Page 16 of One Day at a Time

She clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn’t blurt out something about that being part of the problem. There was no passion. No ‘I’ll fight for us’. Just ‘on you go, don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out’. And that pretty much said it all.

He stopped at the door, and for a second she thought she was wrong, that maybe he was going to put his heart on the line.

‘But, Sheena, I just hope you’re not making a mistake. Because if you are, there’s no coming back from this.’

With that he walked out the door, leaving Sheena feeling many things. Relieved. Sad. Resolute. And so nauseous from the emotional upheaval of it all that she had to rush to the bathroom to throw up.

8

MADDIE

‘Wow, where did she learn to fight like that?’ Maddie asked, staring at the screen, as Ginny Canavan, the actress who played Lady Fiora McDouglas inThe Clansman, took down two would-be kidnappers with just a rattan basket and her bare hands.

‘Weirbridge Primary,’ Val said. ‘I’ve never known a lass to get in more punch-ups at school than Ginny Canavan. Hugo was never away from the headmistress’s office. It was always in self-defence or sticking up for someone though, so she got away with it.’

Now that Val said it, Maddie did vaguely remember a couple of incidents, but she’d been a few years above Ginny in school, so she’d only known the mini-Rocky as her classmate, Alyssa’s little sister.

Talking of which… Alyssa chose that moment to arrive, letting herself in the back door. Maddie had come to learn that Val quite literally had an open-door policy in the house, and there was an endless stream of people who came in and out. For tonight’s episode ofThe Clansman, there was Val, Maddie, Jessie, Nancy from Next Door (she always got that full title) and nowAlyssa was here too. Moira Chiles had just left because she was going off on holiday with her son, Ollie, and his family tomorrow morning and she needed to wash off her spray tan. Although, she’d been sitting here for the last two hours in her rollers turning an ever-darkening shade of walnut, so Maddie was slightly concerned about the outcome.

‘Evening, ladies, how are we all tonight?’ Alyssa greeted them, plonking down on the arm of the sofa.

‘Your sister is battering the lights out of that bloke that used to be in the shortbread adverts,’ Val said, nodding to the screen.

‘Aye, he deserves it,’ Alyssa said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. ‘His shortbread was rubbish.’

Maddie’s cheeks began to ache from yet another bizarre but brilliant night in this house. If there was a literal description for the expression ‘good for the soul’, this would be it – Val’s house, on any given evening, whether there was a crowd of people or just the two of them, chatting over a cup of tea before bed. So many things reminded Maddie of her mum, that if she were being deep and meaningful, she’d say that being here was healing her heart a little more every day.

The chat and a glass or two of wine flowed until the show was over, and for an hour or so afterwards, when Jessie and Nancy From Next Door decided it was time to leave. The two of them went off, out the back door the same way that they’d come in.

‘Do you want a cup of tea, Alyssa? Or another wine?’

Alyssa had graduated from the arm of the sofa to the chair that Jessie had vacated when she left.

‘I’d love a tea, please, Val. I’ll make it myself. Feels weird sitting in the living room.’

Maddie knew exactly what Alyssa meant. Since she’d moved in here, she’d learned that Val’s kitchen table was the hub of allconversations, with three or four women parked around it at pretty much any given time.

‘Anyway, I won’t stay long because I’m in the café at six in the morning. I just came to organise our trip to London,’ Alyssa said, and Maddie’s grin made her cheeks hurt even more.

There had been many good things that had happened to her in recent months, and rekindling her teenage friendship with Alyssa was definitely one of them. Although, it had been a surprise to find out that Alyssa had discovered her biological father was actually Jessie’s husband, Stan. That secret had only come out a couple of years ago. Jessie had long forgiven Stan, and Alyssa adored having Jessie as a stepmother, which was handy, given that they worked in the same building every day. It also meant that Alyssa was the half-sister of Grant and Georgie, Jessie’s adult children who both lived in London.

The London trip had two purposes. The first was that it would be a much-needed light-hearted, fun getaway with a girlfriend – something that she hadn’t done since before her mum got sick. They’d already booked tickets for two stage shows and Alyssa had a list of trendy rooftop bars that she wanted to visit.

The second was that Grant owned a swanky, very trendy hair salon in Kensington, and when he’d been up visiting Jessie the week before, Jessie had told him that Maddie might be interested in moving down there. He’d immediately invited Maddie and Alyssa down to see it. ‘I could always use a great stylist, and Mum said you’re the best she’s worked with. Although, she did also say that if I tried to poach you, she’d cut me out of her will, but the way she’s spending money at the bingo, there’ll be nothing left anyway.’

At that point, Jessie had playfully elbowed him in the ribs and informed him she was stopping his pocket money.

When Alyssa had called Georgie to let her know that theywere venturing south, her sister had insisted that they stay at her house, so now they just had to get their flights booked.

Maddie had just pushed herself up off the couch to adjourn to the kitchen, when her phone rang and Dylan’s name flashed up on the screen.

‘It’s Dylan,’ she told Val and Alyssa, who were already on their way to the door. ‘I’ll be with you in two minutes.’

She ignored the knowing looks and the nudging that went on between them and took the call.

Clicking on the FaceTime button, she greeted the grinning face that appeared on the screen. ‘Hiya, friend, how are you doing over there?’

They’d slipped into a fairly regular schedule of occasional texts and one catch-up phone or video call a week, where he’d fill her in on the latest news from Nashville.