Jamie raised his eyebrows at Samira. She looked from kid to kid and shrugged. It was dark and they both had a mop of floppy brown hair and wore jeans, sweatshirts and sneakers. Nicole started the car and it lurched forward.
“Fuck,” she said, shoving the gearstick into Neutral.
“Language, Nicole.”
“Shut up.”
“They’re going to learn the words anyway. They might as well learn what they’re not supposed to say.”
“Because you’resoexperienced at parenting.”
Jamie twisted, keeping an eye out the windows as Nicole reversed onto the road. “What she means by that glare, Samira, is that she’s having to beg and borrow to get through law school while I—”
“While raising two children,” Nicole interjected.
“While raising two childr—”
“Alone.”
Jamie took a breath. “While raising two children alone, and meanwhile I—”
“In a shit heap of a house that has so many leaks we need umbrellas indoors.”
Jamie waited. “You done?” he said, eventually.
“Just getting started. You can see the bloody car I drive... Samantha, is it?”
“Language, Nicole,” Jamie said. “Not that they’re listening. And it’s Samira. You know tablets can be bad for brain development?”
“I imagine being around you will set them back a few decades.”
“I don’t think they’ve noticed I’m here.”
Jamie fished the baseball caps from the rucksack and handed one to Samira. Her sunglasses were in the car back at the cottage.
“Are you sure you want to go all the way to Edinburgh?” Nicole said. “I can recommend a sucky bog I can drop you at.”
Jamie didn’t need light to know Samira’s expression was an anxious one. He and Nicole knew their competitive insults were mostly in jest, but Samira wouldn’t. “You crack me up, Nic.”
Samira cleared her throat. “I don’t know if we should be going to Edin—”
“You have eighty minutes to come up with a better plan—seventy, the way Nic drives.”
“Sixty, if I can help it,” Nicole said. “Sooner I ditch you...”
“And you wonder why I vowed to stay away.”
“You didn’t vow anything. I made you promise to stay away. But of course you wouldn’t remember that because you were so shit-faced at the time. What are you on today?”
Jamie glanced at Samira.Shut up, Nicole.
“Oh,” Nicole said, pointedly, noting his look. She angled her mirror to take in Samira. “He’s not told you, has he, love? If I was you, I’d surrender to whoever’s chasing you. You’d be better off.”
“Nicole, don’t. Seriously.” He’d have to have that conversation with Samira at some point—in the unlikely event they stuck together long enough—but not now.
“Who is chasing you, anyway? The police?”
“No.” At least, he didn’t think so.
