‘Are you ready, Mia?’ Hannah asked, tapping on her bedroom door. ‘We need to go soon.’
‘Yes,’ Mia replied. ‘Almost ready.’
Nearly twenty minutes later she finally emerged, wearing a pair of faded denim shorts and a navy polo shirt. Her hair was tied neatly back in a ponytail and – to Hannah’s surprise – there was none of the dark, dramatic make-up she usually favoured. Today’s look was far more subtle, allowing her natural, fresh-faced beauty a chance to shine through.
Her lovely green eyes glistened in the sunlight as she knelt down to put her trainers on in the hall.
Hannah was tempted to tell her how nice she looked, but having once been a teenage girl herself she knew this might not be the right thing to say. There was a distinct change of appearance today from what she’d seen previously. What this was supposed to signal, Hannah couldn’t be certain, but it surely had something to do with the fact that Mia was about to meet a boy of around her age. Perhaps dressing down was her way of signalling that she wasn’t interested in impressing Todd. Or maybe it was exactly the opposite. Either way, Hannah kept quiet.
‘Where’s, um, Mark?’ Mia asked, looking around for some sign of him. ‘Isn’t he coming too?’
‘No, love. He’s gone for a run and then a game of squash. He likes to keep fit.’
Mia’s face fell. ‘Oh, right. Who with?’
‘I’m not sure, actually. He plays in a local league, so it depends who he’s been drawn against this week. Do you ever play squash?’
Mia shook her head. ‘I’m not really into sport.’
‘You haven’t left your wet towel in your bedroom, have you?’ Hannah asked her, already knowing the answer.
‘Oh, sorry. I think I have. Do you want me to move it?’
‘Please,’ Hannah replied. She almost said something sarcastic but managed to bite her tongue.
Once that was done, they left the apartment and made the short walk along the corridor to her neighbour’s front door, with Hannah leading the way.
A moment later they were being greeted by an effusive Kathy and her red-faced grandson.
‘Well, aren’t you a pretty one,’ Kathy told Mia, whose cheeks flushed to match Todd’s. ‘You look like a young version of your gorgeous aunt.’ Grabbing her right hand and giving it a good squeeze, Kathy stared into her eyes before adding: ‘Yep. Bright as a button too, I’d wager. Delighted to meet you, Mia. Do come in.’
Hannah greeted thirteen-year-old Todd, who’d grown a lot since she’d last seen him and now had that gangly look typical of kids his age, not yet comfortable in his ever-changing adolescent body.
‘Hello,’ he replied in a deep voice that sounded strange coming out of his mouth, like there was a male ventriloquist hidden somewhere nearby.
Hannah had to stifle a laugh, covering it up with a big smile and questions about how Todd was doing and the building work taking place at his home that had led to his visit.
Next she introduced her niece to him, leading the two teenagers to nod awkwardly at each other, both muttering some kind of greeting and then looking at the floor. Todd was slightly taller than Mia, despite being a year below her at school.
‘Come on through to the lounge, everyone,’ Kathy piped up at just the right moment. ‘I hope you’re hungry, because I’ve got plenty for you to dig into.’
Kathy had come up with the idea of inviting Hannah and Mia over for Sunday afternoon tea as a way to introduce the youngsters and break the ice.
Her apartment was a smaller, two-bedroom version of Hannah and Mark’s place, although Kathy’s more old-fashioned taste in furnishings, such as her preference for carpets over hard floors, meant it had a very different feel inside. She had a small balcony off the lounge, which was open when they entered, letting in warm air from outside as well as the sounds of the city.
‘Lovely day today, isn’t it?’ Hannah said.
‘It is,’ Kathy replied. ‘Not quite as nice as some of the weather I saw in the States, but it definitely feels like summer. I did wonder about sitting us on the balcony, but there’s not a lot of room out there and I thought it might be a squeeze.’
‘No, this is perfect.’ Hannah’s eyes fell on the coffee table in the middle of the room, which was packed full of cakes. ‘Goodness me, Kathy. You’re spoiling us.’
Her hostess giggled as she directed them all to sit down. ‘I’ll make a pot of tea. Would anyone like anything else to drink?’
‘Tea for me, please,’ Hannah said. Mia requested the same.
‘Todd?’ Kathy asked, already on her way to the kitchen. ‘You’re not big on tea, are you? I’ve got cola, lemonade or cordial instead, if you like.’
‘Um, lemonade, please,’ he replied in that booming new voice of his, which again made Hannah smile to herself.
