‘Hey,’ he says, coming into the lounge and planting a kiss on my lips. ‘How are my two favourite people?’
I can’t tell him about this morning’s episode at school – not after yesterday’s debacle. And I can’t mention that I’m upset at the fact that Tamsin was round at Mel’s, because mentioning Tamsin’s name will only dredge up uncomfortable memories between us. ‘Your daughter’s been a pickle,’ I say instead. ‘She won’t sleep and she’s not happy.’
Dom takes her from me and I watch her face break into the first smile she’s cracked since this morning. ‘She seems okay to me,’ he says.
‘Yeah, sure, now she’s okay.’ I try not to sound bitter and moody, but I don’t think I’m doing a good job of concealing my irritation. ‘How was work?’
‘Good, yeah.’
‘Did you get a chance to call the police about your car?’ I ask.
‘Yeah, I called them.’ He scowls and kisses the top of Daisy’s head.
‘And?’
‘And nothing. They said it was unlikely they’d find out who did it, but that I should tell the neighbours to be vigilant.’
I roll my eyes and sigh. ‘Sorry, that’s crap.’
‘Work said they’ll book one of those mobile car repairers to come into the office car park, so at least it won’t cause me any more hassle. But they have to go through insurance so it won’t be done for at least a couple of weeks.’
‘Well, at least it’ll get it done.’
‘Yeah. Just means I’ll be driving around with that bloody great scratch on the side. It doesn’t look good when I’m turning up to see clients.’
I give him a sympathetic smile.
‘Any more news about the takeover?’ I ask.
‘It’s only a rumour, Kirst. I probably shouldn’t even have said anything to you. I hope you haven’t been worrying about it.’
‘I’m glad you told me. And I want to know if you hear anything else, okay?’
‘Okay, course. I’m going for a quick cycle now, if that’s all right? Clear my head.’
I don’t know why he bothers asking. I can’t exactly say that it isn’t all right. I don’t even feel like I can ask him how long he’ll be gone for, as it will only come across as nagging.
‘Kirst? That okay?’
‘Sure. Have you eaten?’
‘Had something at work. I won’t be too long. An hour tops. Gotta make the most of these light evenings.’
In my opinion, an hour is not a quick bike ride. But I don’t comment.
‘Want me to try and put Daisy down first?’ he asks, obviously sensing that I’m not thrilled about him disappearing so soon after getting home.
‘Would you?’ I say. ‘Every time I lay her down, she screams her head off. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.’
‘Come on, Mrs Daisy Doo,’ Dom says, taking our daughter into his arms. ‘Let’s get you to bed.’
As he leaves the room, the doorbell rings. All my senses shift into overdrive. Who could it be at this time of the evening?
‘I’ll get it!’ Dom calls out.
A few seconds later, I hear the front door open and the sound of voices, of laughter. It sounds like there’s more than one person at the door. I get to my feet, wondering if it’s anyone we know, if Dom is going to invite them in. My dress is a crumpled rag, my hair’s a mess, and my face is probably a red, blotchy disaster. I glance around at the toys and clothes strewn around the room, the hot, stuffy, smelly atmosphere. Please don’t let him invite whoever’s out there into our hovel.
‘Come in,’ I hear him say. ‘Kirstie’s in the lounge.’
Great. I smooth down my dress ineffectively and try to corral my face into a welcoming expression.
Dom swaggers into the lounge. ‘It’s Rosa and Jimmy,’ he says, handing Daisy back to me.
The neighbours from number two. What the hell are they doing here?
Nineteen
‘Hi,’ Rosa says, immaculate in a bottle-green maxi dress and gold sandals, her eyes taking in the state of the place, the state of me, but she’s too polite to let her features betray her.
‘Hey,’ Jimmy says. ‘Nice to see you, Kirstie.’ His hands are jammed into crisp beige shorts, an expensive looking watch on his wrist. Short and stocky, the man only comes up to Rosa’s nose, but there’s an infectious vitality about him. He radiates charisma.
‘Nice to see you too,’ I say with forced brightness.
‘Can I get you guys a drink?’ Dom asks. ‘Iced water, beer, glass of wine?’
‘No,’ Rosa says, ‘that’s okay, we’re not staying. Just wondered if you’re around on Saturday the sixteenth.’
‘Yeah,’ Jimmy adds, ‘that’s not this Saturday, it’s the one after.’
Dominic looks at me briefly, but I can’t think that far ahead so I shrug my shoulders. He turns back to the couple. ‘Yeah, pretty sure we’re free, aren’t we, Kirst?’
‘Great,’ Jimmy replies. ‘We’re having a barbecue. From three o’clock onwards. Thought we’d better invite all the neighbours – stop you guys from complaining about the noise.’ He and Rosa laugh.
‘Sounds awesome,’ Dom says.
Sounds awful, I think. That means banging music until all hours of the night. ‘What about your triathlon training?’ I ask Dom. ‘I thought weekends were important.’
‘I’ll do an early one,’ he replies. ‘Make sure I’m home in time.’
‘Brilliant,’ Rosa says. ‘We’ll see you then.’
‘Sure you won’t stay for a drink?’ Dom says. ‘I’ve got a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge.’
What about your cycle ride? I want to ask him. What about your vitally important training schedule? I guess it’s top priority until our glamorous neighbours come round.
‘No, that’s okay,’ Rosa says with a twinkly smile. ‘Don’t want to disturb your evening.’
‘It’s no trouble,’ Dom insists.
I feel a twinge of embarrassment for my husband. They obviously want to leave, but he’s not taking the hint.
‘Another time, mate,’ Jimmy says, clapping Dom on the back.
I think about Dom going round to the Cliffords’ place without me. I do sometimes worry that Dom yearns to be back in his twenties, like Jimmy and Rosa, free from family life, free from the ties of having a child. Is my husband tired of me?
At least the Cliffords are tactful enough to not mention the drama yesterday. Dom finally lets them leave, then he comes back into the living room to reclaim Daisy. ‘I’ll put her to bed and then I’m off for my bike ride.’
‘Okay.’ I sink down onto the sofa.
‘That was nice of them to invite us,’ Dom says. ‘Should be fun.’
‘I probably won’t go,’ I say, hating how I sound like such a miserable cow. ‘I’ll stay home with Daisy. You go though.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Dom says. ‘Of course you’re coming. We’ll get the grandparents to babysit.’ He notes my horrified expression at that suggestion. ‘Or we’ll bring Daisy with us. It’ll be a laugh.’
‘We won’t know anyone there,’ I say, thinking about the fact that it’ll be rammed with a load of skinny twenty-somethings with shiny hair and glowing skin.
‘It’ll be good for us, Kirst. We need to get back to having fun again.’
He’s probably right. I just wish we could have fun with our own age group. ‘Okay,’ I reply grudgingly.
He gives me a loud, approving kiss and bounds away and up the stairs to put Daisy to bed. I hope he has better luck at settling her down than I’ve had.