Chapter 5 #2
Maister’s was a supermarket not far from home, and Rosie often teased her that only posh people shopped there.
It was true it was a fairly expensive option, and at some point she suspected she’d have to shop at a cheaper supermarket, but she and Drew used to do their weekly shop there and she had fond memories of them pushing a trolley down the aisles – Drew putting things in and her taking things out again.
She knew where everything was; the layout was familiar despite the occasional revamp, and she was quite attached to the place, the staff and the brand.
Hallie and Ada loved it, too, as they demonstrated by running up and down the aisles, pointing excitedly to things they liked the look of, and finding something they couldn’t live without every five minutes.
Leaving the shop some half an hour later, having spent at least ten pounds more than she’d planned to, Alison strapped the girls in the car, loaded the boot with her shopping, returned the trolley to the trolley park and got the hell out of there.
She needed to get home fast before she ran out of energy to even cook those dratted chicken dinosaurs.
She couldn’t be bothered to make something different for herself and sat down at the table around forty minutes later to enjoy a meal of glorified chicken nuggets, oven chips and baked beans.
The girls ate hungrily and with due appreciation for her efforts, and she felt justified in rewarding them with apple pie and tinned custard for afters.
It was a dark, cold and miserable night, so pudding was definitely called for.
After that she’d make sure they had a bath and got into their pyjamas, then they could have an hour of winding down before bed.
Then… She closed her eyes for a moment imagining it. Peace!
‘Oh no!’ Hallie exclaimed suddenly. ‘Ada! The topic!’
‘The what?’ Alison asked, alarmed at the look of horror on the twins’ faces.
‘Grandma! We’re going to get into trouble,’ Ada wailed.
‘Of course you’re not. Are you? Why?’
‘Our topic’s got to be handed in tomorrow.’
‘Your topic?’
‘Yes, Miss Mason said it had to be in by Friday or we won’t get a mark for it and we’ve worked real hard on it all last term, too,’ Hallie said.
‘We have, Grandma,’ Ada said, nodding furiously. ‘We chose British birds and we’ve done loads of writing and pictures for it.’
‘You mean a project,’ Alison said, understanding. She vaguely remembered hearing them talk about it over the last few weeks. ‘Well, okay, so it has to be handed in tomorrow? We’ll pick it up from your house on the way to school then.’
The twins’ expressions were almost comical. Although they looked very similar with their light-brown hair and grey eyes – so like their mother’s – they weren’t identical, but at that moment they looked like two peas in a pod. Guilt was written all over their faces.
‘Go on,’ Alison said suspiciously. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
Ada squirmed and Hallie doodled an imaginary drawing on the table with her forefinger.
‘We haven’t quite finished it,’ she admitted slowly.
‘We nearly have,’ Ada burst out. ‘We just need to do a really little bit of work, don’t we, Hallie?’
‘Just a really tiny bit,’ Hallie confirmed. ‘Miss Mason gave us some questions to fill in about what we’ve learned doing the topic and stuff like that, but we forgot.’
‘But you’re not going to have time now, are you?’ Alison said.
‘We would if we had the topic here with us now,’ Hallie pointed out.
‘But you don’t have it, sadly.’ Alison had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She could see where this conversation was heading and didn’t like it one bit. ‘Maybe if I explain to Miss Mason in ’morning she’ll understand and—’
‘She won’t,’ Ada said. She glanced at Hallie, who blushed.
‘All right,’ Alison said heavily. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
For a moment, the two of them looked at each other as if they were communicating telepathically. Alison really wouldn’t have been surprised if they were.
‘Our topic was supposed to have been handed in today,’ Ada admitted at last. ‘We told Miss Mason we’d forgotten it and she said she’d give us an extra day. We told her we’d finished it.’
‘We nearly have finished it,’ Hallie reminded her grandma, ‘so it wasn’t really a fib. But we’re going to be in big trouble if we take it tomorrow and she finds out it isn’t finished.’
‘Especially since we’ve had an extra day,’ Ada added.
Alison pursed her lips. ‘Let me guess where this is going. You want me to take you back home to pick up your project. Tonight.’
The twins gave her a pleading look.
‘We’re really sorry, Grandma,’ Hallie said.
‘We wouldn’t take very long to finish it,’ Ada promised. ‘And we’ll go to bed straightaway afterwards.’
Alison sighed. ‘I don’t fancy going back out now. I’m tired. I just want a night of peace and quiet.’
‘We’ll never be able to sleep for worrying,’ Ada told her. ‘We’ll probably keep you awake all night.’
Alison shook her head. For a seven-year-old the kid was an arch manipulator. She must take after her mother.
‘All right, all right, I get it,’ she muttered. ‘Grab your coats.’
The girls gave a whoop of relief and climbed down from their chairs. Alison collected the plates and dumped them all on the draining board, then grabbed her keys. So much for a restful evening. Endeavour and Lewis would have to wait. Again.