‘Sure.’ The waitress smiled at them expectantly and Alison turned to her daughter.
Jenna sighed. ‘Just a sandwich, please. Ham and tomato will do.’
‘Same for me,’ Alison said, and the waitress nodded before heading off to give their order to the kitchen staff.
There was a chilly silence at the table. Alison wondered what it was that Jenna wanted to say to her and hoped she wouldn’t allow herself to be fooled into picking the girls up from school that evening. This was supposed to be her day off from work, and she’d already wasted a chunk of it going to her appointment. She didn’t need any more time carving out of her precious day.
On the other hand, she couldn’t deny that she also missed Ada and Hallie. She was so used to seeing them every day that it was strange not having them around.
‘How are the girls?’ she asked reluctantly.
‘Fine. Missing you, I think,’ Jenna said.
‘Don’t try emotional blackmail on me,’ Alison said immediately, her hackles rising at the thought that Jenna might be trying to manipulate her already.
Jenna’s eyes widened. ‘I wasn’t! I was just saying, that’s all.’
Alison sipped her coffee, not sure whether she believed her or not.
‘Mum, what you saw that night…’
Jenna’s voice trailed off as if she was waiting for her mother to interrupt, but Alison said nothing. She eyed Jenna steadily, wondering what sort of excuse her daughter was about to offer.
Jenna sighed. ‘You’re right. It was a stupid thing to do. I’m sorry.’
Alison leaned forward, forgetting all about keeping quiet. ‘Sorry? It’s not me you should be saying sorry to, is it? What about your husband? What about your daughters?’
‘They don’t know anything about it,’ Jenna said. ‘And I’d really appreciate it if it stayed that way.’
‘I’ll bet you would,’ Alison said grimly. She gripped her coffee mug, still reeling from the fact that her daughter could do something so reckless. ‘So who is he then? And how long’s it been going on?’
‘Does it matter?’ Jenna asked wearily. ‘And before you ask, nothing happened that night. In fact’ – she gave a brittle laugh – ‘he didn’t turn up.’
‘Sounds like a right charmer. Is he one of your fellow teachers? Is he married? Have you any idea how dangerous this could be for your career, never mind your marriage?’
‘He’s not married,’ Jenna said angrily. ‘I would never do that to another woman!’
‘But you’re okay doing it to your husband?’
Jenna bit her lip.
‘So is it an affair?’ Alison asked. ‘Lust, love, what?’
‘It was just a stupid mistake,’ Jenna said. She ran a hand through her hair, looking exhausted. ‘We’d done a bit of flirting at work and just got carried away, I suppose. That night was the first time we were going to – you know. But he didn’t show up. I guess he realised it was a mistake, too.’
‘You guess?’ Alison’s eyes narrowed. ‘Don’t you know? Haven’t you discussed it with him?’
Jenna shook her head. ‘We’ve avoided each other ever since. I think we both feel a bit foolish.’
‘So nothing happened? You didn’t cheat on Joel?’
‘No, Mum. I didn’t cheat on Joel,’ Jenna said heavily.
‘Well!’ Alison leaned back in her chair and puffed out her cheeks in relief. ‘That’s something, I suppose.’ She couldn’t bear the thought of her daughter losing her husband. She’d only regret it if she did. Alison knew what it was like to be alone and she wouldn’t wish it on Jenna, not to mention what the twins would go through if the worst came to the worst.
The waitress returned with their sandwiches. They thanked her and spent the next few minutes eating in awkward silence.
‘What you said about the girls,’ Jenna said at last. ‘About me dumping them on you. You didn’t mean that, did you?’
