Page 56 of Don't Say A Word
‘No problem. I’ll see you later.’
I spend the rest of the morning getting the children to play spelling games and word ladders. Normally, I love being with the children, absorbing their enthusiasm, their laughter, their energy. But these days I find I can’t focus. My brain is swirling with unwanted thoughts. I bet that really was Teri last night in my bedroom. I bet she was looking for the money.
I bet she’s Max’s mistress.
Oh, God. Please no. Say it isn’t so.
At twelve fifteen exactly, I pull up outside Teri’s house. I’m about to call her to let her know I’m here when her front door opens.
I blink. She’s using a cane. I have never seen her use a cane before. I have never seen herneeda cane, now that I think of it.
She hops on one foot to turn around and close the door. She gives a self-deprecating eye roll as she walks the few steps to the car. I lean across and open the passenger door.
‘What the hell happened?’ I ask.
She gives me an odd look. ‘I got hit by a car your stepdaughter was driving, haven’t you heard?’
I gasp out loud. ‘I know… I mean, you felt so much better.’
‘I guess going up and down the stairs made it flare up again.’ She tucks the cane next to her in the space between the seat and the door.
This can’t be happening. ‘I’m sorry,’ I say, vaguely, because I don’t know what else to say.
She sighs. ‘Can’t be helped.’
‘I’ll just be a few minutes,’ Teri says when we get there. Even the trip from the car to the inside of Tesco was excruciatingly slow, with Teri leaning on her cane, her free arm on mine, taking one small step at a time.
‘You sure you’re up to this?’ I ask when we get to the trolley area.
‘Of course. And anyway, what choice do I have? I have to eat, right?’ She hands me her cane, pulls out a trolley and leans on it. ‘I won’t be long,’ she says over her shoulder.
‘I’ll be right here,’ I say.
I sit on one of the benches by the checkout and look at the news on my phone without registering what I’m reading. After about fifteen minutes, I look up and look for her, but I don’t see her. I check my watch. By my calculations, we have another ten minutes, maximum, before we need to leave.
I scan the faces, and while I don’t see Teri, I do spot Mrs Ashford-Wells picking out a lemon. She doesn’t see me, but I drop my head anyway and pretend to be absorbed in my phone.
Five minutes later, with still no sign of Teri, I get up and go look for her.
I find her near the frozen section. The first thing I notice is how packed full of food her trolley is, and my stomach drops. How long will it take to scan all that? Didn’t she say,just a few things?
‘Teri, I don’t mean to rush you,’ I say, even though I most certainly do, ‘but I’ve got to go back to school. Are you?—’
She looks at me, annoyed, like I’ve just interrupted her while gazing at the frozen peas. ‘Yeah, I know, Kate. I got it. But I need to stock up on food. That’s why we’re here. You understand that, don’t you?’
I recoil at the sharpness of her tone, loud enough that a handful of shoppers near us turn to take a look.
I blink. ‘Well, yes, of course, but you did say it would just be a few minutes, and I’ve got to be in class?—’
‘And it is a few minutes, Kate, but the longer you stand there and talk to me, the longer it’s going to take.’
For a moment, I don’t know what to think. I’ve never heard Teri speak so sharply. ‘I need to get back. Can you get an Uber?’
‘I said, I’ll be right there,’ she snaps.
She’s notright there. Minutes tick by excruciatingly slowly, and by now my leg is jiggling and I’m gnawing on a fingernail.
Finally, I decide I can’t wait any longer. I stand, and that’s when I see her unloading her groceries onto the belt. I am shocked at how big the pile is. She’s bought enough to feed the whole town.
