Chapter Two
The rain had stopped by the time Anna left Daniel Redfern’s house and weak sunshine was trying to break its way through the grey clouds. She limped towards the Tube station, her shoes rubbing on the patches of skin on her heels, which had blistered and were now bleeding. She was bedraggled, in pain and furious. She didn’t care if she didn’t get the job — in fact, she’d decided that she’d turn it down if she did. She’d never be able to work for such a rude and obnoxious man. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t even bothered to read her CV.
The Tube was busy, but thankfully she managed to find a seat. When she reached her stop at Canada Water she began the short walk to the Angel pub, where she’d arranged to meet her friend Daisy. She would have preferred to go straight home and sink into a nice warm bath, but she knew that as soon as she arrived home, her evening chores would immediately engulf her and there would be no time for relaxation until much later. So, maybe a glass of wine and a moan with her best friend would revive her a little and put off the inevitable.
Inside the pub she stopped to adjust her vision to the gloomy interior. When she saw that Daisy hadn’t arrived yet, she headed to the ladies’, ran a brush through her now frizzing hair and reapplied her make-up. Feeling slightly more human, she went to the bar and ordered herself a large glass of white wine. Several groups were sitting at tables chatting loudly, obviously pleased that the weekend had started, and there were several regulars propping up the bar. She grabbed an empty table in a secluded corner and sat down gratefully.
A few minutes later, Daisy bustled in and headed towards her.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ she said, her face lit up with her ever-ready wide smile. As usual she was full of life, her walk as bouncy as her dark curly hair. Anna had always admired Daisy’s rather bohemian style, her love of puffy-sleeved blouses and long skirts. As a personal assistant in a banking firm in the city, it wasn’t a look she should have successfully carried off, but it matched her bubbly personality and somehow she seemed to get away with it.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve not been here long either,’ Anna replied.
‘I’ll just get myself a drink and I’m all yours.’
Once Daisy sat back down she got straight to it. ‘So come on then, how did the interview go?’
‘Horrendous.’ Anna cringed at the memory. ‘I wish you’d never persuaded me to apply for it.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry. What happened?’
‘Put it this way, I got lost, was late, the heavens opened and I ended up looking like a drowned rat. And to top it all, Daniel Redfern is the most obnoxious man I’ve ever met. The whole afternoon felt like one of those dreams where you’re trying to get somewhere but obstacles keep getting in your way, and then when you look down you realise you’re wearing your pyjamas in public, or worse you’re wearing nothing at all.’
‘Ow.’ Daisy pulled a face. ‘So you didn’t hit it off, then?’
Anna laughed at the thought of getting on well with Daniel Redfern. ‘Just because he’s successful and semi-famous, doesn’t give him the right to be so rude.’ She took a slurp of her wine. ‘When I told him about my interest in photography, he asked me if I’d done some media course at college and thought I knew everything. He hadn’t even bothered to read my CV!’
‘That’s a shame,’ Daisy said soothingly. ‘On paper it sounded like the perfect job for you and, goodness knows, you need to get away from the one you’re in. How you can bear to work with toxic Mark and his up-herself new girlfriend I really don’t know.’
Anna sighed. ‘It is becoming unbearable, but I can’t leave until I’ve found something else. And I’m not going to jump into some crappy job to get away from them. I’ve worked hard in that gallery and I deserve a decent job, not to be pushed away because Mark can’t keep it in his pants.’
‘Too right.’ Daisy nodded in agreement. ‘But unfortunately the kind of job you’re looking for doesn’t come along very often. That’s why this one looked so perfect.’
‘I know.’ Anna sighed again.
‘What would you do if he offered it to you anyway?’
Anna laughed. ‘Believe me, that’s not likely to happen. The interview was a complete car crash.’
‘But if he did? Maybe his bark’s worse than his bite. Or maybe you could win him round. You’d probably learn a lot more about photography from a man like him than you could from any course.’
‘I know. And that’s the pity of it.’ Anna had another sip of wine. ‘But, no, I really don’t think I could work with him. At least at the gallery they more or less leave me to get on with it.’
‘Okay, fair enough.’ Daisy paused. ‘So apart from his obnoxious character, what was he like in the flesh? Was he as good-looking as he is in his pics?’
‘No . . . he was much better in the flesh. The photos don’t capture his eyes. They’re so startlingly blue they take your breath away.’
‘Really?’ Daisy asked, a small smile playing on her lips.
‘I’m speaking from an aesthetic point of view,’ Anna replied, despite the fact that she felt herself growing slightly warmer at the memory of him. ‘Nothing more.’
‘Shame.’ Daisy continued smiling.
Anna drained her glass. ‘I’m sorry, hun, but I’m going to have to go. Dinner won’t cook itself.’
‘It would if those lazy boys pulled their fingers out,’ Daisy said. ‘Honestly Anna, you pander to them. They’re old enough and ugly enough to look after themselves, even if it’s only occasionally. It shouldn’t all be down to you just because you’re female.’
