Rachel burst out laughing. “I’ll bear that in mind,” she said, sitting back down on the sofa.
“Sit,” Chris grinned at me, pointing at the space next to Rachel. “If she says you’re a good man, then you’re a good man. I spent far too long not listening to my daughter. I’m not about to make the same mistakes twice.”
“Oh, I’m not a good man,” I muttered, sitting next to her. “But I care for your daughter and won’t let anyone else harm her.”
Rachel stiffened next to me, her thighs clenching together.
Good. She understood what I meant then.
Iris chose that exact moment to come in with the drinks, and thrust the beer at me so forcefully, it spilled over the edge and onto my trousers.
“He wasn’t a good man when he was burning your wife’s home to the ground. But I guess we’re ignoring that because Rachel likes him.”
“Was that necessary?” Rachel asked, scowling in Iris’s direction.
“Yes. And if Rebecca was here, she would no doubt agree with me. The man is a brute.”
“A brute?” Rachel said, nodding her head slowly, her eyes narrowing.
“That’s what I said.”
Rachel’s response was to smack the beer out of my hand, sending it flying onto the carpet without ever taking her eyes off Iris.
“Oops.”
“And that was necessary, was it?” Iris spat.
“Yes. And if Rebecca was here, no doubt she would be frothing at the mouth just as much as you are.”
“I see you haven’t grown up. Shame. I hear you have a young girl to look after. What sort of example are you setting?”
“She’s not here. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak of her, as it happens.”
“Ladies, ladies,” Chris said, getting to his feet. “Let’s just calm this down. There’s no need for the hostilities.”
“I didn’t start it, but I’ll certainly rise to it when confronted,” Rachel responded, moving her feet away from the still spilling beer.
“I’ll get you a towel,” Chris offered, hurrying into the kitchen.
“And speaking of the lovely Rebecca, where is she?” I asked.
“She’s speaking to the insurance company. I don’t know what you’ve done, or who you’ve spoken to, but she’s having a hell of a time getting them to pay out.”
I just shrugged. “I don’t know if you’re insinuating that I’ve deliberately made it difficult, but it has fuck all to do with me that she’s struggling. I offered to pay for her house rebuilding. If she chooses to jump through all the hoops those fools want her to jump through and send her premium through the non-existent roof, then that’s on her. I won’t lose any sleep over it.”
“As if you could afford it,” she scoffed at me, raking her eyes up and down my clothing. “Maybe she didn’t want to take you up on your offer, because she knew it was an empty one. Much like your bank account.”
“And there it is,” Rachel laughed, rolling her eyes. “You assume he’s poor, and therefore you’re better than him?”
“That’s not what I said—”
“You didn’t need to say it. It’s written all over your face. Tell me, Iris, how did you and my mother grow up? Because as I remember it, you both marriedextremelywell, did you not? Didn’t you spend most of your childhood in a one-bedroom bedsit?”
“For a while,” she sniffed.
“Yeah, I remember the stories well. When you were lecturing me about being grateful for all we had, you liked nothing more than to remind me that sometimes all you got to eat was bread and water. And then you forced me to eat nothing but that exact meal for a week straight, just to show me how good I had it.”
“It worked, didn’t it? I never saw you refuse food again.”
