Sorrell gave his mum a warm smile and placed a hand on her arm. Zack felt his shoulders relax. His mum could be a little much, especially since she’d followed her dream and started working professionally as an actress; nothing huge, just bit parts and a lot of stage work.
“It’s great to meet you,” Sorrell said. “Although I didn’t expect our entrance to be as dramatic…”
Whatever else she was about to say was drowned out in the shouting that came from the kitchen at pretty much the same time as a loud crash.
“I’ll go and check on what’s happened,” Dee said, standing up.
Zack shook his head. “No point, Mum. You’ll hear what’s happened in…”
“Why stand that close? You can see what I’m trying to do!”
“It’s not your house so I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing here anyway!”
“Don’t you think it’s time you removed whatever stick you have from up your arse and move on from whatever it was that I did, which I don’t have a fucking clue about? You’re an adult. Start acting like one!”
A timer started to go off, barely audible above the screaming match.
“I’ll go sort out the rest of dinner. Maybe the girls could eat in the kitchen and the blokes in the lounge,” Zack’s dad said. “Unless we want a food fight between Keren and Scott?”
“I think that’s a good plan,” Dee said. “And nothing to do with whatever sport’s on TV.”
Sorrell had managed to find out enough about Zack’s childhood, including the obsession he’d had with his penis when he was five, to make sure that she could embarrass him pretty much every day for the next month. Dee loved to tell a story, especially about her boys and she shared plenty about Scott and Alex too. Keren was oddly quiet; the argument with Scott seemingly having bothered her more than she wanted to say.
“How are you finding Severton, Sorrell?” Dee asked, pouring more wine. “Do you miss the city?”
Sorrell took a sip. “Yes, I miss the city,” she said. “But I was tired of it. I was about to burn out with work and it was the same routine every day, so when my ex-fiancé came up with this idea for this manor house, I was all for it. It was a considered change.”
“And one you’re still happy with? Obviously, the fiancé is no longer in the picture…” Dee asked, clearly digging to make sure that the woman in the process of stealing her middle son’s heart wasn’t about to break it.
“Yes. Very much. I’ve loved Christmas here. My parents travel a lot nowadays; their own house is pretty much mothballed for most of the year. And my sister is married to a man with a very large family and has a couple of kids of her own. Last Christmas I spent seeing friends in the city and I saw my ex’s family for dinner, but it wasn’t like this year has been. I didn’t miss it,” she said, honestly. Zack knew this; she was aware of that. They’d spoken plenty about the city versus Severton, with him pointing out the perks of the former.
“What do your parents do?” Dee asked.
Sorrell took a large mouthful of wine this time. She had managed to avoid all conversations about her parents’ career, mainly discussing their strange beliefs and travelling habits. But this was a direct question and she had no doubt that Dee would go and google it later, because that was exactly what she would do.
“They own West Coast Country Foods,” she said. And then took a gulp of wine. There was no way Dee hadn’t heard of West Coast Country Foods. They were the biggest manufacturers of organic baby food in the northern hemisphere.
“Holy fuck!” Rayah said, placing her wine glass down on the counter with a slight bang. “You’re loaded.”
Sorrell shook her head. “Not really. The money is in the business. My parents draw earnings from it, significant ones, yes, but I’m not a shareholder. I had a trust fund, which I’ve invested—a good portion of it went on the hotel.”
“Does Zack know?” Rayah asked. “If he does, he didn’t say anything.”
“Same,” Sorrell said. “If he does, he hasn’t said. I don’t really say much about their business. They don’t have day to day involvement anymore and although I didn’t have university debt or anything like that which made me fortunate, we had a normal lifestyle. My parents are hippies at heart.”
Thinking back, Mark had become very serious when he’d found out who her parents were. His disinterest in the hotel had begun when he realized that his name wasn’t on the deeds. They’d had an almighty row about it, or rather, he’d shouted and she’d used a variety of techniques to calm him down. She hadn’t said that when they were married, she’d add him. She hadn’t tried to pacify him in that way, because one of the things her parents had taught her was that money was the root of a lot of evils and you were best leaving it to the professionals to deal with.
“You got lucky,” Dee said. “You should be honest with Zack though. He won’t give two hoots about what you have or haven’t got. If he was bothered about money he’d never have trained to be a social worker. Lord knows, they’re not paid enough.”
“Same for teachers,” Rayah groused. “But we get the holidays. That’s all you hear sometimes and it isn’t completely true. I lose half of Sunday preparing and I’m damned if I leave school before six most nights.”
“Here we go,” Keren said. “You didn’t have to become a teacher. Your dad was more than happy for you to join the business.”
Rayah wrinkled her nose. “Dealing with thirty screaming kids is more preferable than working with him. I tried it one summer. Don’t you remember? That was the summer that Scott met that American girl.”
Keren nodded and refilled her glass. Sorrell wondered for the thirtieth time what exactly had happened to make Scott and Keren detest each other.
The kitchen door opened and Alex popped his head round. “Sorry mum,” he said. “I’ve been called out so I’ll catch you tomorrow. What time are you going?”
