Chapter 12
Flapping her painting to dry it as she walked home, Cora was surprised to see a red car parked in her drive. Gwyn’s Fiona was sitting inside it, alone, her arms resting on the steering wheel, squinting at the house as if she suspected Cora was in there hiding from her.
Cora tapped on the window. ‘Hello, stranger! What are you doing here?’
Fiona jumped, startled, and unfastened the seatbelt. It retracted with a clatter. She got out of the car, tugging her beige skirt down modestly. She looked flushed and unhappy.
Uh-oh.
‘Come inside and have a cup of tea,’ Cora said. ‘I was going to make a sandwich. I’ve been to Gladdie’s, I have. Painting lessons.’ She waved the painting, to show her.
‘That’s nice,’ Fiona said without enthusiasm.
‘You’ve obviously got an artist’s eye,’ Cora said, unlocking the front door. ‘Come on in.’
Fiona’s misery seemed to seep out of her pores.
She sat at the kitchen table while Cora looked for somewhere to put her masterpiece.
She laid it on the draining board for now, and thought about pegging it out on the washing line to dry.
She switched the kettle on, took two mugs out of the cupboard, put a splash of milk in both, rinsed the teapot, all the while playing for time in the presence of the very silent Fiona, with a rolling stream of questions going through her mind.
Best not to jump the gun, though. Give her time.
She put the mugs on the table and waited for the kettle to boil. Then, having run out of excuses for stalling, she sat down at the table with the teapot, folded her arms and waited.
Fiona tossed her blonde hair away from her face with a twitch of the head. ‘Has Gwyn spoken to you?’
Her heart sank. ‘What about?’
‘I knew it,’ Fiona said. ‘He promised he would.’
Cora imagined a tangle of visions and misfortunes and settled on the worst of them. ‘Has he lost his job?’
‘No. Why? What have you heard?’
‘Nothing. I just thought…’ Cora had never been alone in Fiona’s company before.
Gwyn had always been there, like a cushion, making things comfortable between them.
She didn’t know of anything they had in common, apart from him.
‘You’d better tell me what you’ve come to say, otherwise it will be a wasted journey for you,’ she pointed out, pouring the tea.
‘It’s Lottie,’ Fiona said. ‘She’s causing trouble between us.’
‘Really?’ This was unexpected. ‘How is she causing trouble?’
‘Well, she’s always there, isn’t she? Hovering, keeping an eye on her dad.
She doesn’t like me, she’s made it clear.
And I can’t say anything to her, can I? Gwyn keeps telling me it’s her home.
Well, it’s my home too, he doesn’t seem to realise that.
’ Fiona rested her hands flat on the table and frowned at her engagement ring.
She took a deep breath and looked hopefully at Cora.
‘Listen, I know she stays with you sometimes. I was thinking – maybe you could ask her to move in with you permanently.’
Cora paused with her cup halfway to her lips.
‘I mean,’ Fiona continued more confidently now, warming to her plan, ‘let’s face it, no offence, Cora, but you’re not getting any younger, are you? Lottie can keep an eye on you, kill two birds with one stone, you know what I’m saying? It will be nice for you to have the company, won’t it?’
‘I have plenty of company and I don’t need anyone to keep an eye on me.
’ Cora felt a wave of dislike wash over her.
‘And Gwyn’s right. It was her home first.’ Seeing Fiona flush under her make-up, she tried to soften her tone.
She didn’t want to be the cause of any conflict between Gwyn and Fiona.
Fiona made Gwyn happy, that’s what she had to remember, that was the important thing.
But it was obvious that Gwyn was no longer making Fiona happy and she was sad about that. ‘I know it’s difficult—’
‘Exactly. It really is,’ Fiona said, her voice wobbling.
Cora breathed in deeply through her nose. ‘Lottie hasn’t said anything about coming to live here. I don’t think it’s ever entered her mind.’
‘Yeah, and you know why? Because she wants to break me and Gwyn up.’
Cora stirred her tea slowly. ‘I don’t think she does, you know. She loves her dad and she knows you make him happy.’
‘Do I?’ Fiona asked in a high, tremulous voice. ‘So why doesn’t he do something about it? He’s infuriating!’ She picked up her mug, gulped down her tea noisily, then slammed it down on the table.
Careful! Cora wanted to say sharply. You had to respect people’s things!
For a moment she thought of Elisavet with her sweeping yellow duster and wondered if her other possessions would be safe.
‘I’ll have a word with Gwyn and Lottie,’ she said.
‘Look, obviously this situation isn’t easy for them either.
It can’t be, can it? Tensions in the family can lead to all sorts of unhappy outcomes. I should know.’
‘Thanks.’ Fiona bit her lip and tried to smile. ‘I knew you’d understand.’ She got up, rinsed her cup under the tap and put it rim down on Cora’s masterpiece lying on the draining board.