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Brooke
Hi, Mom, there’s something we need to talk about.
No, that wasn’t the right thing to say.
Mom, I love you very much, I hope you know that, but I really need to talk to you about something.
Brooke sighed as she watched the girls from the window in their bedroom.
Their excited laughter floated through the frozen air and she could see the snowman gradually taking shape.
They’d been out there for an hour and she’d joined them at the beginning, allowing herself the pleasure that came from seeing her children so happy. She’d tugged a hat and scarf on a wriggling, impatient Poppy and ignored her own frozen fingers and toes as they’d played in the deep snow.
And she had to admit that despite the bitter cold, it was beautiful. She appreciated it even more after spending the past few days with no view at all. But now their surroundings were revealed, spotlighted by the unexpected dazzle of the winter sun.
The trees, misshapen by the thick, uneven snow that clung to their branches, formed a protective semicircle around the house. Bright sunshine bounced off the frozen surface creating a sparkle that seemed to mock the previously grim weather.
She’d allowed herself an hour and then forced herself back inside while the children were still occupied. She needed to phone her mother, and putting it off for another hour wasn’t going to make the dreaded call any easier.
And she hadn’t been able to use the excuse that she needed to occupy the girls because Izzy had suddenly emerged, apparently fired up by energy and enthusiasm for the task in hand. Jason had followed soon afterwards, his camera slung over his shoulder.
He’d taken what seemed to be a million photographs, pointing his camera first at the forest but then at the girls, clicking away while they played in the snow oblivious.
He also took some photos of Izzy, although she was too busy playing with the children to notice.
Brooke had looked for signs that something had changed between them. She’d hoped at least to intercept a few stolen glances or maybe the discreet brush of hands, but there was nothing. Nothing at all to suggest that the carefully planned romantic dinner and her less than subtle attempts at matchmaking had shifted their relationship to another level.
Staring out the window, she saw that Izzy and Jason were gathering the snow, while the girls and Matt pressed it into place.
Any moment now they’d be tumbling back indoors, freezing cold and needing to warm up.
Before that happened, Brooke needed to make this call.
No more putting it off.
She took a breath and turned away from the window. Nausea rose inside her. She didn’t want to hurt her mother but nor could she carry on like this. Hearing Mabel’s story had made her realise how frighteningly easy it was for a relationship to fracture.
She didn’t want that. She never wanted that.
She called the number and closed her eyes briefly.
She could do this.
“Brooke?” Her mother answered immediately. “I got your message saying you’d call later. Did something happen? Is something wrong?”
No. Only the fact that she’d trained her mother to expect an answer to her call instantly, no matter what Brooke was doing.
How many times had she been taking the girls somewhere and forced them to wait while she took a call from her mother?
For some reason she let a call from her mother take priority over everything.
There were times when she wished the phone had never been invented, because then there would be no obligation to answer it right away.
“Nothing’s wrong, Mom. I was making breakfast with the children and we were having fun. It didn’t feel fair to interrupt.”
“But breakfast was hours ago.”
“Yes, but then they wanted to go outside and build a snowman with Jason and Izzy and—”
