Lola's Secret: A Novel by Monica McInerney

Author:Monica McInerney [McInerney, Monica]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Literary, Family Life, Contemporary Women
ISBN: 9780345534040
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2011-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

Guests 2 and 3

The phone was ringing. Tony let it. Helen was at the shops. He’d got out of the habit of answering any calls. He found it too hard, making polite chitchat with people who never wanted to talk to him in any case. After the accident, he hadn’t been able to go to work for a week either, until Helen had almost dragged him there. “Your staff need you.”

It was still ringing. He picked it up now, heard a slight delay and then the warm, familiar tone of Katie. “Dad! How are you? Is it still boiling over there? It’s freezing here. I’m actually wearing a thermal vest, like a mountaineer!” It was her usual rapid-fire way of speaking. “What about you? Are you going okay?”

“Not bad,” he said. “Your mum’s out. Do you want to leave a message or call back? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s great. I’m just getting organized for Christmas. I want to set a time for our call. I don’t want to ring when you’re both off singing carols or in case you’ve headed down to the beach.”

“Nowhere near a beach this year. Vineyards, I think, rather than the sea.”

“What?”

“We’re going away for Christmas. Your mother’s idea. We’re going to stay somewhere in South Australia. We’re heading off on Christmas Eve. We’ll be away for about three days, I think. A place called Cla—”

“You can’t!”

“What?”

“You can’t go away. Look, I’ll call back. I need to make a phone call. I’ll ring back as soon as I can. Bye.”

Ten minutes later, Helen was just coming in with the shopping when the phone rang again. Tony hadn’t had a chance to tell her about Katie’s call yet. He answered this one, too. It wasn’t Katie calling back. It was Liam, calling from Barcelona.

“Dad? What’s this about you going away for Christmas? You never go away for Christmas.”

“We are this year. Hold on. I’ll get your mother.”

Tony watched as Liam obviously said the same thing to Helen. She smiled. “And hello, darling. Yes, your dad and I are well. No, I know we don’t normally”—she laughed—“I hadn’t realized you and Katie were so set in your ways. Why? We needed the change in scenery. We’re driving there on Christmas Eve. It’s about five hours away—” She turned to Tony, astonished. “Liam’s just hung up on me.”

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