Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth

Author:Charlotte Duckworth [Charlotte Duckworth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

LILY

“Everything all right, Lily?” Sylvia asks me when she comes to pick Archie up. I invited her in for a coffee, and now that she’s perched on the edge of my tatty old sofa, cradling her mug, I notice the thick layer of dust on top of the DVD player, the crumbs under the sofa. When you live alone with a three-year-old who makes mess continually, it’s hard to prioritise cleaning. As soon as it’s done, it needs to be done again.

“Oh you know,” I say, looking down at my chipped nail varnish, quickly hiding my hands underneath my legs. I painted my nails for my “date night” stalking Violet. I keep meaning to wipe it off and then forgetting. “This time of year is always hard.”

The second I say it, I am filled with regret.

Sylvia looks down. “You could always come and stay with us for a bit?”

I smile at her. She means well, but she knows there’s no chance I’ll take her up on the offer.

“Thank you. You’re very kind. But we’re fine. It’s just … Christmas.” I try not to sound bitter. “It’s always the hardest time.”

“Of course,” Sylvia replies.

There’s an awkward pause and then Archie barrels in from his bedroom, holding his favorite toy, Bear.

“All packed, Archie?” she says, pulling him on to her lap. “Has Bear got his things together too?”

“Granny!” Archie says, his bottom lip jutting out. “Bear doesn’t have anything. He’s a bear! He has fur.”

“Oh, of course,” Sylvia says, grinning at me. “Silly Granny.”

“Silly Granny.” Archie gives a little titter of laughter and then wriggles off her lap, pounding his way back to his bedroom.

“Thanks for having him at such short notice,” I say. “I really appreciate it.”

“Any time, you know that,” Sylvia replies. She glances at me, her eyes wide. “I just wish we could do more. You said you’re looking for a new job?”

“Yes. They’re desperate to keep me,” I blurt. “They’ve loved everything I’ve done so far. They want to promote me, in fact, but I suppose I’m bored, and I’m hoping for something closer to home, so I can be around a bit more for Archie. Time for a new challenge, you know!”

Sylvia’s eyebrows move together. She’s of the generation that thinks a job is a job, that you should hold on to them no matter what.

“Well, that’s a real shame,” she says. “As you know, if we can help in any way … your dad’s always keen. Financially, we mean. Not just with looking after Archie.”

Your dad’s always keen. Throwing money at the problem, his idea of parenting.

“You are so kind,” I say, again.

Sylvia takes a sip of her coffee, and looks at me for a long time.

“You don’t want to move closer to us? I’m sure you must have lots of friends in London, but…”

“Oh no, I couldn’t…” I begin. Couldn’t think of anything worse, I want to say. “Archie is so settled with the childminder; my life is here.”

“Of course,” Sylvia says, her eyes wrinkling as she smiles.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.