Chapter 70
Chapter seventy
Dinner was quickly turned into a plate of chips rather than the sausage and mash with onion gravy Rosa had planned. They had two hours to get organised, packed, and into a cab that would drop them at the airport.
Non-refundable tickets. Of course they were. Rosa’s irritation sharpened into purpose.
“How did you even book this? You need passports. You can’t just book flights this quickly without passports.”
“I can when I know where you keep them.” Imogen didn’t look at her as she folded her clothes into neat little squares. “They’re in your bedside drawer.”
Rosa made a swift mental note of what else was in her bedside drawer and almost fainted, until she remembered—thank God—the iVibe was in the drawer on the other side of the bed. She could only hope Imogen hadn’t needed to search both before she got her hands on the passports.
“We don’t need toiletries, Gran has enough to fill Boots,” Imogen said, moving the conversation on. It was already 6:15 p.m.
“You don’t need any more than three days’ worth of clothing. If we need to stay longer, we can use Gran’s washing machine. Make sure you’re wearing layers so you can take extra,” Rosa advised. “I saw that trick on TikTok.”
Imogen smiled and lifted her jumper to reveal two thinner tops beneath. “Got leggings on under these jeans, too.”
Rosa watched Imogen fold and stack with brisk certainty, and something in her chest loosened—annoyance giving way to pride.
Her daughter was impulsive, a force to be reckoned with, and she’d take that as a win any day.
And if she were honest with herself, there was nowhere else she wanted to be right at that moment than beside Billy.
Pointing to her bag as she spoke, counting off items on her fingers, Rosa said, “Okay…underwear, vests, two jumpers, plus the one I’ll be wearing.
Two pairs of trousers, plus the pair I’m wearing.
” She glanced at what Imogen was packing and didn’t see anything that didn’t belong.
“We’ll have to make do with the shoes we travel in, so make sure they’re your hiking boots.
There’s bound to be snow on the ground still. ”
“Already thought of that,” Imogen said, tapping her temple. “Under-seat bag, too. Extra shoes in that.”
“Good point.” Rosa nodded and returned to the wardrobe. At the bottom was a small holdall she used on the infrequent occasions she and Tanya went to a yoga class. She tossed it onto the bed, then added her makeup bag and perfume.
“Can’t take that,” Imogen said, pointing at the perfume.
“Why not?” Rosa frowned. “I took it last time.”
“Last time we had hold luggage—you can take anything. But this is carry-on, and you can’t have more than a hundred millilitres.”
Rosa stared at the large bottle for a beat, then surrendered it to the dresser with a soft thud. “I need to go and let Tanya know we’re off for the weekend and to keep an eye on things.”
“Okay. I’ll get this finished and bring it downstairs.”
Halfway down the stairs, Rosa called back, “Don’t forget to call Georgia.”
“Already did.”
Rosa knocked twice on Tanya’s door and waited for the familiar shuffle down the hall past all the kids’ coats and the bags piled onto the rack. She was sure one day it would just fall off the wall, but so far it was holding its own.
“Hey, Tan,” Rosa said the moment the door opened and her friend’s face appeared—hair up, makeup free and looking like she could use a nap. “Everything okay?”
“Long day,” Tanya said, stepping back and opening the door wider. “Coffee?”
“Actually, I can’t stop. We’ve had a bit of an emergency. We’re flying back to Austria, and I just wondered if you’d keep an eye on the place.”
“Of course. When are you off?”
Rosa checked her watch. “In about twenty minutes. Imogen booked us tickets on the late flight.”
Tanya’s brows raised.
“Another story, another time, but if you can check the fridge and make sure nothing is going off?”
“You know I can. Let me know when you’re back and we’ll have that cup of coffee.” She smiled as Rosa turned and began to walk away. “Oh, and Rosa?”
Rosa spun back around. “Yes?”
“I don’t think you’ll need to tell her you want her—it’s written all over your face.”
Rosa nodded, blushing. “When the time’s right, I’ll tell her…and Imogen.”
“I’ll have the sparkling wine on ice!”