Chapter 7
LIZZIE
Alison is smiling, leaning across the table towards Nick as she chats away to him about her life in Spain, and he’s hanging on to her every word.
‘It sounds fantastic, so different from England. Is it a typical Spanish town you live in or are there a lot of expats there?’ he asks.
‘Mainly Spanish. Wherever I live I like to immerse myself in the local culture. Have you and Lizzie ever considered living abroad?’
Nick shakes his head. ‘It’s a lot with kids, you have to think about their education.’
She glances over at me. ‘What about you, Lizzie, do you fancy a warmer climate and change of scenery?’
‘Er… I’ve never really thought about it…’
Isaac and Grace start bickering and I turn my attention to them.
They’re both bored and a bit demanding. Normally Nick would help me deal with them, but he’s too engrossed talking to Alison, who is now relating an anecdote about a holiday she had in Thailand when a woman collapsed in front of her and she had to do CPR.
I can’t help feeling a bit of a wallflower compared to her.
She’s so pretty, and outgoing and it sounds like she’s done so much with her life.
Not like me. I’m always withdrawn, anxious and have lived in this area forever.
I wonder if Nick is comparing us? He seems to be quite taken with Alison, they’ve really hit it off, and I can’t help feeling a little jealous. And annoyed that he’s making no effort to include me in the conversation.
Don’t be silly, he’s simply being friendly, I tell myself. We’re a family now. And there’s nothing stopping you from joining in if you want to.
‘Your kids are great, really well behaved,’ Kenny says.
I glance over at Kenny. ‘Thanks.’
It’s hard to believe that he and Alison are siblings, they look so different. He’s like his mother, I realise, wondering why I didn’t notice it before. He has the same dark hair and oval smiley face, whereas Alison has blonde hair and sharp features.
Maybe she follows George although he is almost bald now, I can see a slight similarity in their features.
She must be four or five years older than Kenny.
I remember that when I met Ally – Alison – on that fatal school trip she said her little brother hadn’t started school yet.
She was in the year above me and Jodie. I never thought I’d see her again, after that day.
‘Time for another toast.’ Alison’s voice pulls me back to the present.
‘I’ll keep it short but want to say how great it is to see Dad looking so happy.
And to have a mum again.’ She raises her glass.
‘Welcome to the family, Mum.’ She fixes her gaze on me.
‘You don’t mind if I call your mum Mum, do you?
It’s just that we’ve grown so close during our vid-calls over the last couple of months and, well, my mum died years ago.
’ She looks a little uncertain. ‘Judith said she was fine with it.’
Guilt bubbles up in me that she had to grow up without a mum and that she missed her so much she wants to grab my mum like this.
I can’t help feeling a bit resentful though that Mum has agreed to this and not told me.
I’m not jealous, of course I’m not, but surely Mum could have mentioned it.
I had no idea she and Alison were so chummy.
Mum squeezes Alison’s hand. ‘Of course she doesn’t, we’re all family now.’
‘It’s great to have a little sis as well as a new mum.’ She grins at Nick. ‘And a big brother’ – then sweeps her gaze to Isaac and Grace – ‘and a gorgeous nephew and niece. I can’t wait for us to get to know each other better,’ she gushes.
‘Me too,’ I reply with a smile, although it really bugs me being referred to as ‘little sis’. She’s much too familiar for my liking but no one else seems to mind.
I inwardly cringe every time Alison addresses my mum as ‘Mum’ but try not to show it. Thankfully, Kenny calls Mum ‘Judith’ and catches my eye and winks every time Alison says ‘Mum’, as if he’s guessed how awkward I feel about it.
Grace wants to go to the loo, so I take her. Nick is so busy talking to Alison he doesn’t even notice when I get up. I have to tap his arm and tell him.
On the way back I meet Kenny walking to the bar. ‘Don’t mind Alison, she’s always a bit over the top,’ he says. ‘She’s glad to see Dad happy and wants to make your mum welcome. And I’m sure she doesn’t mean to monopolise Nick.’
So he’s noticed it too. ‘It’s fine, Nick is such a good listener, everyone finds it easy to talk to him. And I don’t mind about Alison, it’s just a little strange to hear someone else calling my mum “Mum”. I’m an only child.’ I return his smile, glad that someone has taken my feelings into account.
