Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
T he next morning, Cat and I set off for my mum and dad’s place in Perth. Despite all the excitement and positivity around my big win, I’m not looking forward to this visit, because I’m all too aware of the lengthy lecture I’m about to receive for my lack of contact with them after my breakup with Dave.
Oh, well. I can’t stop the inevitable, but I can put it out of my mind until I get there.
‘Any more plans to see your mystery man?’ I ask Cat, as we zoom across the Queensferry Crossing in her car.
She purses her lips and I realise my error, having momentarily forgotten what she said before about not being ready to share.
‘Sorry… I’m not fishing for details. I’m just checking that things are still on between you.’
Keeping her eyes on the road, she seems to relax and her face spreads into a coy smile. ‘They are going well. He’s away with friends this weekend, and he’s having a mega busy time at work, so we’ve arranged to go for dinner and drinks next Saturday night. I did wonder if the work thing was an excuse and whether was cooling on me, but he’s already sent me two messages today – while he’s with his friends. That must be a good sign, surely?’
‘Definitely a good sign.’ I gaze across the Firth of Forth, the water glistening in the spring sunshine. It’s a view I always enjoy taking in when I come this way, especially how North Queensferry looks like a perfect little toytown from this high up.
‘For once, it seems like he’s as keen on me as I am on him.’ She gives me a little side glance.
‘Awesome. Keep it up, and you’ll have him hooked.’ I’m pleased that she’s felt confident enough to share this tiny but significant titbit, and that she seems more at ease with her new bloke. I haven’t noticed any more of those troubled looks she had before, which must also be a good sign. ‘So, are you ready to face the wrath of my parents?’
‘Are you ready to face the wrath of your parents?’ she hurls back.
‘No, never.’ I chew my lip in apprehension. ‘But needs must. I’m dreading it a little less after seeing that financial adviser the other day.’
‘Oh, yeah. Surely your parents will be pleased you’ve done that.’
‘We’ll see. I wish they were more like Aunt Lottie. She’s so chilled compared to them, and she actually has faith that I can look after myself.’
‘You’ll be fine,’ says Cat. ‘Your parents are overprotective because they want the best for you.’
I give a sarcastic laugh. ‘Correction: they want what they think is best for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love them to bits, but they’re incapable of seeing me as a grown woman who can look after myself. There’s no question that this is going to be a painful experience, so buckle up and get ready for the ride.’
Less than an hour later, we pull up outside my mum and dad’s three-bedroom semi-detached house. The door is flung open and my mum gallops down the path, swallowing me in a suffocating hug the second I get out of the car.
‘ Emma, how are you? I’ve been so worried.’ She holds me out at arm’s length appraisingly, before yanking me back in. ‘Have you been eating properly? You look like you’ve lost weight. Why you wouldn’t let your dad and I look after you through that awful time, I’ll never know. There was no need to go through that alone’
I wriggle out of my mum’s grip, which is remarkably strong. ‘I’m fine, Mum, honestly. I wasn’t alone . Cat was with me the whole time, and I have to learn to deal with these things myself. You and Dad won’t be around forever.’
She hates it when I say things like that.
‘Yes, well… while we are around, we’re here to help. That’s what parents are for. I wish you would let us do our job.’ She turns to Cat. ‘Hello, Cat. It’s nice to see you again. Thank you ever so much for looking after our Emma. That goes way beyond what’s expected of you as her friend.’ She throws a look in my direction.
‘It was no problem at all, June,’ says Cat. ‘I’ve really enjoyed the company, and Emma’s been there for me more times than I can count.’
My mum ignores this statement as it doesn’t support her cause. ‘In you go, girls, before you get cold. Your dad’s dying to see you.’
Cat and I are ushered into the kitchen-slash-dining room where my dad is setting the table and my mum has the cooking underway.
‘Ooh, this smells delicious. Hi, Dad,’ I greet my father and brace myself for another ticking off but I’m in luck. He’s not great with matters of the heart, so I don’t get the lecture I might have if I’d announced I was off on a year-long pilgrimage to Machu Picchu.
‘Hi, pumpkin. It’s good to see you.’ He gives me great big bear hug and Cat a kiss on the cheek before returning to his task.
We sit down to a tasty brunch and I decide, so that we can at least enjoy our meal, that I’ll wait until we’ve finished eating before telling them my news.
To begin with, the conversation is light, mostly filled by my mum updating me on her involvement in one community project or another. But that doesn’t last long.
‘Oh, Emma, did you hear about the Roystons along the road?’ My mum’s grey blue eyes come to life as they always do when she’s got some juicy gossip to share.
‘No, who are they?’ I roll my eyes at Cat.
‘They’re the family that moved in the year you went to high school. Their oldest was a couple of years younger than you. Susie? Or was it Sally?’
‘No idea. Don’t remember anyone by that name.’
