Hattie opened her mouth to respond but her sister still wasn’t finished. ‘You’re his aunt. You have to have him. Please.’
Hattie didn’t quite know where to start. ‘But surely he can’t just attend a college on a temporary basis?’
‘Of course not. If it goes well I’m considering moving out of town. My house would sell for a fortune. I thought he could try it for the second half of the summer term. And if it works out, he can stay on in September.’
‘Won’t it be hard for him, joining halfway through the term?’
‘He’ll be fine! I’m sure.’
Hattie could see that having come up with the idea of sending her son to her sister’s, Leonie wasn’t going to give up on it, no matter what Hattie thought.
‘What about his father? Couldn’t Xander go to college there?’
‘He lives in Scotland, Hattie, as you well know!’
‘But, Lennie, I hardly know Xander.’
‘And whose fault is that? You hardly ever come to Mummy and Daddy’s Sunday lunches!’
This was true: Hattie did avoid the lunches that Leonie drove down from London to attend. They were full of ritual built around overcooked meat and a forensic examination of Hattie’s life and how it could be so much better.
‘You know I often work at weekends.’ This was partly true; she did work on Saturdays sometimes.
‘Well, never mind that now. Is it OK if I bring him next week, on my way to Mum and Dad’s? It’s a trek to go via you but I have to say goodbye to them before I disappear to Switzerland.’
Hattie took a few calming breaths. ‘Xander is the most precious person in the whole world to you. Why would you leave him with a sister who has absolutely no experience with children? And even less with fifteen-year-olds.’
‘I have no choice. I’ll be there tomorrow week around two. And he only eats pasta with ketchup. You have to give him a daily vitamin pill.’ And Leonie hung up.
Hattie looked in the fridge and eyed the bottle of white wine. She drank very little these days (something her parents considered faddish – a bottle of wine between them every night kept them going). But sometimes…
She had reached for the bottle when her phone rang again. It was her best friend, Rose. ‘Are you up for a barbie? Sam’s cooking and we’ve got some lovely steak.’
An evening with Rose and Sam would be relaxing and fun and she needed that after the day she’d had. She heard herself saying, ‘Do you want me to bring anything?’ She would put the forgotten omelette into a stir fry the following day.
She was at her friend’s house forty-five minutes later. It would have been sooner had it not been for yet another telephone call – this time from her mother, who had evidently spoken to Leonie.
Although Rose had said she didn’t need to bring anything, Hattie had cut a bunch of herbs: parsley, thyme, mint and some coriander.
‘Oh, thank you!’ said Rose, burying her face into the bouquet. ‘They smell amazing and Sam will be delighted.’
‘They’re only out of the garden.’
‘But you make them grow,’ said her friend. ‘Wherever you live, there are always amazing herbs. You must be part witch. Now, come round. There’s a sun lounger with your name on it.
‘Wine?’ asked Rose as they walked through the house, a haven of bright colours, mismatched patterns, rugs, cushions and eclectic paintings that always lifted Hattie’s heart. ‘Or some sparkling water I’ve put cucumber and lemon into to make it seem special?’
‘Water, please. That sounds delicious.’
‘Only you could get excited about water,’ said Rose. ‘Now sit down and relax. I’ll bring it out to you.’
Sam was turning steaks on the barbecue but when he saw Hattie he put down his tongs and came over to give her a warm and brotherly hug.
‘How are you, Hats?’ he said.
‘Fine, thanks.’ Hattie smiled fondly at him. He was the only person who called her Hats and she allowed it because he was married to her best friend. And although he was completely unaware, he and Rose represented her most successful match to date.
Rose knew this because she was one of the very few who knew about Hattie’s visions. Hattie had had to explain in order to get her friend to go to a very random fund-raising event that had nothing to do with either of them. Rose had been sceptical but went along to please Hattie and so met her future husband. Rose had been convinced ever after.
