28. Amanda
Amanda set the table reluctantly. She was not happy about this lunch. It felt wrong. It felt deliberately cruel and she felt like a traitor for being involved. But what could she do? She was living with Nancy, and her husband worked for his mother.
She had texted Katie that morning: I just want you to know that I hate this. I think it’s wrong on every level.
Katie had texted back: Me and my big mouth got me into this mess. Nancy is Jamie mother, his boss & my kidz granny. I wont stand in the way of that even if she is a poysonus bitch
Nancy limped into the room and checked the table. ‘Why are there twelve settings? There are only eleven of us.’
‘I set a place for Katie, in case you changed your mind.’ Amanda busied herself, stirring the casserole she had made.
Nancy’s back straightened. ‘Katie will never cross my threshold again. I’ve made that clear. Remove the setting.’
‘No.’ Amanda continued to stir.
‘Excuse me?’
‘I said no, Nancy. I think it’s wrong to exclude one member of the family, especially when she has apologized profusely to you.’
Theo glanced up from his phone and grinned at his mother. ‘Boom,’ he mouthed.
Amanda felt buoyed by her son’s support.
Nancy muttered under her breath and snatched up the place setting.
Ross came in with two bottles of red wine and two of white.
‘You can probably halve the wine,’ Nancy said. ‘Katie won’t be here drinking herself under the table as usual.’
Amanda hated the way she spoke so dismissively of Katie. Yes, she did drink too much on occasion, but she was wonderful in so many ways.
The doorbell rang. Glad of an excuse to leave the kitchen, Amanda went to open it. Jamie, Lucy and Toby stood on the doorstep.
‘Hi, guys,’ Amanda welcomed them in.
Lucy rushed past her, calling, ‘Granny, I’m here.’
Jamie and Toby hesitated at the door. ‘I don’t wanna go in,’ Toby moaned. ‘I hate Granny’s lunches. They’re so boring. I want to stay with Mummy.’
Jamie leant down. ‘Hey, buddy, remember what Mummy said? She wants you to be nice to Granny and to have a good time with your cousins.’
‘My cousins are waaaaay older than me and they never want to play.’
‘Theo will play with you.’ Amanda tried to placate the young boy.
Toby’s face lifted. ‘Theo was fun when he babysat us.’ He ran in shouting, ‘Theo, let’s build another fort.’
‘How’s Katie?’ Amanda asked quietly.
‘Upset, but trying not to show it. She appreciated your text.’ Jamie took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack.
‘And how do you feel about it all?’
‘Not good. I wanted to stay at home, but Katie insisted we come. She made the valid point that I work for my mother’s agency and Lucy adores her granny and, no matter what happens, Nancy is my mother and Frank and Ross are my brothers.’
Amanda shook her head. ‘Well, I for one think it’s awful. I really feel for you.’
Melanie, Frank and the twins came up the garden path behind Jamie.
‘Are you talking about Katie’s blacklisting?’ Melanie asked.
‘Yes,’ Amanda said.
‘If Nancy wasn’t my boss, I wouldn’t be here,’ Melanie said. ‘I was very conflicted but … my job is too important.’
‘My job … my important job.’ Janis rolled her eyes.
‘Always about the job,’ Joni said. ‘We didn’t want to come because we love Katie and we wanted to go on strike.’
‘But Mum and Dad made us,’ Janis said, shooting her parents a sour look.
‘I believe if we keep the communication channels open and talk to Mum, she’ll come around,’ Frank said.
‘Well, I’m very glad you’re here.’ Amanda smiled at them as they walked past her into the house. ‘Jamie, I’ve put some of the chocolate cake aside for you to take home to Katie.’
‘Thanks,’ Jamie said. ‘All right, let’s get this over with.’
Nancy insisted that Lucy sit beside her at the table, while the other children sat together at the end.
‘Fine by me,’ Joni muttered.
‘We won’t have to listen to Granny giving out about our English test results,’ Janis said.
Amanda made sure she sat at the far end from Nancy, with the children. She would have taken her plate out into the garden and eaten there, if she could. There was no way she was going to make pleasant small talk with Nancy today.
‘Let’s just eat quickly and we can go to my room and hang out,’ Theo suggested.
‘Sounds like a plan.’ The twins looked happy to be able to make a quick getaway.
‘Okay, but don’t play music too loud. It sets your granny off,’ Amanda reminded her son.
‘I know, Mum. I live in this prison, remember.’
