Before Liv had a chance to ask Johnny if he was okay, Jake plonked down three plates. ‘Tea’s ready,’ he said, patting his son on the back. ‘Plenty more fish in the sea, mate. Plus, Man United are on TV tomorrow. Nothing beats that.’
Ignoring his dad, Johnny wolfed down his food so fast Liv doubted he tasted it. She stopped herself from comforting her son. The boys used to love her bear hugs when they were young, laughing and pressing their cheeks against hers. Now they winced and shrank away if she tried to show them any affection. Cuddles were in short supply from Jake, too. Most of the romance Liv enjoyed these days came courtesy of Georgia Rory’s dashing heroes.
Johnny clattered down his knife and fork. ‘I’m going upstairs,’ he said dolefully and pushed his chair under the table. He paused. ‘Um, I might need a new laptop. It keeps crashing and I can’t revise properly.’
Jake’s and Liv’s eyes met briefly. Up until a few months ago, Johnny had a Saturday job at a sports shop, but it had gone out of business. He hadn’t been able to find another job to fit around school, and Paperpress couldn’t afford an extra pair of hands.
Jake cut his toast slowly. ‘Okay, mate. We’ll see what we can do.’
After Johnny left the room, Jake and Liv finished their food in silence.
‘Don’t worry about money,’ he said as they washed the pots together. ‘I’ll sort it out.’
It was something he’d been promising for some time. Liv hadn’t told him the washing machine was on the blink, and there was a hole in their bedroom carpet.
She rubbed his back. ‘I know you will.’
Financial issues at Paperpress meant Jake leaped out of bed in the morning to check his emails and worked at the kitchen table late at night. Now that his parents were retiring, Jake was desperate to keep the business in his family. However, it meant he and his sister, Katrina, had to urgently turn the company’s fortunes around. Most of Jake and Liv’s modest savings had been sucked into the business, leaving them with zero funds for emergencies and difficulty meeting their household bills.
Jake dipped a plate into the water while deep in thought. ‘I hate to say this, but…’ He hesitated. ‘Do you really want to clean forever? Isn’t it time to try something new?’
‘I’m not experienced in anything else, and cleaning fits around the kids.’ Liv determinedly polished a tap.
‘Mack and Johnny are grown up now. You could find something you love doing, and with better pay.’
Liv didn’t reply. She squeezed out a cloth and wiped all the surfaces in the kitchen. Whenever she felt under pressure, or things were messy in her head, cleaning helped her to create order.
Of course, she’d love to try something new for work, but her embarrassment about her lack of qualifications, after leaving school at the age of sixteen, followed her around like a starving dog looking for scraps. The blood in her veins cooled at the thought of forging a new career in her forties.
‘Or, you could have a word with Essie…’ he said.
‘About what?’
‘A pay rise or something. She must be loaded.’
After today’s events, Liv could hardly dothat. And she’d never told Jake about the embarrassing way she’d got a job with the author in the first place.
When his phone rang, she welcomed the interruption.
‘Can you get that?’ He searched for a towel to dry his hands.
Liv gritted her teeth when she saw who was calling. ‘Hi, Katrina.’
‘Oh, Liv, it’syou,’ Jake’s sister said. Her words were as stiff as her copper coiffed hair and the eighties-style power suits she wore. ‘Is my brother there? It’s abusinesscall.’
Do the grown-ups need to talk?Liv wanted to snap.
Jake took the phone from her and mouthed,Thanks. He disappeared into the coat cupboard to take the call. ‘Oh, Katrina, that’s not good news,’ he said, shutting the door behind him. ‘How much is that going to cost?’
Upstairs, an Arctic Monkeys bassline thudded out from behind Johnny’s closed door. ‘I’m busy,’ he called out, when Liv knocked.
‘Okay, love, let me know if you need anything,’ she shouted over the thumping music.
She dusted around her bedroom, even though she’d only done it yesterday. Heaving a sigh, she hung up her jeans and screwed her T-shirt into a ball. Was it normal to feel so adrift in a family of four?
Liv selected herThe River After Midnightpaperback to read for the umpteenth time. It was Essie’s third book, a fan favourite that had flown up the bestseller charts when it first published in the UK and USA, cementing her stardom. Although she loved reading the latest bestsellers, Liv found it comforting to turn to her old books. Giving them away would be like sending a much-loved pet to a new home.
She ran a bath, got into the water and ate chocolate cake while starting to read. It was only seconds until she imagined herself as Georgia Rory.
