Chapter Seventeen #2
Hattie blinked. Another amazing offer – but strangely not one she wanted to accept.
She remembered how safe she felt at his house: she couldn’t let herself come to rely on that.
No, she needed to be in her own place, stand on her own two feet.
But Xander would undoubtedly prefer the space there.
She smiled. ‘That’s unbelievably kind, but I really think I’d like to live here.
Xander probably wouldn’t! I’ll have to talk to Leonie about it.
Shall I ring her now? Or shall we go home first? ’
‘Do it now. I’ll have another good look at what work needs doing here.’
Leonie asked a lot of questions but she was satisfied with the answers and on the whole didn’t seem too bothered by the thought of Xander staying at Luke’s.
‘I’ll go on being responsible for him getting to college and home again,’ Hattie said. ‘Though if Luke offers him a lift, I’ll probably say yes.’
‘That’s fine,’ said Leonie. ‘Get Xander to call me when you’ve told him about this new plan.’
Hattie hesitated and then said, ‘You do seem a bit more relaxed about everything, Lennie.’
‘I’ve realised that Xander has been thriving since he’s been with you, Hattie. Your scatterbrain approach to life seems to work for him.’
As so often happened, Hattie ended a phone call with her sister feeling faintly insulted.
‘So my sister is on board with it. Now we must ask Xander,’ said Hattie, ‘and if he’s not sure, we can show him this place so he’ll know what he’ll be missing.’
Luke’s deep chuckle gave Hattie a warm feeling.
As predicted, Xander liked the idea of staying with Luke. ‘But we’d still have meals together and things?’ he asked. ‘I like your cooking.’
‘Of course!’ said Hattie, flattered that the boy who apparently only ate plain pasta enjoyed her more eclectic meals.
He hesitated. ‘You won’t be offended, will you?’
Hattie flung an arm round him. ‘Of course not!’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t have suggested it if I would have been. But I’m hoping it’s only temporary. I’m going to be looking for somewhere we can live together.’
Xander sighed. ‘It’s a shame we had to leave the last place. But I don’t blame you for not feeling safe there. Luke will take care of us,’ he added.
‘We don’t need anyone to take care of us. But it will be handy living at Luke’s while he’s away, while we’re getting the lodge sorted.’
‘How will we do that without Luke?’
‘He’s not the only builder on the planet! And I’m not incapable.’
Luke didn’t seem to be aware of Hattie’s bold words and was at the lodge with his tools the next day.
Luke cleared the gutters and reattached a drain pipe to the wall while Hattie held the ladder. Then he repaired the roof over the kitchen.
‘It needs replacing, really,’ said Luke. ‘But that’ll keep the rain out for now.’
Hattie noted this down along with the hours Luke worked, so Aiden could pay him.
‘How are you getting on with the painting inside?’ asked Luke.
‘Come and see.’
Xander was there wearing an old pair of shorts and T-shirt. He was wielding a roller loaded with white paint. ‘This is fun!’ he said as Luke and Hattie entered the room. ‘Mum’s never let me near paint before.’
‘Maybe try to get a bit more of it on the wall and less on the floor,’ suggested Hattie. ‘But otherwise you’re doing a fine job.’
‘You’re certainly speedy,’ said Luke.
‘I know white paint isn’t imaginative,’ said Hattie, ‘but it’s brightening the place up a lot and it’s only temporary. But let’s go back now. You guys must be tired.’
‘You mean you’re tired, Hattie,’ said Luke.
She nodded. ‘And hungry! Shall we go home via the fish and chip shop? On me.’
A couple of days later, Rose and Hattie went to the lodge. Rose was donating some curtains and soon the gloomy lodge was a bright, attractive place to live.
‘It’s still tiny, though,’ said Rose, having finished her curtain hanging.
‘Fine for one. Or a close couple,’ said Hattie. ‘I can work from the second bedroom. I wonder if Aiden will bring the bathroom upstairs eventually? It would be too small for living in but a perfect romantic getaway.’
‘It’s a shame you had to leave your last place,’ said Rose.
Hattie hadn’t given Rose all the details of why she wanted to move. Now she glossed over it. ‘Oh, well, you know me. I never want to stay anywhere too long. And wherever my pots of herbs and things are, that’s my home, to massively misquote Bob Dylan.’
