Stretched out on the soft cloud of the winter duvet, she gazed down at his silky blonde hair, and distracted him by stroking him, squeezing his earlobe, and craning to kiss his head, until he broke off and gave her an enormous smile. He was a perfect boy and her best friend.
“You know the nicest birthday present you could give me,” Adam had said that morning. “A night without this Coralie-hog in the room.” That was a bit silly, coming from him—if he didn’t insist on having a study to write his election books, Florence could sleep in it, and Maxi would move into a beautifully redecorated nursery nextdoor. The Pinterest board was ready! But, to be fair to Adam, not that he deserved it, she was on the fence about moving Maxi too. If it was up to her, Maxi would stay a baby and remain in her bed forlife. And if Adam had to move out, that washisproblem! “Isn’t it, Minnie?” She kissed his cheeks until he was trembling with delight. “It is!”
“Cor?”
“Zor? Come in.”
“When’s Hannah’s dad picking her up?”
“Five, I thought. Any minute now.”
Zora sat on the bed. “Coralie?”
“Mmm?”
“Do I have to go to Tom’s?”
It was Marina’s turn to have Zora for Christmas Day. They’d be spending it, as usual, at Tom’s family home in Sevenoaks. Zora probably didn’t want to endure the drive. Since attending a big climate march in late September, she’d stuck an adhesive skull on Tom’s Range Rover and had threatened to let down his tires. “Oh?” Coralie tried to keep it light. “Why?”
“It’s not my family, it’s Tom’s.”
“They’re okay, though, aren’t they?”
“Zor? Zor?” They could hear Hannah calling.
“Let’s talk more about this,” Coralie said. “Tom and your mum aren’t coming till six.”
Zora nodded at her feeding half brother. “That looks a bit gross. Is it gross?”
“I thought the whole idea of it was gross—until I was about thirty. But now, no. I love it.”
“Freak,” Zora said on her way out.
“You’re the freak.”
“Bye, freak.”
Maxi had nodded off. Coralie moved him to the center of the bed. With a nap this late, he’d be up till nine or ten. Then he’d still expect his midnight feed.Andhis feeds at 3 and 5 a.m. She owed her tenuous grip on sanity to breastfeeding hormones and a packet of biscuits a day.
Upstairs, the door to Zora’s room was ajar. “It’s not exactly a good look,” Hannah was saying. She was inclined, occasionally, to be bossy.
“It’s not what I would choose for myself,” she heard Zora say.
“Why shouldn’t you choose? It’s your name.”
They must be working on their novel. It was a sprawling, complex work calledSeven Sisters. There were seven main characters (all sisters), and it was set in Seven Sisters, a part of London that, to Coralie’s knowledge, neither author had actually visited. She tapped on the door and pushed it open a few inches. “Hannah, your dad must be due any minute. Don’t forget your toothbrush.”
Adam was trudging up the stairs as Coralie was on her way down. “Where are the girls?”
“Upstairs, plotting.”
“Hmm…” He kept walking.
“Does Zora have to go to Tom’s family tonight?”
Adam shrugged tiredly. “It’s their turn.”
“I know.”Are you okay?she wanted to ask. He’d only lie and say yes, but in a way that showed he wasn’t. Or if he said no, he wasn’t okay, then what was she supposed to do? She had a house full of people and a fifteen-week-old baby. It would have to wait till everyone went home. But when everyone went home, he’d have to work on his book about the last election campaign, due on March 6. So when would they talk? Never.
