Chapter 21
Kitty opened her door to rain and a frazzled-looking Nick. ‘Oh, hello. Is everything alright?’ She peered around him. ‘Where’s Emily?’
‘I left her with Margot. Can I come in for a minute?’
‘Um, yes, I suppose so.’ Kitty opened the door wider and Nick pushed through, heading straight for the kitchen. Most of the time she forgot half the village knew the house better than she did, from the days of Solly living there. She followed Nick and automatically switched on the kettle.
‘You don’t have anything stronger, do you?’
Kitty frowned and glanced at her watch. ‘It’s not even midday yet.’
Nick flopped onto an old battered sofa and ran his hands through his hair. ‘I could really do with a beer. Oh God, this is such a nightmare.’
‘What’s happened? Is Emily alright?’
‘She’s a bit upset, but not too bad.’
‘You’re worrying me, Nick. What’s happened?’
‘Can I have a tea with a couple of sugars? In the absence of alcohol, it will have to do.’
‘Alright. While I make it, you can tell me why you’re here.’
Nick looked up sharply, as though it hadn’t occurred to him he would need to explain himself or would not have been welcome. ‘Sorry, are you busy?’
Kitty was not. In fact, she had an entire weekend stretching before her with nothing planned and nowhere to go. She wasn’t about to admit as much to Nick, however. ‘I’ve got a few things to do, nothing that can’t wait.’
‘OK, thanks. I won’t stay long. I just needed to talk to someone, and you seemed the obvious choice. Carla rang me last night.’
‘I thought she called every night?’
‘To speak to Emily, yes. I give her a quick update when she calls, not what you’d call a proper conversation.’
‘Last night was?’ Kitty filled a pot with tea leaves and hot water and carried it to the kitchen table.
Nick blew out a long breath ‘She’s going to be away longer than she first thought.’
‘How much longer?’
‘It’s impossible to say.’ He scrubbed his face with his hands. ‘She thinks maybe up to a month.’
‘A month? That’s going to be so disruptive for Emily.’
Nick blinked. ‘I guess it will. Carla’s coming next weekend to see her and explain. In the meantime, she suggested I enrol Emily in school, to give her a routine and a bit of normality. She hopes it might take her mind off missing her mum.’
‘It’s not the worst idea I’ve heard,’ said Kitty. ‘Still, a month. That’s a long time to be apart from her mum. How has she taken the news?’
‘She doesn’t know. As far as Emily is aware, she’ll be going home by the end of next week.’ He shook his head. ‘She’ll be devastated when she finds out she’s stuck here with me. She’s homesick enough as it is.’
Kitty poured two cups of tea and pushed the sugar bowl closer to Nick. She tried not to look surprised when he spooned five heaped teaspoons into his mug. ‘I thought things were going well between the two of you.’
‘As well as can be expected, but it’s not easy.
Emily often wakes up crying at night, and she doesn’t fully trust me yet.
I haven’t a clue how to comfort her, what to talk to her about, and I’m running out of things to do with her in Saffron Bay, especially now the weather has taken a turn for the worse. ’
Kitty stared up at the roof lights, where the rain pattered gently against the glass. ‘Entertaining children is definitely harder in the rain. Why don’t you take her to the cinema?’
‘I don’t have a car.’ Nick’s cheeks turned rosy, and he put his mug to his mouth to hide it. ‘And… and I can’t afford it.’
Kitty leaned back in her chair and sipped her tea. ‘Have you ever had a proper job, Nick?’
‘Of course, I have a pint of Proper Job most nights.’ He grinned, reminding her of the first night they met.
Kitty sighed. ‘I wasn’t talking about beer.’
‘Fine. Define a proper job.’
‘Regular hours, steady wage, answering to a boss, that sort of thing.’
Nick tipped his head down and peered at Kitty from beneath his lids. ‘Not exactly.’
‘How do you afford to live?’
‘My parents don’t charge me rent, and until a few years ago, I got a monthly allowance.’
Kitty spluttered, and tea dribbled down her chin. ‘An allowance? Seriously? How old are you?’
Nick mumbled something inaudible as his cheeks grew pink.
‘Seriously,’ said Kitty, ‘how does that work? What do you do with all that spare time?’
‘Um… I… go to the gym.’
Kitty laughed. ‘You go to the gym. That’s it?’
‘No, I go swimming and kayaking, meet up with friends….’
‘Fine. Do you actually do anything useful?’
‘Useful?’
‘Yeah, like something for other people.’
‘Not currently.’
‘And you’re happy with that?’ Kitty knew she sounded as incredulous as she felt.
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ Nick’s voice had turned truculent, like he realised he was kidding himself.
‘Because you do nothing in your life to give you any self-esteem. Taking handouts from your parents at your age must be kind of embarrassing.’
‘If you say so.’
Nick crossed his arms across his chest, sounding and acting like a sulky teenager.
Kitty was reminded of how he’d behaved a few nights previously at Alice’s.
If she’d learned anything about Nick, it was that he didn’t make it easy to like him, although Luke and Alice seemed fond of him.
They must see something in him Kitty couldn’t.
Nick shifted the conversation. ‘Are there any spaces at the school?’
‘As it happens, yes, there are.’ Kitty took a sip of her unsweetened tea. ‘According to Suzanne, the intake has been disappointingly low this year. I’ve only got twenty children in my class.’
‘Twenty kids?’ Nick visibly paled. ‘How the hell do you cope with twenty kids? I can barely look after one!’
‘It’s different if you’re not the parent,’ said Kitty graciously, ‘and I’ve had years of training to do what I do.’
‘Could you speak to the school for me about getting Emily a place there?’
Kitty laughed and set her tea down on the table. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because you’re the parent here, not me! I can’t just let a child join my class without any forms being filled out and going through the official channels.’
‘Oh.’
Nick had turned from white to green. Kitty wasn’t sure what she’d said to upset him, so she offered what help she could. ‘I can arrange a meeting for you with Suzanne, the head teacher, if that would help?’
‘Could you be there? I mean… um…’
‘Nick, you need to learn to step up. You’re Emily’s dad, and the sooner you get used to it, the better.’
‘No,’ said Nick, shaking his head. When he picked up his cup, his hands trembled. ‘It’s not about accepting responsibility, it’s… it’s… oh, God…’
‘Nick?’
‘It’s the paperwork, OK? I might need a bit of help, that’s all.’
Kitty frowned, trying to understand what Nick was telling her.
Was it that he didn’t know enough details about Emily’s life, or the actual form-filling that was bothering him?
She waited for him to elaborate. He kept his eyes down, swirling a teaspoon around his cup.
Whatever it was, it was important to Nick.
She softened further. ‘I’m sure I can be at the meeting.
I’ll message Suzanne now, if you like, but I might not get a reply given it’s the weekend. ’
‘Thank you,’ said Nick.
When he looked up at her, Kitty could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes. Before she could be sure, Nick had plastered a smile on his face, downed the dregs of his tea and was standing up and pulling on his coat. ‘Thanks, Kitty, I really appreciate your help.’
The cockiness was back, and as Nick let himself out of her cottage, she had no idea what to make of him.