She glanced into the living room and found Gloria in her chair, fast asleep. Fair enough. It had been a long night.
But if Gloria was in there, why was there music playing in the kitchen?
Matty wandered in—and stopped. Sloan was there, in expensive joggers and a matching hoodie, an apron tied round her waist, hair tied back, looking oddly domestic.
She turned, startled, a hand to her chest.
“Jesus, Matty.” Sloan laughed at herself, then went still, taking in the sight of Matty, still in her pyjamas, in her kitchen. “Did you get some sleep?”
“Yes.” Matty smiled. “Like a baby.”
“Good.” Sloan raised an empty mug. “Coffee?”
“Please,” Matty answered. “You’re not working?”
“I thought, under the circumstances, I’d be no good in the office, and I’d only worry about her, so I stayed home.” She poured fresh coffeefrom the cafetière. “I can do what I need to from here.” Glancing at Matty. “And I thought we might spend the day together. Talk?”
“Okay. Is it alright if I pop home to shower and change first?”
Shuffling in the hall distracted them both.
“Mum, I told you to ring the bell.” Sloan sighed and moved towards the door.
“I’m not dead,” Gloria said. “And I’m not a budgie, ringing a bell for attention.”
“It’s safer. That’s all.”
Gloria ignored her and hobbled further into the kitchen. When she spotted Matty, she said, “Oh, you’re up then. Thought we’d have to send in a search party.”
Matty smiled. “Sloan was kind enough to let me sleep in.” She pulled a chair out for Gloria.
“Kind enough to keep you up all night too, was she?”
“Mum, don’t be crass,” Sloan admonished.
“I’m not the one who invited the staff into my bed,” Gloria replied, before turning back to Matty. “Are you getting dressed? I want to go into town.”
“Into town for what, exactly?” Sloan asked.
Gloria turned to her. “I don’t need a reason.”
Matty cut in, “I need to pop home, get changed, then I can come back and—”
Sloan untied her apron strings. “I’ll drop you home and then take Her Majesty into town.”
“I want her to come,” Gloria added.
“Matty isn’t your—”
“It’s fine—I don’t mind,” Matty said. “If you just let me know where you are, I can come and meet you.” She leaned closer to Sloan. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Sloan looked at her. “I was hoping for something a bit less supervised.”
“We can go buy me a scooter, then you two can do what you like, and I can do my own thing,” Gloria said, before hauling herself up from the chair. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Give me five minutes,” Matty said. “I’ll just go and get changed.”
She slipped past Sloan and headed upstairs.