Rose didn’t comment but Hattie had a feeling that she hadn’t got away with that glib reply. ‘Are you sure you won’t come back and eat with us? Sam is cooking and I know he’d love to see you – and Xander of course.’
‘No, thank you. I want to make sure Luke’s house is as clean and tidy as possible before he gets back tomorrow. Then I’ll move in here.’
‘Well, at least it’s near Luke’s,’ said Rose.
Hattie felt annoyed by this but decided not to comment. Why did Rose think she needed to live near Luke? She was perfectly all right on her own.
Hattie was alone at the lodge, watering her pots, when her sister rang.
‘Hattie? How’s it going? I can’t get Xander on his phone. Is he with you?’
‘He—’
‘But I need to speak to you first.’ She didn’t even stop for breath. ‘He has a parents’ evening coming up – an appraisal – whatever they call it – and I need you to go.’
‘Lennie! I’m not his parent. It would be quite inappropriate for me to go.’
‘You’re in loco parentis, which means you have to. And how else am I supposed to find out how he’s doing? There’s no earthly point asking him!’
Hattie had to admit her sister was probably right about that.
‘But I’d have no idea what to do at a parents’ evening!’
‘You make appointments with the different teachers and turn up. They can be a bit shambolic, I do admit. But I don’t need you to see every teacher, just his English and maths tutors.’
‘Oh? But what about music? He likes that!’ Xander had finally told his mother about his passion for electronic music, and how living at Luke’s meant he could indulge it.
‘He may like it,’ said Leonie crossly, ‘but it’s not exactly going to give him a career, is it?’
‘He’s very young—’
‘I know how old he is. He’s my son. And I’m only asking you to see two teachers. How hard can it be? Oh, and record the interviews on your phone.’
Hattie definitely wasn’t going to do that. ‘I might take notes. People don’t often want to be recorded.’
‘Oh, OK. Now go and get him, would you? I haven’t got long.’
‘He’s at Luke’s. He must have been in Luke’s cabin when you called so he didn’t hear the phone. I’ll get him to give you a call.’
‘Please do!’ Leonie sounded bossy and demanding. Then she suddenly added, ‘I miss him.’
Hattie’s heart lurched. She realised that her sister’s heart wasn’t made of stone however hard she tried to pretend it was. She rang Luke the moment her phone was free.
‘Hey, Hattie, what’s going on?’ he said, when he answered.
‘Could you get Xander to ring his mum, ASAP? She’s missing him and needs to speak to him.’
‘OK. For a moment there I thought you were going to come over and hang out.’
Suddenly extremely tempted, Hattie said, ‘I can’t. I’ve got work to do.’
‘Ah. I was hoping you were going to say you had a cake just out of the oven.’
Hattie laughed. ‘No such luck.’
But before she went back to her laptop, she took butter out of the fridge and checked how many eggs she had. She owed Luke a cake for everything he was doing for Xander, she really did.
The day of the parents’ evening, Hattie checked her reflection in the mirror. Xander, whose presence always made the lodge feel small, had been dropped off by Luke. ‘Do I look all right?’
‘You look fine.’
‘OK, come on then. I’m so glad you’re coming with me. I’d never find my way round on my own.’
‘Actually, Hattie…’
‘What? You’re not backing out on me, are you?’
‘To be honest, it would be far better if I didn’t come too. They won’t tell you the truth if I’m there. You’ve only got two people to see. They’ll give you a map of the college when you turn up. You don’t need me!’
‘But what’ll you do here all on your own while I’m away?’
‘You’ve got telly, haven’t you?’
‘I haven’t got Netflix!’
‘Then I’ll listen to music.’ He paused. ‘I might even read a book! Luke’s lent me one.’
‘You really won’t take pity on your old auntie and come too?’
‘Hattie, no one looking at you would ever think of you as anyone’s old auntie.’
Not sure if her nephew was paying her some sort of backhanded compliment, Hattie decided to just go. She’d never really believed he would go with her but it would have been so much nicer if he had. Without quite knowing how it had happened, she’d started to really enjoy Xander’s company.