‘Nice idea, Josh. Not sure what we’d do with the spaghetti though,’ said Jason. He couldn’t help but quietly smile at the image of Josh trying to feed spaghetti surreptitiously into his school bag, but he felt bad for Karla. She was clearly trying to make an effort.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s go and say hello. Your mum will be okay. We can always have it for dinner tomorrow.’
Holly didn’t look that convinced, but she nodded maturely and urged Josh on to the kitchen.
Karla turned from the pan at the stove as they went in. ‘Hi, guys,’ she said, smiling. ‘Good day at school?’
’Normal,’ Josh replied with a shrug.
‘Did you remember your PE kit?’ Karla gave him a knowing look. Josh tended to be so distracted by his iPad that he had to be told to do everything twice.
Josh shook his head, his eyes flicking guiltily down and back. ‘No, forgot. It’s okay though. Dad explained.’
‘Oh.’ Karla’s smile slipped a little. She didn’t look at Jason, but he guessed she wasn’t impressed with his organisational skills. She was right. He should have reminded Josh last night, though he wasn’t sure he’d actually remembered to wash his kit.
‘Holly?’ Karla turned her attention to her. ‘How did your day go?’
Holly glanced quickly to Jason and back. ‘Okay,’ she said. Then, ‘Did you go to work?’ she asked her.
Jason sucked in a breath. Holly might only be eleven, but she’d thought that one through. Were things on the road to getting back to normal – that was what she was asking.
Karla turned back to the pan. ‘Not today, no,’ she said, with an uncomfortable shrug. ‘I cooked your favourite,’ she added, changing the subject. ‘Spaghetti and meatballs.’
She reached for the herbs and stirred them into the sauce, then went to the oven to pull out the tray of meatballs, while the kids looked uncertainly on.
Karla glanced back at them. ‘Go and wash up then, you two, and then we can sit down and catch up over our meal.’
‘Er, will it keep, do you think?’ Jason intervened, feeling as awkward as the kids looked. ‘It’s just that we’ve already eaten.’
Halfway through spooning the sauce over the meatballs, Karla stopped. ‘Ah, I see,’ she said tightly. ‘So, what did you have?’ Moderating her tone, she addressed the kids.
‘KFC,’ Josh supplied. ‘Dad took us straight from school.’
‘Well, that was nice of him. It might have been an idea if Dad had thought to mention it to me, though,mightn’tit.’ Karla placed the pan on the cooker top with a clang.
‘Told you.’ Josh sighed wearily, his shoulders slumping as he turned to trudge back to the hall.
‘Sorry. I didn’t think,’ Jason offered.
‘Obviously.’ Karla reached to grab the spaghetti saucepan from the cooker. ‘Well, the meatballs will keep,’ she said, draining the water into the sink, ‘but spaghetti’s not likely to, isit? Honestly, you might have said, Jason. I mean, was it too much trouble to let me know? Or maybe you’ve already forgotten I exist? You’re bound to be a bit preoccupied, after—’
She stopped as the kitchen door closed loudly behind Holly.
‘Dammit.’ Pressing a hand to her forehead, Karla placed the saucepan down, and then picked it up again and poured the entire contents into the sink. Jason sensed this might well be about to escalate into something. ‘Thanks, Jason,’ she said, chucking the saucepan in too. ‘Point-scoring, are we?’
‘For God’s…’ Jason closed his eyes, feeling weary to his soul. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Karla. The kids were hungry. How was I supposed to know you were cooking? You haven’t been here half the time.’
‘You could have rung me,’ Karla said. ‘Texted me.’
Right.Jason shook his head cynically. And she would have answered? He’d texted her a million times– during the day; every evening when she went missing. He’d left messages. She never got back to him.
‘But then again, I expect you were a bit busy, weren’t you? Texting your tart!’
Jesus.Jason said nothing. She had every right. But with the kids nearby? Again? There was no way he was getting into this.
‘Where are you going?’ Karla demanded, as he headed for the door.
‘To the lounge,’ Jason answered quietly, his back to her. ‘To get a drink. I’m not up for another argument, Karla. Not with the kids in the house. End of.’
