“Kinky!” Tasha grinned again.
Lucy laughed. “I didn’t mean with us.”
Tasha shook her head. “I have an appointment this morning, but I’ll be back later.”
With a wink and a smile, Lucy skipped back to bed making Tasha happy for her friend, but sad for herself when she thought that Jim would be in bed, his bed, alone and thousands of miles away.
Nursing a fresh cup of tea, she sat down to text Jim.
There was no reply, so presumably he wasn’t up still.
After attending her appointment Tasha decided she should check on Dan and Pippa. She pulled up outside her family home and sighed with a sense of dread in the very pit of her stomach. She took out her phone to check her messages, but there were none, so text Jim, again.
Tasha put her phone away and made her way to the front door. She knocked and waited until Pippa opened it.
“Hi Tash. I’ve missed you. How was New York?” she asked, flinging herself into her big sister’s arms.
“Good. How are things here?”
“So-so. Crap at the beginning of the week then better after you sent Dan some money and a bit shitty again last night. I think he’s fucked-up again,” explained Pippa to a nervous looking Tasha.
“Don’t swear,” she chastened disapprovingly. “Where’s Dan?”
“Here I am,” he called from the stairs. “Hi sis, you look great.”
She smiled at him and as he pulled her in for a hug asked, “Is the house all sorted again?”
He nodded. “But Dad was in a weird mood last night.”
“Where is he now?”
“Pissed and sleeping it off in bed,” whispered Dan, “and Mum is with him.”
Tasha shuddered. “Any chance of a cup of tea?” Their parents being in bed might be for the best because it would give her the opportunity to check on her siblings without interruption.
“I’ll do it.” Dan left his sisters together and it was the younger one who quickly refocused excitedly.
“How was America? Are you going to do a movie out there? Did you buy me a present?”
Tasha shrugged and watching her younger sister’s excited questions thought of Lizzie and in turn, Jim. Pushing away the sense of sadness she felt, she focused on Pippa’s questions. “Not yet, but it was great. I’ll be spending some more time out there though and I may have bought you something, but it’s at home.”
They were sitting in the lounge drinking tea when her father appeared. “Oh, you’re back. What do you want?” he spat at her.
“Just popped in to see Pippa and Dan.”
Tasha resisted the urge to add,and to see what the fuck you have to show for the £100,000 of mine you’ve spent in the last year. She also managed not to point out he was the one who was permanently wanting something from their meetings, not the other way round.
