‘I suppose you better had.’
Chapter Two
Karen watched from the window as Louise walked down the path and out through the gate and into the waiting taxi without a backwards glance. Why did she always feel so guilty? Louise took advantage quite outrageously and this afternoon she had really overstepped the mark, but still, perversely, she couldn’t help feeling bad about telling her to go, especially when she knew she’d be landing herself on poor Mum.
‘You still haven’t told me what that was all about.’ Simon had come into the room and was standing behind her.
‘You don’t want to know,’ Karen said without turning round.
‘I do actually.’ Simon dropped an arm across her shoulders. ‘Whenever she’s around, you look really stressed but when you came in this afternoon, I could see you were at the end of your tether.’
Karen turned to look at him. Most of the time, Simon put up with Louise’s visits without saying a word, although he had never liked or approved of her. In her turn, Louise made no secret of the fact that she considered Simon dull and boring. She was always making cutting remarks to Karen about his clothes and hairstyle, his taste in music and cars, most of all, his job as head teacher of St Luke’s Primary School, which she considered mind-numbingly dreary and bourgeois.
‘She overstepped the mark,’ she said non-committally. ‘Suddenly I’d had enough.’
‘What did she do? Come on, you might as well tell me. I’ll find out in the end anyway.’
Karen took a deep breath. ‘She shoplifted some underwear in Hayward’s.’
Simon shrugged. ‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’
‘But she put the stuff in my bag and then disappeared when the store detective stopped me.’
‘Oh my God!’ Simon’s eyes widened in horror. ‘What happened?’
‘Luckily I was able to prove that I didn’t do it. But not before I had the humiliation of being stopped and frogmarched through the store to the manager’s office.’
‘My God!’ Simon’s face flushed angrily. ‘Do you realize what that might have meant for me?’
‘For you? I think you mean us! Of course I do. I eventually found Lou calmly eating ice cream in the park. She made light of the whole thing as though it was some hilarious prank. That’s when I saw red and asked her to leave.’
Simon frowned. ‘For God’s sake! When I think what the outcome could have been. I would never have worked again if you’d been charged. So where’s she off to now?’
‘To Mum’s, unfortunately. I rang ahead to warn her and I was hoping she’d say no but you know what a soft touch she is. I just hope Lou doesn’t take advantage.’
‘That’s a fond hope. Seriously, Karen, something will have to be done about your sister. We can’t allow her to keep on scrounging on us, especially as she must be rolling in cash since she sold the house. It’s quite preposterous. No one else would stand for it.’
‘Well, let’s hope Susan is able to knock some sense into her.’
‘I doubt that.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘Speaking of sense – have you given any more thought to what we talked about last night?’
‘About me giving in my notice at school? No, I haven’t. I’ve only been back at work for two terms. What’s that going to look like? The governors will think I can’t cope.’
‘It doesn’t matter what they think. You know my feelings on the matter. I’ve always thought you should be at home with Peter at least until he goes to school.’
Karen sighed. ‘We’ve been through all that. He’s quite happy with Mum and in a few months, he’ll be old enough for nursery.’
‘Well, I happen to think that your mother isn’t a fit person to be bringing him up. She spoils him rotten with ice cream and chocolate and all the wrong food.’ He spread his hands. ‘And frankly, Karen, since you’ve been back at school the house is a tip.’
She stared at him. ‘A tip, is it? Well, if you gave me a hand now and again, maybe it wouldn’t be.’
He looked outraged. ‘Gave you a hand! My job doesn’t finish at half past three as you well know. Even when I get home, there’s a pile of paperwork to be done and then at the weekend there’s the garden. I can’t possibly do more.’
‘Of course I realize all that, but I have preparation to do too – plus the housework and Peter.’
He smiled smugly. ‘My point exactly. You’re taking on too much.’ As she opened her mouth to protest he ran an exasperated hand through his hair. ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake, Karen, why don’t you just admit it and give in? Peter’s almost two. In three years he’ll be off to school. The time will fly by.’
