The clock chimed eight times and Laura heaved a sigh of relief – she had officially survived. The rumbling thunder that had all but shaken the house from its foundations was steadily replaced by the whistling wind of five sets of baby snores. Laura had managed to make herself useful at last, reading a bedtime story to the two older kids. Tom and Lucie had been laughing over a cartoon book depicting bunnies committing suicide when she first walked into the room, instantly making her doubt her chosen book, The Velveteen Rabbit, as a suitable choice. But as Laura had settled herself nervously in the squashy armchair positioned in the corner of their bedroom and begun to read, Tom and Lucie had abandoned their positions on the floor and slid down each of the arms of her chair so that they were squashed together on her lap. The physical proximity had completely disconcerted her at first, but as they wriggled themselves carelessly into comfy positions and rested their heads against her chest, she felt theirs and her breathing change, almost as though a rope that had been compressing her breath had been allowed to slacken. By the story’s end, Tom had fallen asleep and Lucie had thrown her arm up around Laura’s neck, twirling her index finger round the hair at the nape of her neck whilst she sucked her thumb. They had sat like that in silence until Kitty looked in and rescued her.
Rescued wasn’t the right word, though.
‘Ah, wine o’clock,’ Kitty sighed as they came downstairs. She strode straight over towards the Aga – which, thanks to Joe, was now slowly warming up like a basking bear – and grabbed the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon he’d placed at the back.
Laura followed her into the kitchen, self-conscious in the oversized flannel pyjamas Kitty had sweetly left out for her. But what else was she going to wear?
She stopped at the sight of Joe sitting on the sofa, still in his boiler suit, a beer in his hand. With one hand he was idly patting Pocket’s docile head.
‘Hello again,’ she nodded.
Joe looked up at her and grunted as if to say, ‘You again?’. ‘I’ve towed your car off the lane. It’s in the barn,’ he muttered after a moment.
‘Oh. Thank you,’ Laura remarked, pleasantly surprised by his consideration.
‘Although I wouldn’t be surprised if you find half of it scattered along the path. Seems to me like it’s Sellotaped together.’
Or maybe not. ‘Well, it’s very good of you and Kitty to let me stay here tonight. The weather closed in so quickly—’
‘It was forecast.’
‘Not in Suffolk, it wasn’t,’ she replied quickly, her eyes flicking anxiously towards Kitty lest she should pick up the hostility between the two of them. ‘They’re just getting rain over there.’
Joe looked back to the TV, switching channels with the remote. ‘Well, you’ll be able to get back on your way tomorrow.’
‘Yes.’
Kitty set the bottle and glasses on the worktop. ‘Here, Joe, put those on the table, please. Laura, on a scale of one to ten, how hungry are you?’ she asked, holding a ladle above a brown electric slow-cooker that looked like it had been purchased in the 1970s.
Eight, her tummy growled. She realized she had missed lunch altogether getting from Min’s to Olive’s to Kitty’s, and the plum cake seemed like a long time ago now. ‘Ooh, six,’ she said politely.
Kitty ladled up a man-sized portion of beef stew regardless, and they each took their plates over to the table. Joe began eating in silence, chewing every mouthful at least fifty times.
‘The children settle to sleep so well,’ Laura said, searching for a topic of conversation that wouldn’t ignite Joe’s ire.
‘I know. They fall into bed like they’ve been clubbed. It’s keeping them asleep that’s the tricky part,’ Kitty sighed. ‘The three littlies will all end up in with us by the morning.’
Joe rolled his eyes in silent suffering, indicating through the gesture that they all ended up on his side of the bed, but continued to eat. Laura wondered what on earth Kitty saw in him.
‘You must get so tired,’ Laura sympathized.
‘Yes, but that’s just how it is in this period of our lives, isn’t it? I keep telling myself I’ll look back on all this in twenty years when they’ve gone to university or whatnot, and the house is quiet and tidy and clean, and . . . ’ Kitty gave a small shudder and Laura noticed Joe give his wife a quick, reassuring wink.
‘How’s Sugar going to be coping with this weather? It’s hardly her indigenous climate.’
‘Camels are adaptable,’ Joe replied. ‘It’s what makes them such good survivors.’
Laura looked at him. What did he know about surviving?
Kitty touched his arm. ‘By the way, did Tom tell you his latest joke?’ Her voice was lower, more intimate, and Laura remembered what Alex had said about them, that first day of the summer holidays, lying on the grass ‘snogging each other’s faces off’.
