It was lovely to hear her mother say it. ‘Yes, Mum. I know.’
‘That’s good then.’ She let go of Lottie’s hand and returned to sorting tights.
Emily and Jessie were in the kitchen when a tired-looking Lottie appeared. Emily watched her take a deep breath and paste on a smile.
‘Where is everyone?’ asked Lottie.
‘The boys have gone to watch TV,’ said Emily, wrapping her arms around Jessie. ‘And Nicola has gone to look for some book about Romans in the box room.’
‘She could be lost in there forever. I’ll give her half an hour and then send in a rescue crew. Or maybe the vicar because I’m fairly sure a couple of the dolls are possessed.’
‘I’m bored,’ said Jessie, her face glum.
‘Shall we make cakes?’ suggested Lottie. Emily loved how Lottie was always able to find a solution for everyone else’s woes.
Jessie was already jumping up and down. Emily didn’t mind what they did, as long as Jessie was occupied. This wasn’t what anyone had planned for today. She’d been hoping that she and Zach would have some time to themselves, as Jessie had been meant to be on a pantomime trip with Rainbows, but it wasn’t to be.
‘Yeah, why not,’ said Emily, trying to muster some enthusiasm. At least she wasn’t at work.
‘We’re off to the pub for lunch, but the hordes will still want something come teatime. Thanks to one of Nana’s WI cookbooks I’ve found a couple of vegan cake recipes that we’ve got the ingredients for,’ said Lottie, swiftly tying an apron around a still-jumping Jessie. ‘Right, my eager helpers; let’s set to work.’ Emily gave a weak smile as Jessie bounded off to the larder. ‘You okay?’ asked Lottie.
‘Yeah … No … I guess so.’
‘Doesn’t sound conclusive,’ observed Lottie. She opened out the cookbook and read out the ingredients to Jessie. Jessie was soon focusing hard on measuring flour, her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth in concentration. Lottie guided Emily into the utility. ‘Come on, out with it.’
‘Does Zach seem …’ Emily checked Jessie wasn’t listening, ‘all rightto you?’
‘In what way?’
Emily shrugged. She was struggling to put her finger on exactly what was awry, but something definitely was. ‘He’s up and down more often than a hyperactive meerkat. He’s usually so even.’ It was something she loved abouthim. He had a reliable personality: always upbeat. And yet, over the last few days, he’d been all over the place. ‘Is he just like this when he’s with the family?’ It would be a logical explanation, and would hopefully mean she could stop fretting that he was going to dump her. Emily was unable to shake what Jessie had said on Christmas Day from her mind, despite Zach’s protestations.
‘I’m always unsettled around my mother. She does that to me. One minute I’m fine, the next I’m rock bottom.’That would explain it, thought Emily. ‘We always say our mother had postnatal disappointment.’ Lottie chuckled and returned to Jessie at the kitchen table. Emily was thinking.
Emily bit the inside of her mouth. So perhaps it was the family causing Zach’s mood changes then. ‘Maybe I should talk to him again.’
‘Aren’t you going to wait until you know?’ Lottie nodded at Emily’s stomach before returning her attention to beating together the sugar and margarine that Jessie had carefully measured out.
‘I’m hoping to pop in the shop when we go to the pub.’ She chose her words carefully – Jessie looked like she was engrossed, but she didn’t miss much.
‘Good plan.’ Lottie paused and held up a wooden spoon dripping with mixture. ‘Actually, be careful of who’s on the till. If it’s Rhonda, the news of what you’ve bought will be around the village before you’ve stepped in the pub.’ Emily could tell that the horror of this was etched on her face. ‘It’s okay. Any of the others are all right … apart from … Actually, I’ll make you a list of who’s likely to blab and who’s not.’
‘Great. Thanks. I think,’ said Emily, feeling like she was about to embark on a James Bond-worthy expeditionrather than a trip to the village stores. ‘Do they wear name badges?’
‘Actually, no, they don’t.’ Lottie pulled a face. ‘You’ll have to ask them.’
‘Great,’ repeated Emily, this time with even less enthusiasm.
‘Here, Jessie. You need to give this a stir and then add in the flour,’ said Lottie, putting the bowl down near her and holding it steady.
Jessie obliged and they followed the next steps of the recipe together while Emily watched. When they’d completed two batches of cakes – one vanilla and one chocolate – Jessie’s attention span was exhausted. Emily wrapped her up in many layers and sent her off with Rhys and Dave to try and find more treasure in the garden.
Emily and Lottie sipped tea while they waited for the cakes to cook. The Duchess wandered in and flopped dramatically at Lottie’s feet. ‘You okay?’ Lottie asked the cat. She looked how Emily felt: overfed and fed up. She watched as Lottie went to tickle the Duchess and the cat took a swipe at her. ‘Hey, grumpy. What’s with you today?’ The Duchess got up and made a point of washing herself thoroughly where Lottie had touched her before disappearing again.
‘What are you going to do about Joe?’ asked Emily.
Lottie stared out of the window almost as if she hadn’t heard her. ‘Nothing I can do. It’s out of my hands now.’
‘You’re just going to give up on him?’
