Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Grace lived in a house share in Walthamstow with two other girls who also worked in the City.
One of them was a self-confessed Mrs Hinch fan with a cleaning obsession, so Ellen was expecting the sparkling surfaces and the wave of Zoflora when Grace opened the door.
She looked immaculate too, as if she’d just dressed up for a night out.
Robert reached out and gave her a huge hug. ‘You look lovely, Gracie.’
‘Thanks, Dad. Although in the interests of full disclosure, Max is coming to take me out in a couple of hours so I’ve been getting ready for that.’
Her greeting of Ellen was less warm. ‘Hi, Mum.’
Grace was a sulker. She always had been. Maybe she got it from Ellen who, although she wouldn’t exactly call it sulking, did find it difficult to let things go when someone hurt her. Abigail and Robert were the opposite. They’d moved on from an argument almost before you’d finished having it.
Today, though, Ellen couldn’t bite her lip and let it pass. ‘Can I have a hug, too?’
Surprise on her face, Grace opened her arms and took her in.
Though she’d been taller than Ellen for years, it still felt odd that this fully grown woman was her baby.
Robert was right, she shouldn’t meddle in her affairs, however much she believed she knew better.
‘Where’s Max taking you? Somewhere nice? ’
Either the power of the hug or excitement about her forthcoming evening trumped the desire to punish her mother for speaking out of turn. ‘I don’t know yet. He said it’s a surprise. I’m really excited about it. Come into the kitchen, I’ll make coffee.’
Also pristine, the kitchen had all the hallmarks of a trio of twenty-something girls with an Instagram fixation.
A glittery kettle, matching toaster and six mugs lined up in order of how dark a shade of pink they were.
From one angle, it would look like the kitchen of a wealthy woman; pan out and it was the size of a broom cupboard.
‘It’s nice to have you over, but you don’t often come this way. Why couldn’t you just tell me the news over the phone yesterday?’
Before replying, Robert glanced at Ellen as if to warn her. They’d talked about this last night, how much to tell the girls. He didn’t want to worry them more than was necessary, while she knew that they’d want the whole truth.
He kept his voice light and smooth. The same tone he’d used when he’d told a four-year-old Grace that there were no such things as monsters. ‘Let’s wait until we’re sitting down with our drinks. Shall we?’
Grace’s head turned quickly in their direction, the spoon of coffee hovering over the mug. ‘Is it something serious? Should I be worried?’
This was a phrase Ellen used to use all the time.
She recognised Grace’s request to be prepared for any emotional upheaval, her need to know what was coming.
They were so alike. It’s why they were so close and also why they fell out.
She wished again she could protect her from the worry about Robert.
‘Make the coffee, sweetheart and then we can tell you everything.’
Grace opened her mouth to push them for an explanation – another reason they often fell out – but must’ve seen something in their expressions to make her wait.
In the sitting room, she perched on the edge of her seat. Coffee untouched on the long low table that ran parallel with the sofa. ‘What is it?’
Robert took a deep breath. ‘They’ve discovered an anomaly in my heart. I need to have surgery.’
This is the conclusion he’d come to last night. Make the description brief and try to keep the emotion out of it.
Even so, Grace’s eyes widened. ‘Your heart. That sounds serious, Dad. What kind of operation? Is it dangerous? When will you have it?’
Torn between wanting to let Robert finish and moving onto the other sofa to console her daughter, Ellen sat on her hands and did as she’d promised and let Robert explain.
‘It’s a heart condition that I’ve probably always had, but now they know it’s there, they want to get it fixed as soon as possible. I’m going to have the surgery on Monday.’
Grace’s mouth fell open. ‘Monday? This Monday? Two days’ time? It must be really serious if they’re rushing you in that fast.’
It amazed Ellen to see how calm Robert could be, how far down he could push his own concerns to ensure that he protected his daughter from her own. ‘It’s the private healthcare that I get through work. They do everything fast. You should see how quickly they made me a coffee when I got there.’
Robert’s attempt at humouring her out of her concern wasn’t going to cut it. ‘Dad. I’m not a child. What’s going on? Is this serious? Mum?’
The fear in her eyes as she turned her attention to Ellen forced her out of her seat and next to her daughter in moments.
It was all very well Robert saying that she needed to make it seem as if this was all okay, that rushing to comfort Grace would make her feel as if there really was something to be scared of.
But there was something to be scared of and she couldn’t see her daughter anxious and not try to soothe her.
With her arm around her, she ignored Robert’s frown and spoke softly.
