Improvising Carla by Joanna Hines

Author:Joanna Hines [Hines, Joanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4804-0291-1
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2012-12-26T22:03:00+00:00

Chapter 14

‘I’M BORED,’ SAID LILY.

‘Me too,’ agreed Rowan.

Violet, who was sitting on my knee and showing me the contents of a shell box full of tiny treasures, glanced up anxiously.

‘What would you like to do?’ I asked.

‘I dunno,’ said Rowan.

‘You think of something,’ said. Lily. ‘It’s your job to entertain us.’

‘I’m supposed to be looking after you. It’s not necessarily the same thing.’

‘Well, it damn well ought to be,’ said Lily. Since Daniel left, there’d been a marked increase in swearing from both her and her brother. Violet, sensing the antagonism in the air, scrambled on to her knees, wrapped her small hands around my neck and breathed against my cheek.

I said, ‘We could go for a walk.’

‘Boring, said Lily.’

‘And it’s raining,’ said Rowan.

‘We could do some painting then.’

‘Boring,’ said Lily.

‘Bloody boring,’ said Rowan.

‘How would you like to do some cooking?’

‘Like what?’

‘We could make flapjacks.’

Violet’s face brightened, but Lily said firmly, ‘Ugh, no. Carla used to make bloody flapjacks. Yuk.’

‘Flapjacks,’ said Rowan. ‘Fucking awful.’

I debated whether to pull them up over their bad language, but decided not to. I was only minding them for a few hours, and it was a long time since I’d felt able to assume the moral high ground with anyone.

All I said was, ‘What about having lunch out somewhere?’

‘Where?’ asked Lily at once.

‘What about Mumma?’ Violet was wide-eyed with alarm. ‘What if she comes and we’re not here? She might go away again!’

‘She won’t be here for ages,’ said Lily scornfully. ‘And she’s always late.’

‘But she promised!’ Violet wailed.

‘She said she’d be here between four and five,’ I told her. Angela had phoned about ten o’clock and her plans had been relayed via Lily. ‘I promise we’ll be back here by three—that way we’ll have lots of time to spare. Okay?’

‘Where?’ asked Lily again.

Even Rowan was watching me with some interest.

‘I don’t know this area at all. Why don’t you tell me the places you like to go.’

‘We could have a burger,’ said Violet, without much hope.

‘Or fish and chips,’ said Rowan. But like Violet, he was waiting for Lily to give her opinion.

A sly expression crept across her face. She took a thin strand of hair and began curling it round the forefinger of her right hand. ‘There’s nowhere much worth bothering with round here.’

‘Oh, surely,’ I remonstrated. ‘The whole area is a tourist trap and—’

‘Not in November,’ Lily cut in witheringly. ‘There’s a couple of greasy chip shops—ugh—and then there’s hotels, but sit-down meals are so bor-ing.’

‘Or?’

‘You’d probably hate it, but—’

‘Go on, Lily, tell me where you want to go. This is supposed to be a treat, after all.’

‘Not that I like it all that much, but it’s the most convenient and…well, there’s a Little Chef we’ve noticed once or twice from the car and—’

‘How does that sound?’ I asked the others.

But they were already hurrying to get their coats.

The rain had started in earnest by the time we reached the red and white façade of the Little Chef, but the children’s spirits

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