Alison laughed and slid back the chain. ‘Aw bless you, you look nithered. Come in and get warm. I was getting worried about you. You’ve been ages.’
Rosie stepped inside the house and immediately kicked off her ankle boots before padding through to the living room in her thick socks. She was still wearing her jacket and had a woolly hat crammed down over her ears, her arms wrapped around a large paper bag, a tote bag slung over one shoulder.
‘I come bearing gifts,’ she said, slipping the tote bag on to the floor. ‘Well, gifts and my night things. I’m all prepared this time. PJs, toothbrush, clean undies, make-up, the lot. I’ve even remembered to bring my own shower gel cos yours doesn’t smell anywhere near as good.’
‘Oh, I’m so relieved,’ Alison admitted. ‘Not about the shower gel. About you staying the night. But does Seb’s lad Sam mind? You should be at work in ’morning, shouldn’t you?’
Rosie had been cleaning at The North Star ever since she’d moved back to Kelsea Sands and sometimes had early starts.
‘Swapped my shift with Bella. I’m doing the day after for her. It works out better for her cos she’s got to go into Millensea to see the doctor about having her veins stripped.’
Alison thought she’d rather be cleaning than face discussing that, but she was glad Bella had agreed to swap her shift. ‘That’s great. I’d have hated you to drive back again tonight.’
‘No chance of that,’ Rosie told her with a dramatic shudder. ‘Took my life in my hands coming here. I’m not risking it again.’ She plonked the paper bag on the coffee table and Alison recognised the golden arches immediately.
‘McDonald’s?’
‘Well, be fair, love. I didn’t get to order that takeaway, did I? I’m starving. And there’s no Maccie D’s near us so I have to make the most of it while I’m here.’
Rosie took off her hat and jacket and tossed them casually on to an armchair. ‘Right,’ she said, ‘I’ve got cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches and fries and all sorts in here. Just help yourself to whatever you want.’ She grinned. ‘I’ll send you the bill later.’
‘Of course I’ll go halves,’ Alison said, even though she wasn’t convinced she’d eat much. If a chicken fried rice had lost its appeal, she was doubtful burgers would tempt her.
In the event, she was staggered to discover that her appetite had come flooding back, and even though she wasn’t much of a fan of burgers she managed to eat more than her fair share of Rosie’s order – including apple pie washed down with a vanilla milkshake.
‘God, I’m stuffed,’ she said finally, leaning back on the sofa and patting her stomach. ‘You do realise I’m diabetic and shouldn’t be eating any of this?’
‘You’ve had it confirmed then?’ Rosie asked, wiping her hands on the serviettes provided. ‘It’s definite?’
Alison sighed. ‘Yeah. Just tipped into diabetic range. They’ve given me three months to reverse it, and here I am eating junk food as if I hadn’t a care in the world.’
‘Sorry, Ali.’ Rosie looked contrite. ‘If I’d known…’
‘It’s not your fault!’ Alison said quickly. ‘To be honest, I’d ordered a Chinese takeaway earlier. I’d decided to start tomorrow, and I mean it this time.’
‘You’ve already had a Chinese takeaway?’ Rosie blew out her cheeks. ‘Bloody hell! Even I couldn’t manage both.’
Alison laughed. ‘No, I threw the fried rice in the bin. I was too upset to eat it after what Joel said.’
‘Yes, now you’ve eaten you can tell me exactly what he said. What happened from the moment you opened the front door and don’t miss anything out.’
Trying to remember it as accurately as possible, Alison relayed her conversation with her son-in-law to Rosie, who said nothing but busied herself putting all the rubbish and wrappers back inside the paper bag.
‘The cheeky get,’ she said at last, when Alison had finally reached the point where she’d slammed the door on Joel and made sure the latch was down and the chain in place. ‘Who the hell does he think he is? And what’s got into our Jenna?’
‘Is that what everyone thinks though, Rosie?’ Alison asked, troubled. ‘Tell me the truth. Don’t give me any flannel. Do people blame me for Drew’s illness?’
Rosie’s eyes widened in shock. ‘Don’t be so daft! No one was to blame for that. It’s just one of those things. And you were there for him through it all, by his side for every appointment, every test, every visiting hour. Imagine if you’d still been working! It would have been even harder for you and for him. As it was, you giving up your job turned out to be a blessing because you could spend every moment with him. Bloody Joel doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’
‘Yes, but…’
Rosie sighed. ‘Drew loved you, Ali, and he wanted you to give up your job if it made you happy, but he wasn’t daft either. If it had put too much financial strain on you both he wouldn’t have told you to go for it. You know that. You know Drew. And deep down, you know Joel’s full of crap.’
‘I can’t believe they’re not going to let me see the twins,’ Alison said, feeling tearful all over again.
Rosie gave a snort of derision. ‘Yeah, right. Let’s see how long that lasts. Bet you anything you like that they’ll come running to you before long begging you to babysit. You just watch!’
‘You think so?’
