He stopped in the doorway and smiled. ‘You’ve forgotten.’
‘Forgotten?’
‘No chance of an early night. It’s Dorothy’s birthday; she’s having a bash at the pub.’
Nadia’s heart sank. She loved Dorothy, one of the Whistlestop River Freewheelers, dearly and he was right; there was no chance of sneaking off home because Nadia would never want to let Dorothy or anyone else down. But her energy levels were seriously lacking. She usually stayed behind and worked extra hours but even that seemed too much right now.
‘Come for a bit; it’ll do you good. I’m not staying for too long, and I won’t be drinking; I have to collect Beau from a friend’s.’
‘What time does it start?’
‘You really have forgotten.’ He smiled. ‘Half an hour, so I’m going straight there.’
‘I’d better go freshen up and do the same then.’
And although she was tired, at least she was doing something with the people she cared about – she called them her family these days and she meant it.
After all, she didn’t have anyone else. At least, not any more.
5
Hudson wouldn’t have minded a few drinks tonight but the dad taxi took precedence, so he parked up outside the pub just as his phone began to ring.
He saw Lucinda’s name on the display.
‘Don’t do this,’ he muttered, tempted not to answer the call. She was supposed to pick Carys up from childcare and have her for the evening so at least he only had one of the kids to worry about when he had a social engagement.
It stopped ringing but started up again after barely a pause. And he couldn’t ignore it. It might be an emergency – unlikely but possible.
‘Hello.’ He closed his eyes, waiting for the delivery of excuses.
And she didn’t disappoint.
As he drove to the childcare centre, he called his parents on handsfree. They were used to this – didn’t make him any less pissed off but at least he had a back-up.
Within thirty minutes, he’d collected Carys and dropped her at his parents.
‘It’s only for a couple of hours max,’ he said.
‘Don’t worry about it; we love having her here.’ His dad stood on the doorstep; Hudson’s mum had already whisked her granddaughter inside the house. ‘I’m assuming you don’t have time for a cup of tea.’
‘Sorry, Dad, next time. It’s Dorothy’s birthday celebrations at the pub and I promised I’d go. Otherwise I would’ve cancelled when Lucinda let me down.’
‘Tea next time.’ He smiled. ‘And no worries looking after Carys; it’s what we’re here for.’ His hair was almost white now and he often joked that he fitted the role of grandparent perfectly these days. He’d had dark-grey hair for a long time and it was as though suddenly overnight, a white wash had come along and left its mark. It hadn’t aged him though; his zest for life since retirement hadn’t waned at all.
‘Well, I really appreciate it. And I know it’s short notice.’
‘Grandparent duty is fine by us whenever you need it.’
‘Thanks, Dad. She’s got a change of clothes in the bag I’ve handed over; hopefully, you won’t need them but just in case.’ He started off back down the path.
‘What was the reason this time?’ His dad’s voice followed after him.
Hudson turned back. ‘She’s cracked a tooth, has an emergency dentist appointment.’
His dad chuckled. ‘At least she’s original.’
Hudson had to laugh too. Whether it was an excuse or not he had no idea; all he knew was that Lucinda was good at making things up. She’d lied enough times over the years about little things – a meeting running over time when really she was going out for drinks, a gym session she didn’t want to miss when really she was meeting up with a friend, a work trip that was four days when really it was only three but she’d felt she’d needed the extra day to herself before she came home. The lying had started earlyon in their marriage with a deception Hudson had found hard to forgive.
