He turned to Henry and smiled, but Adam had never been very good at hiding how he was feeling when he was a child and he was no better at it now. Admittedly, the glimpse Henry got of Adam’s face before he turned his attention back to the road had only been momentary, but his smile was superficial at best; it didn’t go anywhere near as far as his eyes.
‘In any case, what kind of message will it send if Idon’ttake the job?’ added Adam. ‘If you’re not a team player, then you’re nobody.’
‘Perhaps what you are is someone who cares about their mental health and recognises that, while it might be a massive boost to their career, it will only be that if the new post is hailed a success.’ He held up his hand. ‘And before you argue, I’m not saying you wouldn’t make it a success – I have every faith in your abilities – but it’s a massive ask, and the cost to you personally might be higher than you’re prepared for.’
‘You sound like Sam,’ said Adam, irritation clear in his voice.
‘Who’s she?’
‘Head of Foreign Languages. She’ll probably be the one picking up religious studies.’
‘Well, maybe Sam recognises the sense in being cautious.’
‘Yeah, but it’s different for women, isn’t it?’
‘Is it?’ countered Henry. ‘Really…? Even now?’
‘We’re still expected to bring in the money.’
Henry couldn’t help but wonder if Adam was speaking for all men, or just himself. Sofia’s business might be doing well, but the philosophy of only ever wanting more and more never stops. There’s always more to be had.
‘That’s a lot of expectation,’ he replied. Adam was fidgeting in his seat, becoming riled. ‘Look, I’m not throwing cold water on the idea,’ Henry continued. ‘But I’m your dad, it’s my job to worry about you. All I’m saying is that if the school doesn’t get the results it wants, even though what they’re asking of their staff seems an incredibly tall order, what then? No one’s ever a failure if they’re set up to fail. But no one ever sees it like that either.’ He studied Adam’s expression. ‘Well at least you have the holidays to think about it. That will give you and Sofia plenty of time to talk things over.’
‘I’ve got a tonne of reports to go through, Dad.’
‘Okay, it will give yousometime to talk things over. But make sure that you do, and…I know I don’t see you all that often, but Iamhere for a few days. I’m always happy to listen.’
Adam didn’t reply. It was, perhaps, the natural place for the conversation to end, but Henry was very well aware that wasn’t the only reason. He changed the subject, and they spent the remainder of the journey talking about which books they had recently read. This, at least, was a safe topic of conversation.
Blanche elected to sit in the back once they were ready for the return journey, so Henry’s opportunities to talk to her were few, beyond the usual pleasantries. She did, however, lean forward just before they turned onto Adam’s drive and give his shoulder a squeeze in solidarity. He appreciated that. Maybe this Christmas wouldn’t be too bad after all.
Sofia appeared to have changed outfits while they’d been away, and a lot more besides. She wasn’t in what Henry would have called casual attire before, but now she had on a long red velvet skirt and a fluffy white jumper with short sleeves, decorated with some sort of sparkly beads. Her hair was curled and her lipstick was an exact match for the shade of her skirt.
After giving Blanche a hug, and a kiss which didn’t quite meet her cheek, Sofia led them through to the kitchen with an expansive wave of her arms.
‘Adam, why don’t you get everyone a drink while I just take care of this quick video?’
Henry’s eyes followed the direction of her hand to the dining room where the table had been laid for a bacchanalian feast. It was heaped with holly and trails of ivy which curled around a charcuterie board and another one piled with cheeses, grapes and the kind of savoury biscuits his grocery budget would never allow him to buy. Creamy-coloured candles had been placed atregular intervals along the table, together with a huge glass bowl which sat in the centre, full of fresh roses, the colour of which incidentally also matched Sofia’s skirt and lipstick. A tripod stood in one corner of the room where a waiting camera was already fixed to capture the scene.
‘Oh…’ Henry turned to Adam in confusion. ‘I thought you were going out for lunch. Isn’t today the golf club do?’
Sofia bustled past him. ‘This isn’t for us…It’s our Christmas Day dinner. I won’t have a minute of time on the day itself to record this, so I’m doing it now. Then I can just upload it to my socials when I’m ready.’
Henry glanced at Blanche, but she looked just as bemused as he did.
‘I’ve started a blog on my website,’ Sofia explained. ‘And it’s surprised me how popular it’s been. I mean, really popular. People can’t get enough of aspirational content these days, and because I cross-post to Instagram and TikTok, it’s led to such an increase in business that I can’t neglect it. But it’s not always that easy to find things to say, especially at this time of year when everyone expects to hear about all the wonderful Christmassy things you’ve been doing.’
‘So this is all fake?’ said Blanche.
Sofia shot her a murderous look. ‘No, it’s not fake. I’m just managing my time more effectively.’
Adam cleared his throat. ‘And speaking of which, we wondered if you might like to go to church tomorrow evening? What do you think? The setting is just perfect for the kind of photos that will look great on Sofia’s blog. If we get a bit of frost as well, it will look even more amazing.’
‘Or snow,’ put in Sofia. ‘That would be incredible.’
‘Mainly though, it struck us that it could be a lovely thing to do. Something you might enjoy a little more than another party.’
Henry glanced from one to the other. Adam sounded as if he was bribing a small child with sweets, while Sofia looked a little embarrassed at having to make it clear that the outing was entirely for their sake, and nothing whatsoever to do with her new-found desire to be an influencer.