‘Lucky you, no troublesome siblings to cope with,’ he jests. ‘Do you want another drink? I’ve got everyone else’s orders, but Nick wasn’t sure what you’d want.’ He bends down to talk to Grace. ‘How about you, Gracie? Want some more juice?’
I love how he takes the time to interact with the children. Alison did at first too, but now all her attention seems to be on Nick and his on her. It’s making me feel a bit uncomfortable. It isn’t like Nick either to ignore me like this. I resolve to take him to task about it when we get home.
‘I’ll have a pineapple juice and lemonade, please,’ I reply. We’ve already had a couple of glasses of fizz and I don’t want to drink any more alcohol, not when we have the kids to look after.
When I return to the table Alison glances over at me. ‘Would you believe that Nick and I worked together years ago? I worked in the office during the summer holidays while I was at college.’
Nick grins. ‘Yeah, I hadn’t been there long either.’
That stuns me. Alison worked at Dad’s company? Why are they only mentioning this now when we’ve been together for the last few hours? ‘Didn’t you recognise each other right away?’ I ask as I help Grace into her seat then sit down beside her.
Nick shakes his head. ‘No, it was years ago, and Alison had long black hair then. She was going through her goth stage.’
Alison laughs. ‘And Nick had a buzzcut.’ She touches Nick’s dark curls, and I flinch, it seems too intimate. ‘I much prefer your hair now.’
‘And you look better without the white face makeup and black lipstick,’ he teases.
I feel uncomfortable at their easy-going banter and the knowledge that they have some sort of shared past. I want to keep my distance from Alison, not for her and Nick to be all matey. Thank goodness she lives in Spain.
‘What a coincidence,’ I say lightly. ‘It’s a small world, isn’t it? And now you’re a nurse and live in Spain. Do you like it there?’
‘I do, but maybe I’m ready for a change. What about you, Nick, where are you working now?’
‘He’s still working for my dad’s company. He’s the Construction Manager,’ I tell her proudly.
‘Wow! That’s a big achievement.’ Then Alison frowns. ‘Wait, AT Construction was your dad’s company?’
I nod. ‘Unfortunately, Dad had a heart attack at work.’ My voice breaks a little at the memory of how quickly and cruelly my beloved father was taken away from us.
‘But Nick was wonderful. He was such a support to us, he came to tell us personally about Dad’s accident, took us to the hospital, looked after us and organised the funeral.
I really don’t know what we would have done without him. ’
Alison looks really taken aback. ‘I didn’t realise… I’m so sorry about your dad. How awful for you both.’
‘It was. It was so sudden and such a shock,’ Mum says. ‘And I had no idea what to do with the business, but Nick took control, he literally saved the company and worked hard building it up.’
Alison looks from Mum to me, her eyes wide. Then she turns her gaze to Nick. ‘That was very good of you.’ Was I imagining the edge to her voice?
Nick shrugs and stares awkwardly down at his plate. ‘I had a lot of support, all the staff are fantastic.’
‘Nick is always so modest,’ I say.
‘So that’s how you two met? How fascinating.’ Again there seems to be an edge to her voice.
‘Yes, they quickly became inseparable, and I was delighted when Nick asked Lizzie to marry him. I couldn’t think of a better son-in-law.’ Mum smiles at Nick, and he flushes.
Nick is looking rather embarrassed at all this praise, so I change the subject. ‘It’s been great to meet you, Alison. When do you go back to Spain?’
‘I fly back tomorrow,’ she says. ‘I’m staying over at Aunty Sheila’s tonight so that I don’t cramp the honeymooners’ style. It’s only about fifteen mins’ drive from here to Gloucester.’
Mum looks a bit embarrassed but George laughs. ‘What’s she like?’
‘Well, hopefully it won’t be long before you’re over again and we can all have another catchup,’ Mum says.
Kenny groans. ‘Don’t encourage her or she’ll be here every weekend!’
Alison grins. ‘Wouldn’t you love that.’
I listen to the banter, my mind working overtime at the freaky coincidence that not only has Mum married the man whose wife’s death I was responsible for, but that man’s daughter worked for my dad’s company with my husband.
And apparently they were very friendly back then.
A friendship that seems to have rekindled today.
Alison was only there for the summer. Dad owned the biggest construction firm in the area and often gave summer jobs to the local students, I remind myself. And it was years ago.
Even so, it gives Alison even more of a connection to my family. And the last thing I want is for her to attach herself to us. I want her to go back to Spain and stay there. That way, hopefully, no one will ever find out what I did.