Mum pours the tea and hands me a mug. We lean against the worktop to drink.
“Next time you come over, I’ll have actual chairs,” I say.
Mum smiles warmly. “There’s no rush. You’ll get the furniture sorted soon enough.” She looks around the bare kitchen. “Turning a house into a home takes time, but I think you’re going to be happy in Ardmara. I think we all are.”
It’s not just Lily and me who’ve moved to Ardmara—Mum and Da have too. They got their keys a week ago, and Lily and Ihave been squashed into their spare room since then. It’ll be nice to have our own space again, but I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done: coming with me to this new town, supporting me, after everything that happened. After I couldn’t bear to show my face anymore in the village where I grew up, where everyone knew what Danny did to me.
“You know,” Mum says, “I’ve joined a knitting club in town. Meets Mondays at the community centre.”
“Er, Mum, can you even knit?”
She waves away my concern. “I’ll pick it up. It’s more for the blether anyway. It’ll be nice to make some friends around town. I’m sure you’ll be making some soon too.”
I’m less sure of that. It’s going to take me a while to trust anyone again outside of the people in this room—and Da, of course. Speaking of Da...
“Where’s Da got to?”
“Murdo!” Mum calls. “Where are you? Your tea is here and it’s going cold.”
“Just trying to fix this light, Pauline,” Da’s voice carries back. “I’ll only be a minute.”
Mum and I exchange a look of horror. Da and DIY donotgo together.
“Da, leave it!” I hurry out of the kitchen and find him just outside the front door, peering up at the exterior light fitting with the determined expression of a man about to make things worse.
“I’m perfectly capable of changing a lightbulb, Ainsley,” he says, not looking away from his target.
I open my mouth to argue but Mum beats me to it. “Remember the kitchen tap?” She crosses her arms. “Or the bathroom fan? Or that time with the?—”
“Those were different.” His ears go pink. “This is just a bulb.”
“Honestly, Da, I’ll sort it later. You’ve both already done so much for me. If you can just help unload the cars, that’s all I need today. For now, Mum’s right: have your tea while it’s still hot.”
He considers, then sighs. “Oh, all right. I suppose I could do with a cuppa.”
We head back to the kitchen, where Lily has clearly helped herself to another biscuit and is trying to look innocent. I don’t have the heart to tell her off.
Mum takes a sip of tea. “We might not be much use with DIY, but you do know we’ll help out however we can, don’t you, Ainsley?”
I swallow hard. “Mum, seriously, I don’t think you and Dacouldhelp any more than you already have.”
And it’s true. They’ve done everything—relocated their lives for my fresh start, invested their savings in the salon, lent me the deposit for this house. I owe them more than I’ll ever be able to give back.
The weight of it sits heavy on my shoulders. Exciting though this all is, the whole venture terrifies me. Because ithasto work. For my parents, so I can pay them back one day. For Lily, who deserves stability and happiness. And for me, because I need to stand on my own two feet again after being knocked down and humiliated by the man who should’ve loved us both.
But I won’t let my parents see that fear. Not today, when everything’s supposed to be about new beginnings.
So I grab a chocolate bickie, dunk it in my tea, and take a bite.
It’s just gone six, and for the last wee while it’s just been me and Lily. My parents left a while ago, after both cars had been emptied.
Lily’s bed has been reassembled in her new room—took me the better part of an hour to remember which bit went where—and she’s up there now, arranging her cuddly toys in order of importance. My room, meanwhile, boasts nothing but boxes and an air mattress in the corner. Not exactly a glamorous fresh start, but it’ll do for a few nights until my proper bed arrives.
“Mummy!” Lily calls down. “Mr Flops wants to know when we’re having dinner.”
“Tell Mr Flops we had fish and chips earlier, remember? Thatwasdinner.”
“But that was ages ago!”
