Billy was still staring at her, and then she asked, "What did youwantto tell her?"
Rosa picked up her coffee cup and held it to her lips but didn't drink. “Honestly?”
Billy nodded. “Yes.”
"That her other mother was a selfish cow who'd abandoned us when we needed her most."
A single tear escaped and ran down Billy's cheek. She wiped it away and smiled sadly. "I can see how you would think that."
‘Flight number 4106 to Innsbruck is now ready for boarding, gate 25.’
"Girls, come on, we're off." Rosa jumped up, grabbing her flight bag. As she moved past Billy, she stopped and placed a palm on her shoulder. "Let's go, shall we?"
Rosa followed Billy, who followed the excitable teenagers down the aisle to their seats. Of course, the three of them bundled in together, leaving Rosa and Billy to work out who would take the aisle seat on their side and who would be stuck in the middle with a perfect stranger next to them.
"It's fine," Rosa huffed. "You take the aisle. You've got longer legs than me."
"And you don't like small talk with strangers," Billy replied. "I can squeeze into the middle for a couple of hours, and you can be closer to Imogen."
Before Rosa could put up a further argument, Billy pushed into the space and dropped her flight bag onto the seat, smiling at the man in a suit shoved up against the window.
"Hi," she said as she opened the bag and took out what she needed before shoving it under the seat and sitting down. She buckled up and tried to fit her feet into the space around the bag.
"You should sit here," Rosa tried once more, but with Billy unmoving, she threw her hands up and gave in, sitting herself down and pulling the belt around her waist. "You're just being a martyr. You'll be complaining in a moment that there isn't enough room."
"I've found over the years that it's actually quite healthy to have a little moan and get things out of your system."
"Yes, well, it probably is when you have no actual responsibilities in life," Rosa snapped, and then inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly, her eyes closing in silent self-rebuke. When she was composed again, she said, "Sorry, that was—"
"What you wanted to moan about? Perfectly valid…hurtful…but valid." Billy smiled quickly before picking up her phone and flicking through the screen until she found a game. "Just to be clear…" She turned slowly to face Rosa again, her voice low. "Not a day goes by where I don't regret the way things turned out. But I wasn't in a place where logical thinking could happen."
"I know…rationally, I know that. I just…" Rosa looked across at the girls—three smiling, happy faces, totally ignorant to the conversation she was having. She turned back to Billy. "I guess Iamfeeling resentful. The way Imogen is with you… It's like you're best friends and I'm the grump ruining her life with rules and budgets."
"Is this about the trainers?"
"A little bit, yes," Rosa acknowledged. "I can't afford that—to just spend hundreds of pounds on things she doesn't need, but just wants."
"Maybe I can contribute more…so you can treat her sometimes."
Rosa glared at her. "I am not a charity case, thank you very much."
An announcement came over the loudspeaker and interrupted Rosa from going into a full-on rant. They'd be taking off any moment.
"Imogen, are you all belted in?" Rosa asked.
"Yes. All secure." Imogen yanked her belt and laughed. Rosa had the distinct feeling the laughter was at her. She raised a brow at Imogen and the teenager mouthed, “Sorry.”
The engines roared to life, the plane hurtling down the runway as Rosa felt herself pressed back in her seat by gravity. It took a few minutes before the plane stopped rising and evened out, then a further minute or two before the seatbelt sign pinged it was safe to get up.
Nobody moved.
"I didn't mean to imply you were a charity case," Billy said quietly. "I just meant…I could do more."
Rosa sighed. "Yes, you could. You could pick her up from school on Thursdays and drop her at football practice. Pick her up again three hours later and make sure you take her kit home and wash it ready for the weekend. Or you could pick her up on Mondays after school and take her to her piano lesson, and then her guitar lesson right after. Or you could—"
"I understand the point being made. But unfortunately, my job isn't as flexible as yours is, which is why I offer to pay for things."
"And why she thinks you're the good guy."
