She held her wine glass by the stem, gently swilling it so the liquid left a mark on the side.
‘I was wondering if it made sense to ask Marisa to move in with us.’
Jake, who had reached to take a crisp from the bowl on the low table in front of them, halted the movement mid-air. He sat back and burst out laughing.
‘What?’
Kate looked at him levelly.
He realised she wasn’t joking and his face became serious again.
‘Um. Wow. OK. I hadn’t expected that. OK. Let me just digest it for a second.’
The TV switched into screensaver mode and was filled with images of slow-moving dolphins underwater.
‘I’ve just been thinking about it, and I don’t really love the idea of her being so far away from us …’
‘It’s notthatfar.’
‘No, I know, but we both work long hours and it would be easier having her closer. That’s the practical argument,’ she said, knowing how Jake’s mind worked. ‘The emotional one is that I also don’t love the idea of her being on her own, without a family support unit. They all live in the country, don’t they? Besides, it would be much easier to keep an eye on her and check she’s eating healthily and taking her supplements and all that stuff.’
‘But—’
‘And given that it’s illegal to pay for surrogacy, beyond reasonable expenses anyway, this would be a way of thanking her for this enormous fucking thing she’s doing for us.’
Jake was quiet, but she could sense his mood had shifted from disbelief to logical assessment.
‘We could give her the spare room and she could set up her studio there. There’s more than enough space.’
Jake went to pour himself another glass of wine but found the bottle was empty. He stood up and walked to the wine rack, removing a screw-top red which he brought back to the sofa, offering her some as he sat back down.
‘Thanks,’ she said, holding out her glass.
She was quiet, allowing the idea to percolate.
‘OK,’ Jake said.
‘OK?’
‘I think it’s a good idea.’
Kate rolled across to him and kissed him all over his face.
‘Oh, I’m so glad you think so too. Thank you thank you thank you.’
Jake laughed and kissed her back on the mouth. He tasted of tannins.
‘Assuming Marisa agrees,’ he said, holding her by the shoulders. ‘What do we tell everyone else?’
‘I guess … that she’s a lodger?’
‘Even my mother?’
Kate went back to her side of the sofa.
‘No, I think we should tell Annabelle the truth.’
Jake shook his head.