‘Well, anyway, they’re getting a divorce, it seems. The parents. It’s a bit sad because they’re a nice couple, but apparently, he had an affair.’
‘Well, these things happen.’ I put on a bored voice but she doesn’t take the hint.
‘And then there’s Mr Collingsworth on the corner. He’s been behaving very strangely. I was chatting with Marjory from number forty-seven the other day, and she was saying that he won’t answer his door to anyone anymore. Just shouts at people to go away. She thinks it might be dementia.’
‘Or he’s sensible and knows that this place is full of nosey parkers,’ I mutter.
I’m becoming irritated by my mum’s behaviour.
‘Marjory also mentioned that he has no family, and it reminded me of that ghastly woman who lived in the house next door,’ my mum unashamedly continues her gossiping, in between mouthfuls. ‘Remember, the one who wouldn’t give anyone the time of day. Then suddenly turned up on our doorstep one day, telling me how I should be bringing you up. What a cheek . What was her name again? Maybury was the surname. Ah, yes, Charlotte Maybury. Vile woman.’
‘She wasn’t vile .’ My irritation has turned into annoyance. ‘She was – and probably still is – a nice quiet lady who unfortunately experienced a lot of sadness and heartache in her life. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.’
‘ Emma , don’t speak to your mother like that,’ My dad’s bushy salt and pepper eyebrows knit together as he scolds me and I mumble a half-hearted apology.
My mum looks shocked for a moment, but quickly recovers. ‘What would you know about her life, Emma? And why would you even care? You didn’t know her.’
‘I don’t… care. But I do know that her granddaughter died because of a rare genetic disorder at seven-years-old, and then her daughter, the mother of the child, died by suicide because she couldn’t get over it. It was a total tragedy. No wonder her marriage broke down and she ended up living the way she did. That would break anyone.’
My mum is temporarily silenced.
‘Right, well, that is tragic,’ she says eventually. ‘How do you know all this?’
‘Must have got it from someone at school.’ I shift my focus to drinking my tea. ‘I’m just saying that you shouldn’t judge without knowing the facts. I’m sure Lott… erm… Charlotte Maybury is a perfectly nice woman.’
‘Well, no matter what she went through, that certainly wasn’t my experience of her,’ my mum sniffs.
I throw an exasperated sidelong glance at Cat, who quickly changes the focus of the conversation. ‘Mrs Blake, your garden is looking beautiful.’
‘Why thank you, Cat.’ My mum tucks her bottle blonde bob behind her ears and beams at Cat. ‘Between you and me, I think it’s the best in the street. It’s such a shame how some of our neighbours don’t put in any effort at all. Really lets the community down.’
Cat stifles a giggle as I pretend to throw my face into my brunch in despair.
Once we’ve cleared up and moved through to the living room with a fresh pot of tea, I give Cat the signal. She offers me the same encouraging look she did in the restaurant, and I clear my throat.
‘So, I have some interesting news.’
My mum’s ears instantly prick up. ‘Interesting, how?’
Honestly, she should hire herself out as a sniffer dog.
‘What is it, Ems?’ asks my dad. ‘Good interesting or bad interesting?’
‘It’s good news. Very good news in fact—’
‘Oh, my good Lord, you’re pregnant!’ cries my mum.
‘ What? ’ Why do people keep thinking that?
‘That selfish man has disappeared off the scene and left you a single mother,’ she gushes, like a river that’s burst its banks. ‘Well, you’re right, it’s terrific news. Not that there’s no father on the scene, but a baby will give you some focus in your life.’
Cat is once again trying not to laugh. I look at her helplessly.
‘You can move back here,’ my mum goes on. ‘And I’ll help you so you can keep working. You can’t be throwing your career away—’
‘ Mum, stop . I’m not pregnant.’
Poor Cat is now struggling so much that little snorts keep escaping from her mouth.
‘Mum, please do me a favour and keep quiet until I’m finished.’
‘Let our Ems speak, June.’ My dad puts a calming hand on her shoulder. ‘You’ll get your say once she’s done.’
My mum pulls a dissatisfied pout and grudgingly sits back in her seat.
‘OK, here goes…’ I take a deep breath, then hurriedly tell them everything from the cruel way that Dave broke up with me and being conned into buying a lottery ticket I didn’t want, to my discovery of my big win and quitting my job after my run in with Karla. ‘Can you believe it?’ I say, once I’m done. ‘ I won the lottery . I’m like a new woman, and it’s totally helping me get over Dave.’
My parents gawp at me. For once, my mum is shocked into silence.
As my brain catches up with what I’ve just shared, I realise that, for a second time, I’ve failed to successfully execute my planned ‘breaking news’ speech – which means that I haven’t censored things as much as I perhaps should have for my parental audience. But what else is there to focus on other than my win? I wait for them to gather themselves. This really isn’t like them, and not at all what I expected .