‘Other new mothers go back to school even sooner than I did,’ she protested. ‘As I said before, he’ll be going to nursery soon and I’d be twiddling my thumbs all day.’
‘You could always fill the time by doing some housework and cooking some decent meals. I’m getting a bit tired of super-market ready-meals.’
She gave him a withering look. ‘Well, I’m not giving my job up just because you say so. If you want me to go you’re going to have to fire me.’ She smiled defiantly up at him. ‘And I don’t think you’d like what the governors would make of that!’ She turned towards the door. ‘I’m off to bathe Peter now. As you don’t seem to be up to your neck in paperwork at the moment, perhaps you’d like to peel some potatoes for tea.’ She was halfway up the stairs when she heard his infuriating parting shot:
‘As it’s half-term next week, perhaps you could spend it tidying up a bit. I’m told that’s what other working mothers do. And by the way, it’s dinner – not tea!’
Chapter Three
Susan replaced the receiver and sighed. Karen had sounded apologetic.
‘I’m really sorry, Mum, but Louise is on her way over to you. We’ve had a bit of a falling-out and I’m afraid she’s going to ask if she can stay with you. You don’t have to say yes,’ she added hurriedly. ‘If you’ve got anything planned don’t put it off for her. She’s got absolutely no consideration, so stick to your guns.’
Susan sighed. ‘Yes, dear. I will.’
‘I thought I’d just warn you.’
‘Thanks. Just leave it with me. It’ll be fine.’
She closed the balcony doors and drew the curtains reluctantly. Soon it would be winter. Next weekend the clocks would go back and the nights would lengthen. She sighed. It was no fun, being on your own. Sometimes she was glad she had no one to please but herself, but at others – when she felt down or depressed, she longed to have someone to talk to, to share a meal or a cup of tea with, someone who’d be nice to her when she was feeling low. Not that Louise exactly filled that description, but she was company at least, and Susan didn’t see her stepdaughter very often.
She looked around her at the things she’d managed to salvage from her marital home. It was easier, of course, having a smaller place to look after. It was quite a nice flat and she could just about afford it on her pension. But it had been a shock when Frank died and she found that he’d left the house to Louise. An even greater shock when her stepdaughter announced that she was in desperate need of the money and intended to sell it. At first she had felt as though the rug had been pulled out from under her feet. Karen had been furious and offered her a home with her and Simon, but Susan valued her independence too much to accept. After all, she wasn’t in her dotage yet and Frank hadn’t exactly left her destitute. He’d left her a small legacy which she’d invested in the hope that she’d be able to afford a better home in the not too distant future.
Frank had always spoilt Louise. It was understandable in a way. His first wife – Louise’s mother – had walked out when her daughter was barely more than a toddler and Frank had never stopped trying to make it up to her.
Susan had been twenty-four when she’d met Frank. She worked as manageress at the Blue Bird Café. Frank worked for the local council as a highway surveyor. His office was just a few doors away from the café and he was in the habit of dropping in
for his morning coffee. They got to chatting and eventually he asked her out. She learned that his wife had walked out and left him with a four-year-old daughter and her heart had gone out to him. By that time, Louise was ten and for the last six years Frank had had no social life at all; hurrying home from work each evening to pick Louise up from the childminder or school, make her tea, and put her to bed.
‘But now she’s beginning to get a bit more independent,’ he told her with a smile. ‘So maybe I’ll be able to get a bit of time to myself.’
Not that he ever did. Louise was very demanding. And she always came first. Often when he and Susan had arranged to go out he’d have to ring her and cancel; the reason invariably being something to do with Louise. He’d got into the habit of giving in to her and he couldn’t let go.
It was a whirlwind courtship. She and Frank married just six months after their first date. Susan had no family and she looked forward to having a home and family of her own; someone to care for who would care for her in return. But sometimes it seemed that Frank cared only for his daughter.
When Karen arrived things improved. She was such a sweet-natured little baby and Susan was overjoyed to have a baby to love and care for. Louise took little interest in the baby, though Susan told herself that it was understandable. The fourteen-year age gap meant that the girls had little in common.