‘You’re an actual saint,’ Janis told him.
‘I’d be on Xanax if I lived here,’ Joni said.
Amanda winced. ‘Theo doesn’t need any medication whatsoever.’
Theo rolled his eyes.
‘Hopefully we won’t be living here for much longer,’ Amanda added.
Nancy tapped her glass with her fork. ‘We’re ready to eat now,’ she told Amanda, whom she seemed to be mistaking for a slave.
Amanda got up and did her duty. Ross helped her hand out the food-laden plates and everyone got stuck in.
There were lots of ‘Yum’ and ‘This is so good …’ comments from the family.
Nancy, as usual, held back on the praise.
God forbid she’d actually show appreciation to her daughter-in-law for cooking all morning to feed her family.
Jamie, Ross, Melanie and Nancy talked about the agency.
Frank tried to veer onto different topics, but he was ignored and gave up.
Amanda sat back and let the conversation wash over her.
She missed Katie: they’d always have a little eye-roll across the table when the family started droning on and on about work.
‘Are you listening to all this, Lucy?’ Nancy asked her granddaughter. ‘You need to take an interest in the agency. It’ll be yours someday.’
Amanda watched her husband’s face flush.
‘I think that’s a little premature.’ Ross’s voice was tight. ‘All of the grandchildren have a right to be involved in the agency if they want to. No one child is entitled to it.’
‘No, thanks,’ Janis said instantly. ‘Lucy, it’s all yours.’
‘Yeah, we’d rather poke our eyeballs out with a rusty spoon than work with boring books all day,’ Joni added, with a pointed look at her grandmother.
Theo snorted, laughing. ‘I’m out too.’
‘Me three,’ Toby shouted.
Nancy raised an eyebrow at her eldest son. ‘It seems that Lucy is the natural and only successor from the next generation.’
Amanda noticed Melanie’s face darken. She was clearly unhappy with this conversation around succession.
She didn’t blame her: Melanie was the star of the agency so she should inherit the top position, but she wasn’t a blood relative, and that would always keep her on the outside.
Nancy controlled them all with her iron fist.
‘Lucy, you can be whatever you want to be,’ Jamie told his daughter.
‘I want to be an agent like Granny.’ Lucy snuggled into Nancy’s side. Nancy kissed her granddaughter’s head.
Wow! Amanda had never seen Nancy show so much affection.
Lucy really was the chosen one. Poor Katie: not only was she banished, she also had to deal with Lucy adoring Nancy – and wanting to be her when she grew up.
It struck Amanda that Nancy probably enjoyed her relationship with Lucy all the more because it undermined Katie. She had a cruel edge to her.
‘What about being a hairdresser, like your mum?’ Amanda wanted to remind Lucy of her mother at home, alone.
‘I want to work with books,’ Lucy said.
‘I’d like to be a hairdresser, like Katie. She makes people look and feel great,’ Joni piped up.
‘I wish she was here. She’s so much fun,’ Janis said.
‘Me too,’ Toby said. ‘Mummy is the best. I miss her.’
‘We all miss her,’ Melanie said.
Amanda enjoyed watching the irritation on Nancy’s face.
‘Granny,’ Lucy stared up at her grandmother, ‘can Mum come to the next lunch? She’s lonely at home.’
‘Your mother was very rude to me.’
‘I know, but she said sorry, and when you do something wrong and say you’re sorry and you mean it, the person should forgive you.’
Go, Lucy!
Nancy wavered. ‘I’ll consider it. Now, let’s have dessert. Amanda, please clear the plates.’
As Amanda did her servant turn around the table, she smiled to herself. Maybe Ross should get Lucy to ask his mother for a raise. The little girl clearly had magic powers of persuasion that no one else in the family possessed.
Later, after Amanda had cleared the last of the dessert bowls and everyone was about to head off, Nancy clapped her hands loudly. They all turned. What now? Amanda wondered.
Nancy announced that she wanted a family photo.
‘Lovely idea. I’ll take it,’ Frank said, reaching into his pocket for his phone.
‘Absolutely not,’ Nancy said. ‘I want a family photo. Three generations of our family together, and you need to be in it, Frank.’ Pointing at Melanie and Amanda she said, ‘You two can take the photos.’
Melanie looked at Amanda, her face flushed. As she turned to fish her phone from her handbag, Melanie whispered, ‘The poisonous bitch.’ Amanda could only nod in heartfelt agreement.