The Wife Who Got a Life by Tracy Bloom

Author:Tracy Bloom [Bloom, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Family Life, Marriage & Divorce, Friendship, Romance, Later in Life, Romantic Comedy, Humorous, General, Contemporary, Sagas
ISBN: 9780008434298
Google: uy0AEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B08KFVNK9P
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-04-28T23:00:00+00:00

June

Secure My Daughter’s Future: i.e. Teach Her How to Not Get Screwed Over by Relationships

1 June

Kirsty walked into the kitchen and asked if she could have a word with us both. Mike and I looked at each other. Relations were still somewhat strained following the last chat we’d had with one of our children, so it was no wonder that we both sat down a little nervously.

But she was smiling. Which was good.

Her demeanour recently had mostly consisted of shrugged shoulders and downcast eyes, which could have been exam strain or her still struggling with her ‘friendship’ with Carl. Either way I’d decided not to ask about Carl until after the exams had finished and then she and I would tackle the issue together. I planned to work out a way of giving her some essential lessons in how to tackle the tricky issue of love. I just didn’t know how yet.

However, today she looked brighter, lighter, and I felt mightily relieved to see it.

‘So, you know it’s my birthday in the middle of GCSEs,’ she said, ‘and so I’m in danger of not getting to celebrate my sixteenth at all?’

‘We said we’d take you out for a meal after your exams have finished,’ said Mike. ‘Angelo’s? It’s two-for-one on a Friday. But that’s just the set menu so we’d need to agree to choose off that.’

‘I’m sure, as it’s her birthday, she can have whatever she wants,’ I pointed out.

‘Oh yeah, sure, sure. I’ll get it booked and you have whatever you want, Kirst, and me and your mum can do two-for-one.’

‘I don’t want to go for a meal,’ she said.

‘We don’t have to go to Angelo’s,’ I said, thinking that actually I didn’t want to be restrained by the set menu either. ‘We could go to Noki’s if you like. You like it there.’

‘Do they do a two-for-one?’ asked Mike.

‘No!’ I replied. ‘It doesn’t matter. It’s our daughter’s sixteenth birthday. We don’t need a deal.’

‘I don’t want to go anywhere for a meal. I want a party.’

The colour drained from both our faces.

‘At the Methodist Hall?’ I asked, hopefully.

‘No way.’

‘What’s wrong with it? You had your seventh birthday party there.’

‘Exactly. And I still have nightmares about that magician pulling a rabbit out of the bottom of his trousers. No, I mean a party here.’

I looked forlornly around at my lovely house.

‘Great idea,’ said Mike. ‘Why not? You’re only sixteen once, after all.’

I put my head in my hands.

One of the side effects of Mike being away a lot with work is that it means he is out of the local loop and not privy to the horror stories of teenage house parties. ‘Clueless’ would adequately describe him. He’s never been part of the regular hushed conversations outside the post office, hearing of the devastation and havoc the latest party had wreaked on someone’s home. If he had, there would be no way he would have come out with his ridiculous response.

‘No way,’ I said.

‘Oh Muuuuuum! Dad said yes,’ leapt in Kirsty.

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