No Child of Mine by Susan Lewis

Author:Susan Lewis
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Tags: Fiction, General
ISBN: 9781409039068
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2012-07-04T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

THE PAST WEEKEND had turned into one that Alex would rather forget than ever have to live through again. She’d tried hard not to be hurt that Gabby hadn’t made it to the show, and done her level best to keep her true feelings hidden when it had come out, as it had to, just before the dress run on Saturday, that she and Jason were no longer together. Much as she’d expected, everyone had been shocked and sympathetic and ready to side with her, which had perversely made it worse, but at least she hadn’t broken down in front of them all.

‘It’s OK, honestly,’ she’d assured them. ‘I’d been expecting it anyway.’

‘But you’re so good together,’ Sarah had protested. ‘I reckon he’s mad going back to her. She’ll only mess him around again, the way she did last time.’

‘She’s always been a bit of a slapper,’ Johnny announced. ‘And she can be a right cow if you get on the wrong side of her.’

‘That’ll be why he’s not here today,’ Sarah decided, ‘because she won’t let him come.’

‘He should be a man and stand up to her more,’ Steve chipped in.

‘He’s going to regret it,’ Mattie insisted. ‘He’s bound to, because everyone knows he’s mad about you.’

Finding that almost too hard to take, Alex had said, ‘Whatever, he’s made up his mind and I’m not about to try and change it, not when he’s always said that his children have to come first. So let’s forget it now and focus on making Cliff’s life as easy as possible, shall we, given that he’s on his own doing the lights tonight.’

In the end the show hadn’t gone badly considering, and everyone had given their all in spite of the audience being much thinner on the ground than for the previous two performances. Just thank goodness Elaine, the estate agent, who’d brought her sister and brother-in-law along, hadn’t mentioned anything about the Vicarage being up for sale. There was only so much sympathy and curiosity she could take in one day: the news that she was soon to become homeless on top of being dumped would have increased her friends’ reactions to a level that would have been out-and-out unbearable.

She’d spent part of yesterday, Sunday, at the care home with Millie, who’d been delighted to see her when she’d finally woken up and found her there.

‘Is it Christmas?’ she’d asked. ‘I likes Christmas, don’t you? You always did when you was a lickle girl.’

‘It’s not Christmas yet,’ Alex had told her, ‘but when it comes this year you’ll be with your family up north. Won’t that be lovely?’

Millie had seemed confused. ‘Can I have me breakfast now?’ she asked, pulling at the sheets in an effort to sit up. ‘I asked for porridge, but they don’t always bring it. I shan’t stay in this hotel again.’

With a smile Alex said, ‘I thought you liked it here.’

‘Oh, I do, they’m lovely people. Ever so kind and they gives you anything you asks for.

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