The Coordinates of Loss by Amanda Prowse

Author:Amanda Prowse [Prowse, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503904958
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2018-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

SIX

Rachel made her way downstairs for the family dinner with a feeling of dread in her stomach. ‘There’s another letter for you, love. I’ve popped it on the shelf in the hallway. It’s the same as before from Gee-Gee. I recognised the stamp and the writing.’

‘Cee-Cee!’ It irritated her that her mum could so easily misname this wonderful woman who had helped her get through the darkest days of her life.

‘Did you have a nice time with Vicky?’ her mum asked as she lifted the saucepan full of peas from the hob and tipped them into the slightly misshapen plastic colander over the sink, filling the space with a plume of pea-scented steam.

Rachel nodded, not quite sure if it was a nice time; she felt no inclination, however, to try to describe how her capacity for happiness had been all but destroyed; every encounter, every event now filtered through the sediment of grief that removed any potential joy from it. It had been good to see her friend and a lot of what she’d said made sense.

‘Did she have her little one with her?’ Julie asked a little sheepishly, having decided it was still too much for Rachel to have to deal with her nephews and therefore leaving them with her parents every time she came over. Rather than take comfort from their absence, Rachel actually felt it was some sort of punishment and it hurt more than she cared to admit.

‘Yes, he slept most of the time. He’s a lovely baby.’ She watched the way her brother looked down and swallowed the awkward lump in his throat.

‘Vicky said she thought I should maybe get out of Yate and go and stay with her for a bit.’ She spoke her thoughts aloud.

‘Really?’ Peter snapped.

Rachel looked at him, unsure where this tone had come from or why.

‘Yes, really. She has a spare room and she thought—’

‘Oh, well that’s nice,’ Peter interrupted. ‘After all Mum and Dad have done for you.’

‘Peter!’ her mum called with a slight tut from the sink, her tone the same one she had been using since he was a small child. Rachel felt her pulse quicken; she had forgotten how snipey he could be, how spoiled he sounded and how much she detested it.

‘No, I’m sorry, Mum.’ He looked at his wife and jutted his weak chin, and she wondered if this display was as much about showing off in front of the gormless Julie as it was about his petty, misplaced jealousy. The irony wasn’t lost on her. Yes, she had a life in a warm climate, but he had his wife by his side and his two kids to tuck up in their beds in a matter of hours. She would, of course, have swapped the house, the pool and the view of the sea for what he had in less than a heartbeat.

Peter continued, ‘I mean, I know you’ve had it rough, Rachel, but you’re doing what you always do: pitching up here and disrupting everything – it’s typical.

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.