He shook his head, and Laura noticed they were sitting so closely together, he had to keep his left arm immobile in order not to knock Kitty with it. He could easily shuffle over to the right a little, but he appeared to be choosing not to.
‘How do you make Lady Gaga cry?’ Kitty asked, the giggle already in her eyes.
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Poke ’er face.’
There was a moment’s delay as Joe struggled to get it – Laura didn’t imagine he listened to dance music in his tractor – before he suddenly burst out laughing. It was a deep, goose-honking sound, and replaced his omnipresent scowl with crinkly laughter lines around his eyes.
Laura, to her utter surprise, responded in kind and Kitty joined in too, the three of them giggling harder every time they made eye contact before they eventually subsided into a bemused, slightly self-conscious silence.
Kitty broke it first. ‘Seconds? There’s plenty.’
Laura hesitated, letting Joe push his plate towards his wife first, before responding, ‘That would be wonderful. If you’re sure there’s enough.’
‘You need feeding up, lady,’ Kitty said, carrying the plates towards the sink just as there was a knock at the front door. ‘Get that would you, Joe?’
He scraped his chair back noisily along the floor.
‘It’s good to see you two getting to know each other better,’ Kitty said diplomatically, returning with the extra helpings. ‘He’s not so bad, you know.’
Laura was mortified that Kitty had read the situation so accurately. ‘Oh no, no. I never thought he was,’ she lied as the distant bass of voices started up in the hallway.
‘I think probably you’re just too alike, that’s all.’
What – dour, miserable and sullen? Was that how Kitty saw her? Laura felt her spirits dip at the realization. She over-piled her fork with food and started chewing, cheeks full as globes when the kitchen door opened and Joe came back in.
‘Look who I found!’ he said, instantly falling into the role of mine host and crossing the room to pour their guest a glass of wine.
Rob sauntered in a second later, shrugging off his overcoat and shaking snow out of his hair. He was wearing a navy suit and pale blue shirt, the tie loosened and his top button undone, ready for home. Laura froze.
‘I’m under orders to collect the Christmas pudding and cake, Kit. Cat’s convinced we’re going to be snowed in till Christmas now,’ Rob laughed, kissing Kitty on each cheek before catching sight of Laura. ‘Oh.’
Laura felt herself cringe all the way down to her toes as she swallowed her food hurriedly. ‘Hello,’ she mumbled, a hand over her mouth, feeling layers of embarrassment clamber upon her as she remembered she was also wearing Kitty’s pink flannel pyjamas.
A beat passed.
‘Laura,’ he said, walking over and putting one hand lightly on her shoulder, kissing her politely on the cheeks for appearance’s sake. ‘This is a surprise. I didn’t know you were here.’
‘I-I’m an interloper who’s rather thrown herself upon their mercy for tonight,’ she said, looking at the floor. ‘I hadn’t realized snow was coming and I stupidly made an impromptu detour over here to see Kitty after my interviews.’
‘Still not run out of conversation, then, you two?’ Rob teased, directing the comment at Kitty, but his voice sounded strained. ‘Who were you interviewing?’ he asked, his stiff body language belying the easy-going chat.
‘Min and Olive.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Fun day.’ He shifted position, shoving a hand into his trouser pocket. ‘How was Min? I haven’t seen her for ages.’
‘Yes. Very well. It all went well,’ she fudged. Now wasn’t the right time to confront him with the truths she’d learnt today.
‘Have you eaten, Rob?’ Kitty asked. ‘There’s some stew left.’
Rob held up a hand. ‘Thanks, I’m fine. I had lunch out today.’
‘Well, can you stay for a drink?’ Kitty asked hopefully. ‘We can give Joe the post-mortem.’
‘I’m not sure I like the sound of that,’ Joe protested, making Kitty giggle and slap his arm affectionately.
‘Verbier, you wally!’
‘To be honest, I really ought to head back,’ Rob said, thumbing towards the door.
‘Not even one drink? Please?’ Kitty pleaded. ‘It would be so fun.’
Rob hesitated, his eyes on Laura’s red toenails. ‘Well . . . just one. But it’ll have to be quick. It’s still snowing and you don’t want me stranded here overnight too,’ he said, giving a forced laugh.
‘Let’s move into the other room,’ Joe suggested convivially, picking up the bottle and leading the way, leaving their second helpings untouched on the table.