‘I know, I know.’ Anna had heard this rant from Daisy before, but it didn’t change the fact that she felt obliged to look after them. ‘When Mum died, it sort of became my role and now it’s very difficult to undo.’
‘You just need to put your foot down. Divide up the chores and get them to do their bit.’
‘Tried that,’ Anna said. ‘All that happens is they do the jobs so badly it ends up taking me twice as long to sort it out after them.’
‘Well, move out, then.’
‘I wish I could afford to, Daise. But even if I could, there’s Harry to consider. He’s revising for his A-levels and I really don’t want to rock the boat for him. I want him to do well so that he can get away to university. It would be nice for at least one of us to achieve that.’
‘That could have been you,’ Daisy said quietly.
‘Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve,’ Anna said. ‘The circumstances were very different and there’s nothing I can do about that. But, in September, when he’s settled, things will change. I promise you.’
‘I really hope so,’ Daisy said. ‘You need to be able to live your own life.’
‘I know. So, are you walking with me?’
Daisy looked at her watch. ‘No, you go on. I said I’d meet Tom and he should be here any minute.’
‘Want me to wait until he gets here?’
Daisy shook her head. ‘No, you get on.’
‘Well, have a good time.’
As Anna made her way out of the now-full pub, the Friday-night crowd seemed ready to enjoy the weekend. What did the weekend have in store for her? she wondered. Washing, ironing, cooking and cleaning would be the limit of what she was doing, and then Monday morning would come round soon enough. Another week ahead of her facing Mark and his new girlfriend. Not exactly a lot to look forward to.
With a sigh of relief, Anna reached the terraced house she called home, eager to be rid of her painful shoes. Compared to the beautiful Georgian terrace of Daniel Redfern, the house she lived in was undeniably working class, but it had always been her home and, for that, she loved it. She put her key in the lock, opened the door and walked down the short hallway towards the living room. The blare from the television told her that someone was watching the football and, sure enough, she stepped inside to find her dad and her elder brother, Jack, sprawled on the two large sofas, each with a beer can in hand. Their eyes were fixed on the large TV as one of the strikers took a shot. As the ball went wide, both men groaned in mutual dismay. She looked around the room and compared it to the pristine mansion of Daniel Redfern. She did her best to keep the house clean and tidy, but the shabbiness of the room, which was long overdue redecoration, filled her with dismay.
When the noise died down, Anna said hello. Both men turned to face her, a look of shock on their faces as they hadn’t realised she’d come into the house, let alone the room.
‘Hello, love.’ Her father, Andrew, was the first to recover. Jack didn’t even bother to say hello and, after taking a glug from his can, fixed his eyes firmly back on the football match.
‘Have you had a good day at work?’ Andrew asked.
‘I wasn’t at work today, Dad. I told you I was going to an interview.’
‘Oh, yeah, that’s right. The posh photographer. How did it go?’
She sighed at the memory of it once again. ‘Well, let’s just say I don’t think I’ll be getting the job.’
Andrew snorted. ‘Well, that’s his loss. Shame. You could do with getting away from that idiot of an ex-boyfriend of yours.’
‘I know. But I’m not going to be pushed out before I’m ready.’
‘Quite right,’ Andrew replied, then added, ‘So what’s for tea, love?’
Anna stared at him in disbelief. She’d had a disastrous day, her feet were killing her and here were her father and the eldest of her brothers, sitting in the comfortable living room, each with a can of lager in their hands, waiting for her to get home so she could cook them dinner. Something inside her snapped. Daisy was right, she’d pandered to them for far too long. She wasn’t a wife or a mother, and just because she was the only female in the house didn’t mean she should have to wait on them hand and foot.
‘No idea,’ she said, resisting the instinct to head to the kitchen and see what was in the fridge. ‘To be honest, I’m not really hungry. I’ve had one hell of a day, so I think I might just have a soak in the bath. I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff in the freezer if you want to sort yourselves out.’ She rushed out of the living room before they had a chance to protest. She’d quite happily go hungry tonight if it made a point.
As she reached the top of the stairs, her younger brother, Harry, opened the door to his bedroom.
‘Hiya, I thought I heard your voice. How did your interview go?’
Gratified that at least one member of her family had remembered, she told him all about it.
‘Oh, that’s a shame. It sounded like the perfect job for you.’
‘In theory, yes, but things aren’t always as they seem. I’m going to have a bath now. Dad and Jack are sorting out tea.’
Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Or not as the case may be,’ he said. ‘I can always do it if you like?’
Anna smiled at him. If anyone else pulled their weight in the house it was Harry. But his A-level exams would start in just over a month and he needed to revise.
‘No, let them get off their backsides for once — you’ve got enough to do.’
He smiled back. ‘Well, I was hoping to go through some past papers tonight.’
‘Then that’s what you should do. If they don’t get anything sorted, make something for yourself. I’ve been too soft with them for too long.’