‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ I mutter. A day to myself where I finally got a chance to chat to my grown-up husband wasexactlywhat I had planned today.
Only, it seems my comment wasn’t as quiet as I thought, because Cassie frowns. ‘What was that? Is something wrong?’
I’m so tired, I’m tempted to do a Luke and sweep all of this under the rug to deal with another day. I mean, if I don’t make the most of the next seven or eight hours before midnight rolls around, or whatever, and I jump forward another year, babysitting Edie in future years may not be a problem. For me, anyway. Not if Luke and I go our separate ways.
‘No, it’s—’ I begin to say, but Luke starts speaking at the same time.
‘Actually, Cass … You know we love you, but we’d rather you didn’t just turn up with Edie in tow and make babysitting afait accompli.’
She looks a little offended. ‘I didn’t “just turn up”. I called you first.’
‘About two minutes beforehand! You must have been sitting in the car outside.’
Cassie has the grace to flush. ‘You always said you were happy to help.’
‘We are!’ I say, starting to feel uncomfortable now.
‘We are,’ Luke echoes, putting a hand on my arm to let me know he’s got this. ‘And of course we will help out when we can, even if it’s at short notice, but you have to give us a bit more warning. Actuallyaskingwould be nice, rather than just assuming. We had plans today.’
I’m warmed to hear my words coming out of his mouth.
‘You didn’t say,’ Cassie says, folding her arms, and pulling a face very much like her daughter does when she’s about to have a sulk.
‘We didn’t really get a chance, did we? And, by the way, you haven’t even a) thanked Jess for looking after Edie for most of the day or b) properly apologized for being so late. I’d like you to do that now.’
Wow. Okay. He really went there. Part of me is crawling with second-hand embarrassment at Cassie being made to say sorry to me, but another part is soaring. Luke drew a line in the sand with his family. For me. Boy, is he going to get lucky tonight.
‘Well, of course I’m sorry I was late,’ Cassie says, arms still folded, and not looking particularly repentant. ‘And, yes, thank you, Jess.’ And then she turns to her daughter. ‘Come on, monster. Time to go.’ Then she picks Edie up and bustles out the front door with hardly a backwards glance. Luke follows her to the door but returns only seconds after it bangs behind her.
‘Well, that went well,’ I say.
‘It needed to be said. You’re right – while we’re happy to be supportive, it doesn’t mean she should walk all over us. Well, you, today. Sorry about that.’ He comes and puts his arms around me again and I lean into him, grateful for his solid warmth.
‘Thank you for standing up for me,’ I whisper into his chest.
‘Always,’ he mumbles into my hair. We stay that way for a few moments, but then he starts nuzzling into my neck as his hands scoot under my T-shirt.
I laugh softly. He’s not as fresh as he could be after a day of rushing around hauling paving slabs. ‘Why don’t you have a shower, and then we’ll revisit that thought. In the meantime, I’ll make you a cup of tea and bring it up.’
‘Cheeky minx,’ he says and then sniffs his armpit. ‘Oh, wow. See what you mean. I’d better go and … ’
‘Yes, you’d better!’ I slap him playfully on the bum as he turns and heads out the door and before he can beat me to it, I add, ‘And, yes, I know I shouldn’t touch what I can’t afford!’
After Luke is rested and showered, we decide to go out for a drink before grabbing a casual dinner. It’s a lovely evening and warm enough to sit in the large garden of a pub within walking distance. I lean back in an oak garden chair, a glass of Pinot Grigio in my hand, and let the golden rays of the setting sun warm my face.
Luke’s phone goes and he pulls it out of his pocket to check it. ‘It’s Cassie. She sent me an apology – for not being more thoughtful, but also because she realized it was our anniversary.’
‘Well, that’s good, isn’t it?’
Luke sighs. ‘I hope so. I just don’t want things to be awkward.’
I sit up straighter and put my wine glass down on the table between us. ‘Luke, we can’t avoid saying what we need to because we don’t want things to be awkward.’ This makes me realize that what Cassie did today isn’t the problem; it’s just the symptom ofa larger issue. ‘Maybe it’s time to set some boundaries with your family in general?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that they rely on you quite heavily for a lot of things.’
He takes a sip of his beer. ‘That’s the problem of being a builder, I reckon. It was the same with my dad.’
