Page 7 of The Mistake
Pete
Shit.Shit.Pete squints at his phone, hoping he’s read the screen wrong.7.41am.Shit.He scrambles out of bed, his pulse frantic in his ears as he turns on the shower and jumps in before the water even has a chance to heat up. Five days after Erin made her traumatic way into the world, Natalie is still in hospital and Pete is desperately trying to juggle visiting her with keeping the girls fed and watered.
‘Em! Zadie!’ he calls out as he hurries towards the stairs, wrapped in a towel, his neck and shoulders still splattered with water. ‘Get up! Back to school today!’
How does Nat do it?he thinks as he heads for the kitchen, unable to even contemplate packed lunches, school bags or evengetting dresseduntil he has a shot of strong caffeine running through his veins. He pushes away the thought that actually, he should be returning to work today after the Christmas holidays with a killer tan and a strong temptation to drop his rs the way his mum does in her broad Aussie accent. Instead, he has to get the girls to school, check in with Dave, his foreman, then go into town to pick up a travel system so he’s ready to bring Natalie and Erin home when they are discharged, before heading to the hospital to see them both.
A waft of coffee on the air hits him as he pushes open the kitchen door, and he frowns for just a second before clutching his towel tighter around his waist.
‘Fucking hell!’ he yelps. ‘What are you doing here?’
Eve smiles as she pours him a mug of coffee and hands it to him. ‘I knew the girls were going back to school today and Ithought you might need a hand. Good job I did pop in, Zadie needs to be at school in half an hour.’
Pete glances at the worktop, where two neatly made packed lunches sit – sandwiches, bottles of water, fruit and something that looks suspiciously like a home-made brownie. ‘And you didn’t think to knock the door?’
‘You must have been in the shower.’ Eve turns back to the work surface and begins to wipe it down with a damp cloth.
Pete feels exposed, as if he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Maybe it’s down to the fact that while Pete only has a towel to cover his modesty, Eve is fully dressed, in her usual multilayered hippie outfit of a maxi-dress and cardigan despite the frigid temperatures outside, her long hair in a French plait hanging over one shoulder. Pete always says to Natalie that Eve would start a commune with her if she could only get Pete out of the way. Or at least, she would if she had any other friends to join them. ‘Well, I’m up now. See.’ He gestures to the towel. ‘So, thanks, but you can go. I need to get the girls ready. You can see we’re running a bit behind.’ He’s going to have to have a word with Natalie about Eve once she’s home. There’s something so …unnervingabout the way she just let herself into the house. If there was no reply when she knocked, why didn’t she just call him?
‘Sure.’ Eve tosses the cloth into the sink and wipes her hands on a tea towel. ‘The girls’ school bags are on the table, and I made sure to sign Zadie’s homework book. You and Nat forgot.’
‘Right.’ Pete shifts, eager now for Eve to get the hell out of his house. She steps round him, almost too close for comfort, and grabs her bag.
‘Just one thing before I go,’ she says, with a slight frown. ‘You did iron Zadie’s school uniform, right?’
Even with Eve’s help (Pete couldn’t throw her out after she ended up ironing Zadie’s uniform for him – he’s not a complete dick) it’s still a struggle to get everyone out of the house on time.
‘Emily!’ Pete yells up the stairs for what feels like the thirtieth time. ‘We areleaving. Rightnow.’
‘OK, OK, I’m coming.’ Emily comes barrelling down the stairs, but not so fast that Pete doesn’t clock the heavy eyeliner she’s wearing.
‘Is that really school appropriate?’
‘What?’
‘The eyeliner.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, Dad. Mum doesn’t have a problem with it.’ Emily hefts her bag onto her shoulder. ‘Oh, yum, I love your home-made brownies. Thanks, Eve.’
Eve’s cheeks pinken as Emily leans in and gives her a kiss goodbye. ‘Have a good day, love.’
‘For Christ’s sake, can everyone justget out of the house,’ Pete roars, shooing Zadie towards the front door. He pulls the door closed, checking as he does that he did actually pick up his keys, and turns to the car, stopping dead as he sees what is on the driveway.
‘What the hell is this?’ Pete steps forward as Eve presses her hands to her cheeks, unable to hold in her smile.
‘Surprise!’
‘What the …?’ It’s a travel system, brand spanking new, with a pink ribbon tied around the handle. It’s the really,reallyexpensive one that Natalie has spent three months salivating over, the one that Pete said they couldn’t get because it was just too expensive. Pete is all for good quality gear, but this was off the scale. The other two girls had coped with regular-priced travel systems, and his and Natalie’s inability to agree on what they were actually able to afford is part of the reason that he has to go and buy one today. Or, maybe not.
‘I know you guys need a travel system to bring Erin home, and I know that Natalie has had her eye on this one for months. She mentioned it often enough.’ Eve gives a little laugh and nudges Pete. ‘Go on, have a look. I got everything – it even comes with a sun parasol and a cup holder!’
Pete feels a bit sick as he takes in the fancy system. Zadie steps forward and grabs the handle, wheeling it back and forth in place. ‘Zade, leave it. Get in the car.’ He pauses, waiting until Zadie is in the car before he turns back to Eve. ‘Eve, this is too much. We can’t accept it.’
‘Nonsense.’ Eve flaps a hand.
‘It’s fifteen hundred quid!’ Realising he’s raised his voice, Pete leans in. ‘It’sfifteen hundred quid, Eve,’ he hisses. ‘That’s not a little gift for a new baby. That’s … That’s—’
‘Pete. Please. It’s not like I have anything else to spend my money on.’ Eve looks away with a little sniff, but this is Pete she’s talking to. Pete is immune to what he calls Eve’s emotional warfare. She might be able to manipulate Natalie, but not him.