They went through to a room Laura hadn’t been in before. It was tiny but more formal – well, not covered in dog hairs anyway. There was only just enough room for two two-seater sofas and an under-the-window bookcase. The walls were painted port-wine red, with a green carpet and a black fireplace that, unlike the blacksmith’s furnace in the kitchen, had a low, simmering flame.
Laura crossed the room to the far sofa. Etiquette demanded that she sit next to Rob – there was nowhere else to go – and she fussed as she sat down, taking care to wrap her legs round themselves like wisteria vines so that she took up as little space as possible.
‘So it sounds like I missed a cracking weekend,’ Joe said to Rob, handing him his glass.
‘You were sorely missed, mate.’
‘You’d have loved the Secret Santas,’ Kitty giggled, patting Joe’s knee. ‘There were some really rude ones. Poor David’s face when he saw that glow-in-the-dark thingy! Of course, Alex made sure he ended up with it, didn’t he, Laura?’
‘Uh, yes, I think so,’ Laura replied vaguely.
‘Kitty said Alex was up to his usual tricks,’ Joe muttered.
‘Of course,’ Rob nodded, and Laura felt her cheeks burn. Was Joe referring to what had happened on the skidoo trip?
‘Have you spoken to anyone from the trip since getting home?’ Rob asked, turning to Laura.
‘Uh, just Kitty. And Cat Skyped me yesterday, obviously,’ Laura replied, managing to keep her eyes dead ahead.
‘Not Orlando? Or Alex?’ There was an intimation in his voice.
Laura deliberately let the question pass. As far as she was concerned, she’d already answered. She stared into her glass, bemoaning the pyjama situation. It was hardly the most dignified appearance since their last, eventful meeting. She bet he didn’t want to kiss her now.
‘So all the interviews are finished, then?’ Kitty asked, throwing her legs over Joe’s lap.
Laura nodded. ‘Yup. All done, and the charms are almost completed. I’ll be out of everyone’s way before you know it.’
‘I hope that’s not code for you disappearing on us,’ Kitty said quickly. ‘You will keep in touch, won’t you? I’d love to make a day trip over to see you. I love the seaside.’
‘Don’t worry, Kit. Laura’s not going anywhere as fast as she’d like,’ Rob said with authority.
Laura looked across at him.
‘You haven’t interviewed me yet,’ he shrugged.
‘Yes I have. I interviewed you on the plane.’
A moment passed. ‘Briefly. It hardly counted as an interview.’
‘Maybe, but you told me a lot on the glacier too, and I did have a weekend to watch you together. That’s more telling than words.’ She took a swig of wine. ‘You asked me to encapsulate the essence of her relationships, not signify particular memories, and I believe I understand absolutely the essence of your relationship with her.’
‘You do?’
‘I do,’ Laura nodded.
‘Mind-sharing?’ he asked, giving a small, forced laugh.
‘She’s the fixed point of your world. She’s the sun you rise to every day and the moon who guides you. You’re the luckiest man on the planet, Rob – you married your own dream.’ Her voice had risen an octave and her smile was rictus tight.
Rob stared at her. ‘That’s what you see?’
‘Wow, Laura,’ Kitty breathed. ‘You’re like a poet or something.’
‘I will be if I can find a way of translating all that into a single charm,’ she smiled, draining her glass, unable to bear Rob’s continued scrutiny. She didn’t think she could keep up the act for much longer. Sitting here on this sofa with him was too close, too soon. She looked across at Kitty. ‘Well, I’m afraid I’m shattered. I’ve been working non-stop since we got back and I’m so tired I could sleep on a spike.’
‘But it’s not even nine,’ Rob said incredulously, checking the mantel clock.
‘Like I said, crazy hours,’ Laura replied tightly, rising. ‘And I’ve imposed on you guys enough for one day. You must want some time to yourselves before the ankle-biters are up again. Thanks for dinner, Kitty. It was delicious.’
She crossed the room, feeling conspicuous and ridiculous in the pyjamas.
‘Actually, I’ll just, uh . . . have a quick word with Laura outside,’ she heard Rob say as she got to the door. ‘About payment for the necklace.’
Laura spun on her heel to find him standing up, ready to follow. ‘There’s absolutely no need, Rob. Don’t you remember? You’ve already paid in full. We’re all square.’
He looked back at her, stunned. ‘But—’
‘Trust me. Our account is settled. Just enjoy your drink with your friends,’ she said casually, leaving him no option but to sit down again. ‘You owe me nothing.’