‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll be good.’
Sofia smiled.
‘You don’thaveto be good,’ she said, the way she’d done when they were both small and Carmen was in trouble again. ‘You just have to look good to the grown-ups.’
Which was peace of sorts, and enough for their mother when Sofia called to tell her all about it, and which lasted slightly less than twenty-four hours.
Well, thought Carmen the next morning, as she woke up in the strange quiet dingy room and looked around. Supper had been difficult: Phoebe had refused point-blank to eat the couscous and everyone had silently blamed Carmen after the whole crisps incident, then Sofia had encouraged Pippa to play her bassoon, which she had, loudly and uncharmingly, and encouraged Phoebe to sing, a suggestion which was met with as much enthusiasm as the couscous, while Jack repeatedly kicked the expensive Shaker kitchen table leg and Carmen had thought she would just go to bed early before she caused any more trouble.
And now she was starting work. At a new job. Cor.
Perhaps it would be all right. A lovely bookshop where people came to sit and read and it was quiet and she could drink tea and grab a copy of something good and sit quietly in the corner until somebody needed her.
That would be all right, wouldn’t it? It would be nice. Bit of light dusting. It would be easier than haberdashery, with its wedding rush and bridal lace fretting. Books were hardly a big deal. Plus young Mr McCredie, as Sofia had called him, was apparently ‘nice if a bit quiet’. That didn’t sound too bad. He couldn’t possibly be worse than Mrs Marsh, that was for sure. Carmen had wanted to ask how old he was exactly, but didn’t want Sofia getting that simpering look she got when she got all excited about Carmen’s love life and lied about how much she liked Carmen’s boyfriends when it was obvious that anyone less than Federico, with his immaculate hair and manners and job and tailoring, she considered basic scum. The fact that occasionally Carmen had dated fairly basic scum didn’t help either. Hey: there was a lot of scum about. That was just the law of averages.
She went up to breakfast – the two younger children were sitting at the table: Jack in a pair of little old-fashioned pyjamas with buttons, and Phoebe in a fussy nighty. Her hair stuck straight out and she wore a menacing expression that in someone slightly older would have inspired Carmen to bring them a coffee.
Carmen asked how to get to work and Sofia frowned and said you walked, that’s how you got about the city; the buses only went to weird places and the tram only went to the airport and nowhere else at all.
‘Nowhere else?’ said Carmen, perturbed.
‘Nowhere elseat all.’
‘Huh. What about a bicycle?’
‘How good are you at riding bicycles up steps?’ said Sofia.
‘Can I borrow your car?’ said Carmen, looking out at a bunch of leaves swirling down the street in a high wind.
‘A car?’ said Sofia. ‘In central Edinburgh?’ She sounded like Carmen had suggested getting to work on a dragon. ‘They’ll kill you.’
‘Who?’
‘The … traffic wardens.’ Sofia looked suddenly anxious, as if even saying their name might summon them. ‘Don’t risk it. I beg you.’
She turned away and went to the annoyingly spacious and well laid out cupboard under the stairs where she retrieved for Carmen a massive engulfing expensive padded parka.
‘Try this.’
Carmen glanced down at her well-worn leather jacket.
‘I’m okay.’
‘I mean it. You’ll freeze.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ said Carmen, looking at Google Maps.
‘Go up the steps here and then along and then down the steps there,’ said Sofia. ‘Or you could go round the castle and up the castle steps.’
‘I don’t want to go upanysteps,’ said Carmen. Sofia smiled nicely. ‘Do you want me to make you a packed lunch?’
‘No, thank you.’
Carmen would have loved a packed lunch but she wasn’t going to give her eight-months-pregnant sister even more of a reason to get up and prove herself effortlessly more competent at everything.
‘I’ll find my way. Don’t fuss! And I can make packed lunches!’
‘Yes, please,’ came a little voice by her side. ‘I like Nutella sandwiches.’