‘Dad, Mum, isn’t that exciting? It had me speechless too.’
My mum recovers first, taking my surprise to new levels. ‘You should know better than to wander around the city on your own at night. Also, why were you trying to buy a bottle opener? I really hope you weren’t drowning your sorrows with alcohol, young lady. And don’t even get me started on you quitting your job. Have you lost your mind? You had a nice secure position with a reputable company, and you’ve thrown it away for what? An early mid-life crisis?’
I’m so gobsmacked that I can’t find a response. I turn to my dad in the hope that he’ll be the rational one.
He shakes his head as if coming out of a trance and fixes me with a concerned look. ‘Quitting your job like that wasn’t a smart move, Ems. Although, if you’ve been bullied by your manager, I’m not surprised you’ve felt backed into a corner. Now don’t worry, we can fix this. A strongly worded letter to your HR department to record that you had no choice but to resign should do it. This is constructive dismissal, nothing less.’
This has gone beyond ridiculous. I’ve just told my parents I’ve won several hundred thousand pounds and all they hear are what they consider to be my mistakes. They’ve not even acknowledged the money.
I shoot another hopeless look at Cat, who’s looks so stunned by their response, it’s wiped the smile off her face. She shrugs, obviously at a loss as to where to go next with this.
‘Are you kidding me’ I throw my hands up in frustration. ‘ That’s what you got from what I said?’
My parents stare blankly at me.
‘Nothing else? You didn’t get anything else from it? No exciting news?’
They look at each other .
‘Oh, you mean the money you’ve “won”?’ My mum adds air quotes to this statement.
‘What do you mean the money I’ve “won”?’ I replicate her gesture.
‘For goodness sake, Emma, we weren’t born yesterday. You’ve always been creative when it comes to sharing news that we won’t like.’
‘Wait a minute…’ I try to compute what she’s said. ‘You think I made up winning the money to make you less annoyed at me for quitting my job?’
‘Of course, you did.’ My mum sips at her tea smugly. ‘That’s been your way ever since you were a little girl. You have an amazingly colourful imagination. You should really put it to some constructive use.’
Once again, I turn to my dad, desperate for him to show some confidence in me.
‘Ems, you have been a wee bit economical with the truth in the past when you’ve gotten yourself in a scrape. But we realise you’ve been under a lot of pressure. Don’t you worry, you’ll get your job back and that dreadful woman will be dealt with.’
‘But I’m not—’
‘ Enough, Emma .’ My mum silences me, casting a thin-lipped look at my dad. ‘We’ll help you out. Of course, we will. We also need to have to have a chat about your impulsiveness. You must learn some self-control, because you can’t be turning to alcohol or packing in your job every time things get a bit challenging. Behaviour like that that can be the beginning of a terrible downward spiral.’
Great . Now my parents think I’m a self-destructive waste of space. I’m so frustrated, I’m about to give up and signal to Cat that it’s time to go, when I realise that I have the solution to hand .
I nip through to the kitchen where I’ve left my handbag and log into my banking app on my phone.
‘Here, look at this.’ I thrust it into my dad’s hand when I return to the living room.
‘Emma…’ My mum sighs. ‘The lengths you go to—’
‘ Hang on , June.’ My dad, who’s scrutinising the information on the screen, cuts her off. He clicks in and out of a few menu options, each time coming back to the home page of the app where my name and the balance of my newly opened savings account (which is temporarily housing the bulk of my win) are clearly displayed. ‘Good god… Our little girl’s struck it rich.’
‘ Finally .’ I let out an exasperated sigh. ‘It’s incredible, isn’t it?’
‘It really is.’ He’s still a bit dazed, but he gets to his feet and envelops me in a bone-crushing hug.
‘Couldn’t happen to a nicer person, I reckon,’ Cat pipes up and I flash her a grateful smile.
‘ Excuse me .’
We’ve all forgotten that my mum hasn’t quite made it to the same place as us yet.
‘Eric, kindly fill me in. Please .’
‘Well, June, it’s fairly straightforward,’ my dad says, as if he never doubted me in the first place. ‘Our Ems has indeed come into quite a lot of money. Have a look. It’s there in her savings account.’ He hands my phone to her.
The colour drains from my mum’s face. ‘ What? Well… how? ’ she splutters.
‘It’s not rocket science, June. She bought a ticket. Her numbers came up. She won.’
‘Oh, I know that, Eric, I’m not daft. It’s just… so exciting . Emma, come and sit, and we’ll get another cup of tea on the go. I want to hear the whole story, every last detail. ’
I grit my teeth to avoid saying something I regret – or another telling off. This is so typical of my mum. One minute she’ll be making snap judgements about me and how I live my life, and the next she’s trying to be my best friend. There’s never an apology.
I give Cat a look I hope she interprets as this is going to be a long day . She simply grins back at me and makes herself comfortable on the sofa.