‘I’ll ask Millie to put some out for you.’ Reading his body language, Emily gathered he wanted to be on his own, and turned for the door.
‘Mum.’ He stopped her. ‘Just so you know, you can talk to me.’
Stunned, Emily turned back. In that short sentence, he’d shown he cared, and it meant so much to her. She’d been judging him, she realised, looking for signs, trying to interpret his moods … and misinterpreting them. He was confused and angry. Temperamental. He would be all of those things without everything that was happening, because, though he was technically an adult, he was still of an age when he was full of raging testosterone. She had to stop. After all, his natural reaction to being constantly judged would be to withdraw further into himself.
‘If you need to,’ he added, shrugging awkwardly again.
Emily swallowed back a lump of emotion. ‘Thank you,’ she said, going back to give his shoulders a squeeze. ‘That goes both ways. Just so you know.’
He nodded, smiled faintly and fixed his attention back on his game. Evidently he considered that was enough outpouring of sentiment for the moment.
He was undoubtedly trying to process things. Hopefully he would open up to her, but she knew she would need to tread carefully. ‘We’ll be downstairs when you’re ready,’ she said, giving him another quick squeeze and leaving him to it.
Finding Millie in the kitchen making coffee, she counted her blessings. She’d expected tears and tantrums from her daughter. Instead she’d got maturity and understanding. It was enough to make sure she got out of bed in the morning, whatever awfulness the day might bring.
‘I put some out for Ben,’ Millie said, nodding towards a cling-filmed plate on the worktop. ‘I’m assuming he’s got his face glued to some juvenile game?’
Emily hid a smile. It wouldn’t be Millie without the smart quip. She really was beautiful, radiating the freshness of youth. Her make-up was meticulously applied, her glossy, sun-kissed locks arranged into a bun, making her look tall and sophisticated. Grown-up. Emily’s heart caught in her chest. But she still had so much growing up to do emotionally, which only ever came with experience. Emily desperately didn’t want her experiences to be the wrong kind – the sort that might damage her and shape who she was.
‘You’ll have to give me some tips,’ she said, walking across to her.
‘What, on making cheese and crackers?’ Millie arched an eyebrow as she turned around to carry the coffee over to the island.
‘On what to do with my hair.’ Emily glanced mournfully upwards. ‘How to make it less straw-like.’
‘Ah. You need to use a moisture repair shampoo and conditioner.’ Millie nodded knowledgeably. ‘A bit of Moroccan oil wouldn’t go amiss either. And a heat protector. That’s essential if you’re going to keep blasting it with the hairdryer and using straighteners. You can use my products if you like. See how you get on with them.’
‘Really?’ Emily was growing more surprised by her daughter’s thoughtfulness by the second. ‘That would be brilliant,’ she said, tears pricking the backs of her eyes. ‘It’s driving me mad at the moment. I can’t seem to do anything with it. I just give up and tie it up in the end.’
‘I noticed.’ Millie didn’t look overly impressed as she eyed her updo.
Emily sighed in despair. ‘It’s a mess, isn’t it?’
‘No.’ Millie widened her eyes in admonishment. ‘It looks nice. It shows off your high cheekbones, but … well, it’s not very creative, is it?’
‘I don’t have much time to be creative in the mornings,’ Emily said, her shoulders sagging. She’d have plenty of time if she and Jake separated, she thought sadly. She would hardly be able to work at the surgery then. With Sally there, it would definitely be a case of three in a relationship being one too many. The thought of Jake becoming openly involved with her was more than she could bear.
‘Here, let me have a go,’ Millie suggested, going around behind her and tugging off her hair tie before Emily had time to object. ‘Tip your head forward,’ she instructed.
Emily did as she was told, and waited patiently while Millie gathered up her hair.
‘Right …’ Millie paused thoughtfully. A second later, she’d lowered her own head to peer up at her. ‘You can braid your hair, I take it?’
‘Just about,’ Emily said uncertainly.
‘Good. So, you divide it into three at the nape of your neck and then plait it.’ Millie demonstrated, talking her through it as she did. ‘If you do it with your head forwards, it will encourage it in the right direction, do you see?’
Emily gave her an upside-down nod, not that she could actually see much.
‘You’re braiding about halfway up, just as far as the crown, then … Head up.’
Emily obliged, and Millie gathered her hair up on top of her head and secured it with a tie. ‘What you do then is twist the loose hair into a bun and tuck the ends under the tie to secure it.’ She set to work again, the tip of her tongue protruding as she concentrated.
‘All done. One fabulous topknot with braid detailing at the back,’ she said, stepping back and then steering Emily to the hall. ‘You might need the odd hair grip for any stray bits, and some hairspray, but … What do you think?’
‘Wow,’ Emily said, admiring her more stylish look in the mirror. It was a massive improvement on her own attempts.
‘Wow indeed.’ Millie smiled as she led the way back to the kitchen. ‘The lady looks hot.’
