‘No, nothing else.’
‘Good, because I have something else to say to you, and I don’t want any arguments. You’re to take the rest of the week off; show your face in the office and I’ll have security escort you from the building. No, don’t even think about disagreeing with me. You’ve had a helluva day and I want you fully rested before you come back on Monday. Maybe you should see your doctor, just to be on the safe side. Yes?’
‘You’re quite the mother hen when you want to be, aren’t you?’
‘If caring for my employees makes me a mother hen, I’ll take it. Now, according to the satnav, we’re five minutes from our destination.’
Five more minutes, thought Martha, and then she’d be home with Tom and this bizarre day would be over.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Late that night, and back from the pub and farewell drinks with a crowd from work, Willow was more than ready for the day to be over. But first she needed something to eat and, more importantly, for Rick to calm down.
She had just put two slices of bread into the toaster and was patiently, and rather self-consciously as Rick watched her, waiting for it to pop up. She was starving, having only eaten a packet of pork scratchings all evening. Her friends from work had surprised her with a beautiful boxed set of Beatrix Potter books for the baby, and earlier, before she’d arrived for work, they’d decorated the office with pink balloons and Jeanie had made cupcakes with pink icing. They’d all made such a fuss of her, and when their shift was over, they had taken the balloons with them to the pub and tied them to the back of their chairs. Kyle had joined them for a drink but hadn’t stayed for long, which meant they could relax and enjoy themselves all the more once he’d gone.
She’d told Rick that she’d be home at nine o’clock, but she hadn’t rolled in until nearly eleven. It wasn’t until she was on her way home in a cab that she’d checked her mobile and seen all the messages he’d left her and how many times he’d tried to ring her.Uh-oh, she’d thought. Letting herself in at the flat, juggling the present and cards she’d been given, along with a couple of pink balloons, she’d been greeted by a furious Rick demanding to know why the hell she hadn’t answered any of his calls. Didn’t she care that he’d spent the entire evening frantic with worry, he’d yelled. She’d apologised and explained quite truthfully that there had been so much noise at the pub she hadn’t heard her phone ringing, but it didn’t wash with him. He’d checked her breath too, to make sure she hadn’t been drinking any alcohol. Thank goodness she hadn’t, or that would have only made things worse.
He was still watching as she opened the fridge to find the butter, and then the cupboard where the jar of peanut butter was kept.
‘I don’t know how you can eat that disgusting stuff,’ he said. ‘It can’t be good for you, all that fatty oil.’
‘It’s good fat,’ she said, ‘I’m sure I read somewhere that it’s good for me and the baby.’
‘Says the girl who’s been out partying all night,’ he said disdainfully. ‘Is that good for you and our baby too?’
‘It was my leaving do, Rick, I’m allowed that, aren’t I?’ The toast now ready, she began spreading the butter onto it. Except it was so cold from being in the fridge, she had practically to hack chunks off to put on the toast.
‘But you should have checked your mobile,’ he insisted. ‘Just once would have been enough to put my mind at rest. But oh no, you were having far too good a time without me to think about that. Which is just another example of your selfishness. You never think about anyone but yourself, do you?’
‘That’s so not true, Rick. I’m always thinking of you. That’s why I told Mum today that I’d have to check with you first about going to stay with her for a few days.’
He stared at her. ‘I can’t possibly take any time off work at the moment to go traipsing down to Sussex.’
Dolloping a generous amount of peanut butter onto the first of the two slices of toast, she chose her next words with care. ‘Mum thought that would be the case, so she’s suggested I go on my own. It’s my last chance before the baby comes to do something like this. It’ll only be for a few days. A sort of mini-break.’
He shook his head. ‘Absolutely not. At this stage of your pregnancy I don’t want you going anywhere without me.’
‘But you’ll be at work all day and I’ll be stuck here alone with nothing to do.’
‘Stuck?’ he repeated. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means I’ll be here twiddling my thumbs just waiting. It’ll be so boring for me.’
‘You’ll be doing what you should be doing and that’s resting.’
‘But I’d be resting down at Mum’s.’
He shook his head as though she had just said something incredibly stupid. ‘Oh, Willow, is this how it’s always going to be?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You disagreeing with me and doing as you please and not giving a damn about my feelings or what I want. Just as you did tonight. Just as you always do.’
There was a marked change to the tone of his voice. Thankfully the anger had drained away; now he just sounded exasperated with her. Or perhaps disappointed in her. Yes, that was it. He felt she had let him down. And let herself down too. Dad had said that about her when she’d gone home to tell her parents that she was giving up on university,that it simply wasn’t for her. ‘Oh, Willow,’ he’d said, ‘you’ve let yourself down again, haven’t you?’
She swallowed back the painful memory and tried to concentrate on spreading the peanut butter evenly over the second slice of toast, thinking as she did so that tonight was all too reminiscent of those times as a teenager when she’d stayed out late and found her father waiting up for her. Mum would be there as well, but really her role was to stop Dad from losing his temper too much. That was how it was in every relationship, she supposed, there was the strict parent and the not so strict parent. A good cop and a bad cop. With their own child, Rick, in his love for his daughter, would doubtless be overly strict and protective of her and would prevent her doing what she wanted to do. Whereas Willow would be the one to let their daughter have her freedom. Probably too much freedom.
Thinking of her mother and how she had frequently had to find a way to get round Dad, Willow tried another tack with Rick. ‘It’s okay,’ she said, turning to look at him with a smile. ‘If you don’t want me to go down to see Mum, I won’t go. It’s not that big a deal. I just wondered whether you might enjoy a bit of peace and quiet without me. I do seem to keep upsetting you at the moment. Maybe we’re both a little uptight right now, what with the baby and everything. Wouldn’t you like to spend more time at the gym, or with your friends, without worrying about me?’ Seeing friends was something Rick rarely did, in fact she couldn’t remember the last time he had, but it was a worth a try.