Karen met Simon at college, and Susan and Frank were delighted when they got engaged. He was a pleasant, steady young man with good prospects in the teaching profession and when baby Peter came along a couple of years later, Susan had been overjoyed. Naturally, Karen wanted to return to her work as a teacher as soon as she could and Susan was thrilled to be asked to step in and care for her little grandson on a regular basis once Karen’s maternity leave came to an end. It made her feel useful and needed again now that she was on her own. There was plenty of time for her to do other things in the school holidays and catch up with her hobbies and social life, such as it was.
Susan knew that Louise often visited Karen when she was between acting jobs and although Karen never complained, Susan felt that she took advantage. Not that there was anything she could do about it. Karen never said anything, although she did let drop the occasional telling remark. Privately, Susan thought that although she would never admit it, Louise was envious of Karen’s settled lifestyle. She’d made her choice when it seemed she had acting talent and begged to go to drama school. Susan often wondered just how much talent Louise actually had. She certainly hadn’t got very far in her chosen career, picking up the odd part in a touring play, a place in the company of a seaside summer show and then of course the inevitable pantomime for a few weeks at Christmas. It all added up to less than a third of the working year and when she was ‘resting’ as she liked to call it, she fell back on her family’s generosity and came to visit.
Susan switched on the electric fire. The evenings were getting chilly now. Karen had been looking forward to spending time at home with Peter. Not that she’d been able to enjoy it as she’d hoped. Louise had landed on her doorstep a week last Monday and showed no sign of moving on any time soon. Her stepdaughter hadn’t paid her a visit, but then that was par for the course. Susan sometimes felt that she was at the bottom of Louise’s list when it came to priorities.
Picking up the Radio Times, she saw that there was a gardening programme on in ten minutes’ time. She missed her garden sadly, and she still hoped that one day she’d be able to afford a little bungalow with a bit of garden for her to tend. She switched on the TV and settled down to watch. But the opening credits had barely finished when there was a ring at her doorbell. Picking up the entry-phone, she heard Louise’s voice.
‘Hi, Susan. It’s me. I’m here on a flying visit and I couldn’t leave without coming to see you.’
‘Oh, how nice.’ Susan pressed the door release. ‘Come on up.’
Louise appeared a few minutes later and flung out her arms in her usual affected manner. ‘How lovely to see you and how well you’re looking.’ She enveloped Susan in a hug. ‘It’s so good to see you.’
‘It’s good to see you too, Louise,’ Susan said, extricating herself from Louise’s embrace. ‘It must be almost a year,’ she added pointedly.
Louise looked shocked. ‘No. Really? Time flies so, doesn’t it? And of course I’ve been so busy.’
Susan knew perfectly well that Louise had been to stay with Karen at least twice since Louise had last visited her but she let it pass. ‘Well, now that you’re here, come in and tell me all your news.’ She led the way through to the sitting room and Louise took off her coat and sat down on the settee.
‘Karrie has been telling me how marvellous you are with little Peter,’ she said. ‘Rather you than me. Babies have never been my thing as I’m sure you know.’ She laughed. ‘As a friend of mine puts it – noisy, messy and smelly. It’s so good of you to be a free childminder for her. She’s so lucky.’
‘I’m not a free childminder,’ Susan corrected. ‘Karen insists on paying me the going rate, even though as Peter’s grandmother I would willingly do it for nothing. He’s such a dear little boy and I adore looking after him.’
‘Well, anyway, she’s lucky to have you.’
‘You must sometimes feel that you’d like a more settled, conventional life, Louise.’
‘Me? Good heavens, no!’ Louise gave a brittle little laugh. ‘Life in suburbia looks like a living death to me. I love living on the edge; the excitement of never knowing what’s round the corner.’
‘I see, and is there anything round the corner for you at the moment?’
‘I’m expecting to hear from my agent any day now,’ Louise said. ‘There might be something exciting coming up for me.’