Kathy had two floral patterned sofas arranged in an L-shape around the coffee table. Hannah sat on one and patted the space next to her, indicating that Mia should join her. Todd was called into the kitchen to give his grandmother a hand.
‘Are you okay?’ Hannah whispered to her niece, who looked far from comfortable, perched on the front of the sofa cushion like she was ready to spring to her feet at any moment.
‘Fine.’
‘These cakes look good, don’t they? What do you fancy? I think I might go for a scone with jam and cream.’
‘I’m not sure.’
A few minutes later Todd reappeared from the kitchen. He was carrying a tray of teacups and saucers, a jug of milk and his glass of lemonade in such a shaky, awkward manner that Hannah got up to help him, fearing a breakage otherwise.
‘Thanks,’ he said, his facial expression changing from one of wide-eyed, intense concentration to blissful relief. ‘I’m, er, not very good at carrying things.’ Giggling nervously, he added: ‘I don’t think I’ll ever make much of a waiter, will I?’
Hannah gave him a reassuring smile. ‘Not to worry. You got it all here in one piece.’
Kathy reappeared, carrying the pot of tea. She instructed Todd to grab a seat and for everyone to help themselves to the superb spread before them, which included donuts, chocolate eclairs, vanilla slices, jam tarts and a luscious-looking Victoria sponge.
‘Are you expecting another six people, Kathy?’ Hannah joked. ‘I can’t believe how much there is here.’
‘Well, the sponge cake is homemade, but the rest is shop-bought, I’m afraid,’ Kathy replied. ‘I did wonder whether I ought to have made some sandwiches too.’
‘Don’t be silly. This is wonderful. Mark will be gutted when he finds out what he’s missed.’
‘You’ll have to take something home for him. It’ll be a nice reward for all that running around on the squash court. I don’t envy him in this warm weather.’
Hannah asked Todd if he ever played squash.
‘Um, not much,’ he replied. ‘My dad plays and I have had a go a couple of times, but I’m not very good. Tennis is more my game.’
‘Do you like to play tennis, Mia?’ Kathy asked.
‘No, not really,’ she said.
Kathy popped back to the kitchen, returning with cake forks and serviettes, which she passed around before asking why no one was digging in yet. ‘Come on, stop being polite. Let’s start with you, Mia. What would you like?’
For the next thirty minutes or so, the four of them remained in the lounge, eating, drinking and chatting. Well, it was Hannah and Kathy who did most of the talking. They tried to involve the other two as much as possible, but it was an uphill battle getting them to open up, Mia in particular.
Just as Hannah was starting to think this might have been a bad idea, there was a breakthrough.
‘How did you like Central Library?’ Kathy asked Mia. ‘Your aunt told me you’d paid a visit. It’s not your typical library, is it?’
‘No, I really liked it,’ Mia said, her eyes lighting up as she placed her freshly drained teacup back on to its saucer. ‘There are loads of things to do. They’ve got these cool viewing pods where you can access an archive of local film and video footage. There’s also a media lounge with loads of iMacs and stuff – even gaming consoles. I’ve never seen that in a library before.’
Todd’s ears pricked up at this. ‘Do you like gaming?’ he asked her.
‘Sure.’
‘I brought my PlayStation with me. It’s all set up in my bedroom, if you fancy having a go.’ He turned to Kathy. ‘Is that all right, Gran?’
‘By all means,’ she replied.
To Hannah’s surprise, Mia, who’d barely said a word to Todd so far, seemed more than happy to disappear with him to play whatever games these machines were capable of running. Hannah had never used one – not a modern console anyway – and she had zero interest in changing that. Computer games had never been her thing, although apparently the same couldn’t be said for her niece.
Once the teenagers were safely out of the way, having shut the bedroom door behind them, she and Kathy grinned at each other and shrugged.
‘Well, I didn’t see that coming,’ Hannah said. ‘I was about to give up and take Mia home.’
Kathy giggled. ‘Kids today … What do we know, hey? I couldn’t believe my eyes when Todd turned up with that thing – flatscreen TV and all – but it seems he’d be lost without it.’
She explained that Karen, her daughter and Todd’s mother, thought it would keep him out of trouble while he was staying there and make her life easier as his host. ‘And he’s always on that mobile phone of his,’ she added, shaking her head. ‘All that time in front of a screen can’t be good for them, if you ask me. But I’m not his mother, so I don’t interfere. Is Mia the same?’
