Deciding that hot chocolate was a better option than tea, Jules kept a close eye on Tasha through the doorway as she waited for the milk to come to the boil. She picked out a small floral tray, put a couple of biscuits on a plate, whisked the hot chocolate to a froth and headed back through.
‘Here you are. Hold the mug for a while and it will warm you through.’
Slowly Tasha opened her cupped palms to reveal several pieces of broken pottery.
‘Oh dear,’ Jules said. ‘What happened?’
‘It was for you,’ she said, the tears starting to flow again. ‘I made it for Granny, but she’s got loads of my jugs so I thought you might like it.’
‘I do,’ Jules said, as Tasha emptied the pieces into her hands. She turned the pieces of broken pottery over. ‘Why don’t we glue this? It will still be beautiful.’
‘It will still be broken though.’
‘In some cultures, they deliberately put flaws in things to remind us that life isn’t perfect.’
‘I know that, but this isn’t deliberately done by me – it was ruined by her. She ruins everything.’
‘Your mum?’
Jules put the pieces on the table and sat next to her. She felt a tightness in her chest. All those rows with her own mother came flooding back. Even now she thought it should hurt less each time they disagreed, but it never did. Every cross word from her mother felt like a betrayal. She turned her attention back to Tasha.
‘Perhaps it was an accident.’
Tasha stopped crying and twisted to look at Jules, her eyes wide in disbelief.
‘She took it from me and threw it on the flagstone floor because it was for you. She’s jealous.’
‘Of me? She doesn’t even know me.’
‘You’re a rival.’
‘For what?’
‘Lance’s affections.’
‘That’s ridiculous.’
‘She saw you in the front of the car when he dropped me off. She was furious.’
‘Well, she has no need to be and if you like I’ll tell her that. Lance is a nice man, but my heart has been broken. I’m not about to dive into another relationship now or… well, not for a long time.’
‘The thing is, Mum doesn’t like not getting her own way. Any attractive female of the right age who enters Lance’s orbit is a threat.’
‘This is totally irrational. I most definitely am not – a threat, I mean – and to be honest I don’t feel that attractive at the moment either. Being dumped does that to you.’
Tasha sniffed loudly and took a sip of the hot chocolate.
‘Don’t suppose you have any marshmallows, do you?’
‘No, sorry.’
‘I wouldn’t know about being dumped and Granny is always saying that no one is that happy with their looks at fourteen and I shouldn’t compare myself to celebs who’ve had the use of professional make-up artists and hairdressers and false eyelashes…’
‘…and stylists and been airbrushed in photos,’ Jules continued.
Tasha glanced up at Jules.
‘Have you ever worn false eyelashes?’
