Hello From the Gillespies by Monica McInerney

Author:Monica McInerney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2014-10-13T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SEVEN

In her Adelaide hotel room at lunchtime the next day, Angela was still in bed. She’d had plans to go to a film, do some shopping, take a walk along the river, have lunch out. Instead, she hadn’t left the room. She had slept in. Ordered room service breakfast. Slept some more. She had just eaten room service lunch too. She’d had only quick, polite exchanges with the two young porters who delivered her meals. The food was delicious. She’d left her tray out to be collected, as requested. Not even a dish to be washed.

She had watched two programs on the enormous TV. A chat show from America she had never seen before but found compelling. And a movie starring the actress who had demanded Genevieve’s sacking. Angela had taken pleasure in switching that off as soon as she recognized her.

Around two, her mobile phone rang. She didn’t answer it. Only when it stopped ringing did she check to see who it had been. Genevieve. She felt a flash of guilt, then remembered she was supposed to be having tests. Genevieve would assume that was where she was, not worry too much about the fact she hadn’t answered. The missed call broke into her hotel room bubble, though. She thought about what lay ahead. The four-hour drive home tomorrow, back to the tension between her and Nick, Celia watching it all, sowing seeds of discord in her sly way. The fun but also the noise of the children. She thought of her Christmas letter too. It was still out there somewhere, possibly being forwarded on and on, like some virus that she’d unknowingly propagated. She’d stopped checking her e-mails in recent days, finding the replies too much to take. She wasn’t going to check them here either. Why bring the outside world in?

But she did need to return a phone call.

Genevieve answered after three rings. “Mum, hi!”

“Where are you? Hawker again? It’s a great signal.”

“No, the big smoke this time. Port Augusta. We brought Ig here for the day because we are such kind big sisters. Lindy’s at home hyperventilating. She’s spending the afternoon with her dreamboat. Where are you? How are the tests going?”

“Great. Four down, four to go. But they can’t do the rest until late tomorrow afternoon. So I do have to stay a third night.”

“You’re making this all up, aren’t you? You actually haven’t left the hotel room, have you?”

First Joan, now Genevieve. Were they mind readers? “I wish,” she said vaguely. “Could you let your dad know?”

“Of course. And that makes great sense to stay another night. Enjoy yourself. Hang on, Ig’s here. He wants to know, are you happy with the hotel or do you want us to find you a better one?”

“Tell him I love it. You chose the best one in town. I’d better go. Love to you all.”

“Love to you too.”

Her conscience niggled at her again after she hung up. How would she explain it when she had to come back again in a week to do the real tests? There was no point worrying about it now.

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