‘Yes, I do,’ Sive said firmly. ‘And he didn’t cheat on me, not really. Nothing happened between them until after he’d split up with me.’
‘That’s just a technicality,’ Mimi said, waving a hand dismissively. ‘He cheated on you emotionally – which is worse, if you ask me.’
‘Well, I didn’t ask you. And he’s not abandoning me with the baby. He asked me to marry him, remember? And he wants to be a proper dad to Bean, which means he’s going to be in our lives for a long time. So you have to behave yourself and get on with him.’
‘Of course we will,’ Aoife said soothingly. ‘Won’t we?’ She gave Mimi a warning look.
‘I suppose,’ Mimi said grudgingly.
‘If I can forgive him, you certainly can,’ Sive said. ‘I want Bean to know her father, and if Ben wants to be a proper dad, I’m not going to do anything to discourage him, and you shouldn’t either.’
‘You know she’s right,’ Aoife said to Mimi. ‘Is it just him?’ she asked Sive, stirring a pot of cranberry sauce.
‘No, Bridget and Cal are coming too.’
‘Oh, great.’
‘And Inez.’
‘Inez?’ Mimi frowned. ‘Who’s that?’
‘Anna Purna. Turns out her real name’s Inez.’
‘And you invited her to the house?’ Mimi shrieked. ‘Why?’
‘Because she’s Ben’s partner now and she’ll be part of Bean’s life too. I don’t want my child growing up with tension and atmospheres, so we all have to get along. And that means you too,’ she told Mimi firmly.
Aoife nodded, but Mimi still looked mutinous.
‘I get that we have to tolerate Ben for Bean’s sake, but I don’t see why we have to entertain Anna.’
‘Well, I’m telling you we do, so that’s that. They’re going to be here in the morning and if you can’t behave yourself, you can stay in your room.’
Mimi gave a startled burst of laughter and Sive couldn’t help joining in, surprised at herself.
‘You’re going to be such a great mum,’ Mimi said, putting her arms around Sive and giving her a squeeze.
‘Lucky I have you to practise on.’
‘I’ll be nice as pie to Anna, promise.’
‘Good. And you can stop calling her Anna for starters. Her name’s Inez.’
‘You started that,’ Mimi reminded her.
‘Well, now I’m ending it.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Now get back to peeling those vegetables, young lady, or there’ll be no dessert for you later.’
They were all smiling to themselves as they went back to their tasks.
Sam, Jonathan and Rocco joined them later that evening, with carloads of presents, booze and groceries ready for the morning, and one vast orange tabby in a cat carrier. They’d also brought overnight bags as they were going to stay the night. It meant everyone would be on hand first thing tomorrow to help with preparations for the drinks party, but more than that, it wouldn’t have felt right to the three sisters not to wake up in the same house on Christmas morning. Sive wasn’t ready for that, and she was pleased that apparently her sisters weren’t either.
When they’d unpacked and stored all the food and drink, fed Marlowe and put the presents under the tree, they all had dinner together. Rocco brought a huge fish pie from a local deli and Aoife had made an apple and berry crumble for dessert. After they’d cleared up, they sat by the fire in the living room, lit by the glow of the Christmas tree lights and watchedHome Alone. Sive snuggled beside Sam on the sofa, his arm around her, feeling utterly content. It was good to have the house full of people again. Even Marlowe seemed happy to be back in his own home,curled up on Mimi’s lap, purring like a motor as she absently stroked him, her eyes on the TV.
Sive still woke on Christmas mornings with a sense of childish excitement. She and her sisters would usually spring out of bed and go downstairs to open presents first thing, just as they had when they were children. But on this particular morning, waking with Sam in bed beside her, she was in no hurry to get up and she was glad that today, with their boyfriends staying over and needing to be ready for guests arriving from ten-thirty, they’d decided to do the grown-up thing and wait for presents until the afternoon.
