she wants to say no, but she’s also keen for any more insights Jon might offer up into her sister, so she drags herself off the sofa and follows him into the kitchen. They chat about their days for a bit (latest suggestions for onehitcomparison.com : ‘get your life back with onehitcomparison.com ’ from him and ‘lazy mothers swear by onehitcomparison.com ’ from her) although Abi struggles to make hers sound like anything other than a day of drudgery.
‘So, new job tomorrow,’ he says as he’s rolling out the freshly defrosted pastry. ‘Looking forward to it?’
‘I am, actually. I’m a bit nervous too, which is stupid but, you know …’
‘It’ll be just like the library except people’ll be handing over cash instead of library cards.’
‘I know,’ she says. ‘That’s the bit I’m worried about.That I’ll forget the taking-the-cash part. Someone’ll get done for shoplifting, but it’ll be my fault.’
He laughs.
Similar Books