‘It is a big operation, sweetheart, but your dad is very fit and healthy and strong. He’s going to be okay.
We need to get the operation over and done with on Monday and then we can all help to get him better. ’
Grace chewed on her lip. Knowing that tears were about to come, Ellen reached for her handbag and pulled out a packet of tissues. When she took it, Grace held it under her eyes to save her mascara. ‘Does Abbie know yet?’
Robert shook his head. ‘No. I’m still undecided whether to tell her. She’s only just got to uni.’
Grace’s fear flipped quickly to outrage. ‘You have to tell her.’ She turned to Ellen. ‘Tell him, Mum.’
It had always been this way. It was always fun and games between the girls and Robert. He was the jokey one. The easy one. Until he imposed a rule they didn’t like and then they were straight back to Ellen to fight their corner. Which she always did. ‘We are going to tell her. Robert, you agreed.’
He ran his hands through his hair. ‘I know. I just don’t want to. We’ll go and see her tomorrow. You can come if you like?’
Now it was Grace’s turn to look torn. ‘I would, but I’m just not sure what’s happening with Max. This surprise tonight might be an overnight thing. I’ll come to yours tomorrow night though? Stay over the night before your operation. Be with you both? And Abbie if she wants to come home?’
Robert started to tell her there was no need, but Ellen rubbed her back. ‘That would be lovely. I’ll make a lasagne.’
Now the worst of the news was over, they drank their coffee and told Grace about their time in Malaga – minus the accusations of infidelity. Ellen explained that Charlotte was Lucy’s daughter.
‘I think I should meet this Charlotte. If Abigail is friends with her sister and you are friends with her mum, maybe the two of us would hit it off?’
‘No.’ The word was out of Ellen’s mouth before she could stop it. She tried to soften it. ‘I mean, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re very different.’
Grace laughed. ‘I was only joking, Mum. Although, I can’t help wondering why you’re so opposed. Are you ashamed of me?’
‘No. Of course not. It’s just…well she’s got a very busy job which takes up all her time.
And, to be honest, Lucy and I are not particularly close any longer, she did keep rather a huge secret from me about your dad.
And I’m not sure that her other daughter will be a particularly good influence on Abbie.
I’m grateful for everything Charlotte has done, but I think we need to create a bit of distance between us and them. ’
Shifting back in his chair, Robert looked at her in surprise. ‘Really? I think we have a lot to be grateful for. And you and Lucy were so close at university. I don’t think you can hold this against her. Give it another chance.’
Old jealousies crackled in Ellen’s stomach. ‘What about the fact she lied about the school she went to? Don’t you think that’s strange?’
Robert shrugged. ‘We were kids. And, anyway, Charlotte might have it wrong. Or she might have gone to a state school for a short while. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not really important, is it?’
Not in the light of what was going on right now it wasn’t important, no. But it was a pretty strange lie to tell. And to sustain for the whole three years they’d studied together. She thought again of Lucy and Ian. How they had looked down their noses at everyone.
Before she could reply, Grace’s mobile buzzed on the table in front of them and a picture of her and Max lit up the screen, before she snatched it up. ‘I’ll just take this in the hall. Won’t be a minute.’
Grace pulled the door closed behind her, but they could still hear her side of the conversation. ‘Hey. Hello. Are you on your way? My parents are here. Maybe you can come and say hello and meet them?’
Robert raised his eyebrows at Ellen. Were they about to meet the infamous Max at long last? She wasn’t sure this was the right time, but they were here now. It would be impossible to leave without making it obvious. And she was intrigued to see him in the flesh.
Although it turned out from the rest of the conversation that this wasn’t going to happen.
Grace’s voice became more and more disappointed with each word.
‘Why?…But you said you had something booked for us…I know that, but…well, I can come and spend the day with the three of you…I see…Yes…No, it’s fine… I understand…I love you, too.’
There were a few moments between the end of the call and her return. Clearly, she needed to compose herself. Ellen wasn’t a violent woman, but she could have kicked this man for leaving her daughter hanging like this, letting her down at the last minute. And the kick would’ve been hard.
Grace’s face was like thunder when she came back. ‘Well, I don’t know if you could hear all that, but Max has cancelled. His bloody ex-wife has decided to go away and he has to have the children on short notice.’
Again, Ellen wondered whether the ‘bloody wife’ was an ‘ex’ at all. But this wasn’t the time to go into that again. ‘I’m sorry, love. I know you were looking forward to it.’
In reply, Grace clapped her hands together and her dark expression cleared. ‘So I can come and see Abbie with you after all.’