‘She didn’t show up with her own television, if that’s what you mean.’ Hannah smirked. ‘She has a phone, of course, and a Kindle – but that’s just for reading books, which she seems to do a lot. I get the impression she’s quite easy to live with, compared to other teenagers, but it does seem like some things I tell her go in one ear and out the other. She never remembers to put the extractor fan on when she has a shower, for instance, which she really needs to, considering how long she spends in there. And don’t get me started on wet towels. I’m convinced she’d collect a mountain of them in her room if I didn’t get involved.’
Kathy laughed. ‘My problem with Todd is usually getting him to shower at all. You’re right, though: they’re not always great at listening to instructions. I don’t even think it’s deliberate, to be honest. I think it’s more a case of them being so distracted by other things – their mobiles, for instance – that what we say doesn’t register.’
Kathy eyed the various cakes still spread out on the coffee table. She cut herself a sliver of the Victoria sponge after first offering her guest some more, which she politely declined. ‘She seems like a mini version of you, Hannah, what with the way she looks, the library visit and the books. She must be proud as punch about you becoming a published author. How’s all that going, by the way?’
‘Yeah, about that,’ Hannah said, running a hand through her hair and clearing her throat before continuing. ‘I, er, haven’t said anything to Mia yet regarding my book deal.’
‘Oh? Why ever not? It’s such a wonderful achievement. I was telling everyone I met on holiday that my friend was an author and they should look out for your book when it’s released.’
This made Hannah smile. ‘Really? That’s so nice of you, Kathy. I am going to tell Mia soon. It hasn’t come up yet.’
‘Haven’t you discussed what you do for work?’
‘No. You know what kids are like. They’re not interested in that stuff.’ As she said this last sentence, words she’d not expected to hear herself utter, Hannah marvelled at how much she’d already learned from Mia’s visit. Although everyone had been young once, as a childless adult it was easy to forget so much about that time; living with a minor was eye-opening.
‘She must have seen you writing.’
‘Not really. I haven’t done much since she arrived. It’s all been a bit hectic. I need to crack on soon or that deadline for book two is going to start looking scary. I’m already not as far on as I’d like to be.’
‘You’ll be fine,’ Kathy said in that reassuring, motherly way of hers. ‘Give yourself a break. Does your sister know about your book? What’s her name again?’
‘It’s Diane – and no, not to my knowledge. I think that’s part of the reason I haven’t told Mia yet. My relationship with her mum has been off for so long now that I guess I’m guarded. I’m not even sure what Mia thinks of me. She seems to get on better with Mark.’
‘I thought he didn’t like kids. Wasn’t that the reason you didn’t—’
‘Yes, exactly. And he’s hardly even around most of the time. During the week he’s working and now he’s out playing squash. Next week it looks like he’s going to be away for a night down south, visiting that place his firm recently took over. Mind you, I shouldn’t complain about that, as he’s offered to try to find Diane while he’s down there.’
Kathy nodded, chewing on her last morsel of cake. ‘So you still don’t know when she’s coming back for Mia?’ she asked once her mouth was empty.
Hannah shook her head. ‘But Bournemouth isn’t that far from Southampton, where Mark’s heading, so he thinks it’s feasible.’
‘Don’t take this the wrong way, love, but it seems quite extreme to have to go and search for her like that. Is there something I’m missing?’
‘You don’t know my sister like Mark and I do.’ She lowered her voice, mindful of her niece’s proximity, even though Todd’s bedroom door was still shut. ‘There’s definitely something strange going on; I’ve no idea what that is, but it’s unlikely to be anything good.
‘She’s not answering our calls; the only one who’s spoken to her since she left here last weekend is Mia, during one very brief and vague phone chat. I’ve had a single text from her – and that was only after I left a voicemail threatening to call the police because I was so worried. I mean, who turns up out of the blue after all that time of no contact, only to dump her daughter and go AWOL? It’s not normal behaviour, is it?’
‘Right, I see. No, that definitely doesn’t sound good.’
‘It’s not. But please don’t say anything to anyone, Kathy; especially not Todd, in case those two do end up friends.’
Kathy reached forward and touched her hand, looking her in the eye. ‘Of course I won’t. Poor Mia. How’s she coping with it all?’
‘She seems to be all right, considering. But it’s hard to say for sure, since I’m only just getting to know her. I should probably try to have a chat with her about it, but I’m also mindful of not worrying her. I’ve nothing to compare her behaviour with, apart from what she was like as a toddler – and that’s hardly helpful.’
‘No, I suppose not. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.’
‘Thank you. I appreciate that. You’re a good friend, Kathy.’