Divided Loyalties by Patricia Scanlan

Author:Patricia Scanlan [Scanlan, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471141249
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

24

‘It’s so different.’ Shauna smiled as she poked her head round the door of Carrie’s en suite to see her sister wiping the bath.

‘What’s so different?’ Carrie looked at her in surprise as Shauna flipped down the lid of the loo and sat on it.

‘Having you to stay. Filomena can’t believe the difference between you and Della, and your kids and hers. Honest to God, Carrie, she was such a bitch. She would have treated Filomena like a skivvy if I’d let her. She wouldn’t even pick her towels up off the floor. You have no idea. I was furious with her. You know the way you arrived with bags of goodies and magazines and gifts? They arrived with a couple of packets of sweets that they’d bought at the airport.’

‘You’re joking!’ Carrie exclaimed.

‘I’m not, and they bought a boxed set of candles and a story book out of Tesco’s for the Christmas presents. They’re so mean they piss me off. They just take, take, take, as if it’s their due. Greg’s worked hard for what we’ve got and I did too when we were in Saudi. We didn’t just pluck it off a tree, but Della thinks it got handed to us on a plate and she’s always making sly little digs about how rich we are,’ Shauna complained.

‘Well, you are rich,’ Carrie said, straight-faced.

‘Smarty.’ Shauna laughed, caught off guard for a second. ‘Sorry for the rant,’ she added sheepishly.

‘Rant away,’ Carrie invited as she folded the fluffy peach bath towel neatly and hung it on the rail. ‘I just wouldn’t be able to walk out of any bathroom and leave a towel on the floor. Am I sad or what?’

‘No, we were just brought up properly,’ Shauna retorted. ‘We’ve got respect for others. Some of the maids have terrible lives here. People treat them like dirt.’

‘There’s lots of poor unfortunate immigrants at home have terrible lives too, being underpaid and housed in dreadful conditions. Dan employs migrant workers but he pays them the going rate, the same as everyone else. It wouldn’t cross his mind to do otherwise. That’s one of the things I love about him. He has real respect for people.’

‘Dan’s a very decent guy,’ Shauna said quietly. ‘You’re lucky.’

‘I know.’ Carrie smiled. ‘I’m so glad he’s with us. He’s really enjoying himself. He works very hard for us. It’s great to see him having fun. How are things with you and Greg? You seem to enjoy the life here.’ Carrie perched on the side of the bath and started to fold up Hannah’s pyjamas.

‘It’s different. It’s varied; you meet so many different people and are exposed to a multitude of cultures. But it’s unsettling on kids, I think. They make friends and then they move, or you move, and you have to start off all over again. Greg might have a chance of working on a big project in Dubai and he desperately wants to give it a go. I’d have preferred to come home and get Chloe settled in a school at home.

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