‘Hi,’ said Kitty, when Nick opened the door.
‘Hi.’ He smiled at her, almost shy.
‘Are you sure it’s all right for me to be here?’ she asked. ‘Won’t your parents mind?’
Nick’s smile grew wider. ‘No. We’ve got the place to ourselves. They left to rejoin their cruise this morning.’
‘Is that a relief? Does it make things easier to be just you and Emily again?’ asked Kitty.
‘Yeah,’ said Nick. ‘Although, weirdly, I might actually miss them.’
‘Well, that’s a turn-up for the books.’
‘Yeah.’ He laughed, pushing the door open wider. ‘I never thought I’d hear myself say it, but having Emily around has changed things between us.’
‘I’m so glad.’ Kitty was happy for Nick, and Emily too. Although remembering her one interaction with his parents, she wondered how it had all come about.
‘Sorry,’ said Nick. ‘Come on, come in. I shouldn’t leave you standing on the doorstep.’
Kitty followed him into the house. ‘Is Emily around?’
‘No, she went to bed half an hour ago. She was a bit tearful after saying goodbye to Mum and Dad. Until they promised to bring her a present from their holiday – that cheered her up.’
‘I bet it did,’ said Kitty.
In the kitchen, Nick flicked the kettle on. ‘Tea?’ he said. ‘Or would you rather have a beer?’
‘Best stick to tea,’ she said. ‘I need to be up early in the morning.’
‘School going OK?’ he asked. ‘Emily’s loving it, so you must be doing something right.’
‘Yes,’ said Kitty, perching on a barstool. ‘It’s been brilliant. I’ve been surprised at how quickly I’ve settled in. Feels like I’ve been there forever.’ And if she could stay forever, she’d be happy. If.
‘It seems a lovely school,’ he said. ‘From a parent’s point of view, anyway.’
‘Yes.’ Kitty nodded. ‘The staff are great. Sam’s been a godsend, and more. She’s become a good friend.’ How good, Kitty didn’t want to say.
‘I’m pleased to hear it.’
Nick poured boiling water into two mugs and stirred the teabags around. ‘It’s a lovely evening,’ he said, ‘but do you mind if we sit inside, in case Emily wakes up? I’m worried that with my parents leaving, she’ll go back to the early days of sleeping badly…’
‘Of course,’ said Kitty. ‘Which reminds me, how’s Carla? Have you heard anything from her?’
‘She’s all right,’ said Nick. ‘I spoke to her earlier this evening. Sounds like her dad’s in a bad way. It must be tough going for her over there.’
‘It must put her mind at rest, though, knowing Emily’s getting on so well here.’
‘Yeah.’ Nick offered Kitty the milk. ‘Although even that has its downsides. I think she’d prefer Emily to be missing her more. Don’t get me wrong, shedoesmiss her mum a lot. I guess it’s natural Carla might feel insecure.’
‘Of course,’ said Kitty. ‘Hopefully, when she’s back, you’ll work out some sort of shared custody. Then you can both move on with the next stage of your lives and be more of a family unit.’
Nick lifted his mug and waved it in Kitty’s direction. ‘That’s exactly what I said to Carla. It seemed to help. And, Kitty… I’m not sure I’ve ever properly thanked you for how much you helped me when Emily first arrived.’ He grimaced. ‘I honestly can’t think what I’d have done if you hadn’t been there.’
‘It’s nothing.’ Kitty shrugged off the compliment, although pleased to have her part acknowledged at last.
They carried their tea into the living room, where Kitty set her mug on the coffee table and pulled a folder of papers from her bag.
‘You asked me to run any changes to the play by you,’ she said. ‘I felt we were skimming over the story a bit too much, so I’ve added a little more dialogue between Romeo and Juliet. Nothing major.’
