She sounded a bit awkward, Helena thought. ‘Are you OK, Mum?’
‘Of course, I’m perfectly all right. I’m with a friend.’
Helena got the impression she wasn’t with a close friend and wasn’t entirely happy about it either, so although she knew her mother hadn’t been kidnapped she felt obliged to ask: ‘You haven’t been taken anywhere against your will, have you? Say Ulysses if you have.’
Her mother’s laugh was rather brittle. ‘Don’t be silly and be careful going into the attic if you’re on your own. The ladder isn’t very secure. Promise?’
‘Is that you, darling?’ Gilly called.
‘Yup,’ said Jago, appearing in the hall with a large plastic box in his arms.
Gilly laughed. ‘Is my daughter with you? Or are you burgling me?’
Helena appeared with a slightly smaller box in her arms.
‘Is that the family silver in there?’ asked Gilly.
‘No. It’s all that silk yarn you’ve been keeping for me in the attic and that small loom,’ said Helena. ‘Did I tell you? I’m going to start weaving in silk!’
‘But I thought you were working flat out for World of Wool?’
‘I’m doing something quite different now!’ She looked at her watch. ‘We must go – Jago has to be somewhere – but I’ll ring you and tell you all about it. It’s all Amy’s fault!’ She followed Jago out of the back door. ‘And thank you so much for keeping everything in those boxes,’ she added. ‘It’s completely saved me!’
Although Helena was trying to remember the eccentricities of the loom that was travelling in pieces in the back of Jago’s pickup along with the plastic boxes, one part of her mind was on her mother. Did she look guilty? Unsettled? Just a bit odd? ‘I wish I’d remembered to ask my mother where she’d been when I called her.’ She paused. ‘Did she look shifty to you?’
Jago laughed heartily. ‘No! And I think your mum is entitled to a private life, Helly.’
He hadn’t called her that before and Helena took a moment to decide if she liked it or not. She concluded that she did. ‘I know, it’s just I’m in the habit of looking out for her. And she looks out for me.’
‘Is that what they call a “co-dependency”?’ Jago enquired.
Helena thought about this before acknowledging there was possibly some truth in his comment. ‘The trouble is, she was a bit of a wreck after the divorce. She was really strong all the way through it, but afterwards she sort of slumped for a bit.’
‘She’s lucky to have a daughter like you.’
‘And I’m lucky to have a mum like her! Totally keeping the moths away from my silk thread was amazing!’
‘So you’ll stop worrying about Gilly and just focus on your new project?’
‘I will.’
Jago stayed to help her assemble the small loom and then said, ‘I must dash. I’m looking for my next project. Always have to think ahead in this game.’
Helena was aware this gave her a slight feeling of loss. ‘Oh, OK! I’ll see you later. Maybe I’ll cook something?’
‘Or maybe you’ll get so involved in threading your new loom I’ll cook something?’
Helena beamed. ‘An even better idea.’
Threading the smaller loom did take forever, especially as the silk strands were so fine. She needed 125threads per inch and she wondered if she was mad to start doing this when she had so little time. But the time flew by and when Jago put a monster sandwich by her she had no idea where she was in the day.
‘Is that lunch or breakfast?’ she asked, suddenly starving, her hunger triggered by the sight of food.
‘Early supper. Shouldn’t you stop now? Can you still see?’
Helena blinked. ‘Actually you’re right, I’m not functioning all that well at the moment.’
‘Why don’t you bring the sandwich into the kitchen and have a glass of wine with it while I cook us something else?’