Susan had heard all this before. ‘Really, so are you going to tell me about it?’
Louise shook her head. ‘Not till it’s confirmed. I’d hate to jinx it.’ She cleared her throat and glanced sideways at her stepmother. ‘Actually, Karrie has a bit of a crisis on at the moment. I can see it’s a problem for her – me staying there, and I don’t want to be a nuisance. So I wondered – could you put me up for a few days?’
Susan took a deep breath. Karen had already prepared her but she had always been so bad at saying no. She cleared her throat. ‘You realize that I only have one bedroom, don’t you, Louise?’
Louise shrugged and patted the seat beside her. ‘This sofa is very comfy. I could manage beautifully on it for a few nights.’
‘What do you call a few nights?’
Louise’s eyebrows rose. ‘Susan, just say if it’s inconvenient. I just thought that with you being family…’
Susan took a deep breath. Karen would be so cross with her if she caved in so easily. ‘Forgive me for reminding you, Louise, but you’re not hard up, are you? Surely you could afford to rent a small flat for a few weeks, until your agent comes through with this wonderful job?’
‘It wouldn’t be worth taking on a flat,’ Louise told her. ‘I’m expecting a call from him any day.’ She frowned. ‘And actually I am quite hard up,’ she said. ‘Money goes nowhere these days.’
‘But you got a good price for the house.’
‘You always have to bring that up, don’t you? Then you wonder why I don’t come to visit you. You don’t understand, Susan, an actress has to keep up appearances. I need to buy clothes. Not just any old clothes but designer fashion. I have to be seen around town in all the right places – have my hair done and watch my looks. It would be fatal to let myself go.’
Susan took in what Louise was wearing and told herself that if that was designer wear, standards must have dropped. ‘It all sounds quite exhausting,’ she said dryly. ‘But of course, none of us are getting any younger.’
Louise bridled. ‘I’m thirty-five but I think I look at least ten years younger if I do say it myself.’
Susan knew perfectly well that Louise would be forty next birthday but she kept her mouth shut on the subject. ‘So you’re saying that a
ll of the money you got for the house has gone on clothes and keeping up appearances?’
Louise bridled. ‘Quite a bit of it, yes. I do have a nest egg of course but I don’t want to touch that. No one knows what the future might bring.’
‘Indeed,’ Susan said. She didn’t bother to add that that was exactly how she had felt when Frank died and the house had been sold from under her. ‘I take it you sign on for Jobseeker’s when you’re not working,’ she said.
Louise nodded reluctantly. ‘Yes, but you know what a pittance that is.’
‘I suppose there’s always temporary work.’
‘You sound just like Karrie,’ Louise said. ‘What do you expect me to do, scrub toilets?’ When Susan smiled and shook her head she added, ‘Anyway, I told you, there’s a strong possibility of something really exciting coming up any day now. I don’t want to miss it because I’ve taken on some mundane job, do I?’
‘I suppose not.’
‘Right, so getting back to the point – can you put me up?’
Susan frowned. ‘You mentioned that Karen is going through a crisis. What’s happened? Should I be worried?’
‘No, nothing like that.’ Louise paused. ‘OK – we’ve fallen out. It was all about something trivial and I’m sure it will soon blow over, but in the meantime …’
‘If, as you say, it’s only for a few days.’
‘At the most.’
‘Then I suppose you’d better go and collect your stuff.’
‘As a matter of fact, I left my case outside on the landing.’
Susan loved order and she always felt that when Louise was staying, it was as though the flat was full of people. Although she was sleeping on the sofa, she didn’t get up until halfway through the morning. When she did, she used up all the hot water and made full use of the washing machine. The flat was strewn with her belongings and the bathroom was festooned with her drying tights and underwear. It never occurred to her to give a hand with the cleaning or cooking and in the evenings, she hogged the TV remote control, dismissing Susan’s taste in programmes as ‘boring’. She made absolutely no attempt to help with the shopping, nor did she offer to contribute towards the food bills.
Give Me Tomorrow Page 2
