The Choir on Hope Street by Annie Lyons

Author:Annie Lyons
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CAROLINE

I have to confess that having Oliver at home was not turning out to be the unexpected pleasure I’d hoped it might be. For a start, he was very untidy. I was used to him leaving newspapers and dirty mugs all over the place but normally only in the evenings and at weekends – it was a contained messiness. However, now he was home all day, he left a trail of empty bowls, dirty plates and mugs. The kitchen was littered with filthy saucepans, used tea-bags and crumbs, whilst the toilet seat was always in the ‘up’ position and there was never any milk.

He has also told me that he intends to use this time as a ‘sabbatical’. His firm have been pretty generous with his severance package and he seems to think that this means he can take all the time in the world to decide what to do next.

‘I want to do something worthwhile, Caroline,’ he smiled, running a hand over his five-day stubble. ‘Something different. Make a change, you know?’

How about changing out of the jogging bottoms you’ve been wearing for the past three days? That would be a start.

I didn’t say this, of course. I didn’t want to suppress his enthusiasm. I tried a different tack. ‘Have you called your old contacts to see if they have any leads on jobs?’

He shook his head vigorously. ‘I don’t think that’s right for me. I think this is an opportunity to do something new and exciting.’ He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I considered telling him that he really needed to brush his teeth but kept my counsel. ‘Meanwhile, I’m going to enjoy some precious time at home with my beautiful wife and darling daughter. How about I take Tilly to school?’

‘Yay, Daddy’s taking me to school!’ cried Matilda, jumping up and down. ‘Will you pick me up too?’

‘If you like, pumpkin,’ grinned Oliver.

‘This is the best day ever,’ declared Matilda, running off to find her shoes.

Thank you, Matilda. Please don’t feel the need to spare my feelings. Daddy’s home now, so Mummy can go and boil her head. Well I won’t let it bother me.

‘Fine. I’ll take this opportunity to get to the gym early,’ I said, reaching for my trainers.

‘Yeah, actually. About that …’ began Oliver.

‘What about that?’ I asked.

‘We got the gym membership through work. So it’s a bit of a no-go now,’ he winced.

‘Okay. I’ll put it on the card.’

‘Yeah, I’m just not sure we should be forking out on luxuries like gym membership,’ he said. He spotted the look of horror on my face. ‘Just for the time being. I’m sure we’ll be able to re-join once we’re back on our feet,’ he added.

‘Right. Okay,’ I said. ‘Anything else? Am I still allowed to shop at Waitrose, or is it the 99p store for us now?’

‘I love the 99p store,’ observed Matilda. I ignored her.

Oliver sensed my irritation and put one arm around my shoulder. ‘We may need to make some cuts but it’s fine for now,’ he said, kissing the top of my head.

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