“Tried last night. She didn’t answer. I eventually spoke to her mum. She really is in Tenerife, can you believe?” she said, swinging her gaze away. “Do I have ‘stupid’ written on my forehead? Don’t answer that. I gave her an early Christmas present this year. Cash, she asked for, rather than a present, to pay off credit card debts. Eight hundred pounds, to be precise. Paid in November.”
“How can she have debts? She’s got that high-paying marketing job.”
“Yes, and spends every penny she earns. Trust me, Mac, we’ve had that conversation so many times over the years. She never saves a penny.”
“So she didn’t pay off her debts?”
“She did,” said Cheryl, the annoyance plain on her face. “Then promptly booked a holiday to Tenerife with this new girlfriend. I got a text this morning saying she’d booked the holiday last minute. A lie, of course. I caught up with Antoni this morning and he ended up confessing that she’d been bragging about flying to the sun since early December. Looking forward to getting a tan over Christmas. Clearly she had no intention of coming to Scotland with us.”
Trevor said nothing. Even though he would never let on to Cheryl, he agreed with Frank about Hannah. People like her needed partners to keep them in check, to be the parent or guardian to their child in the relationship. If Hannah fell, Cheryl would always be there to pick her up. If anything ever happened to Hannah, Cheryl would be there to bail her out. But if anything happened to Cheryl, would Hannah have been there for her? Trevor found the notion hard to imagine. How long would it be before Hannah had racked up all those debts again and came crawling back? And how long before Cheryl caved in and welcomed her? At least Karl had always shared the burden of their marriage, had always been on the level with him, even about his change of orientation. A small concession, maybe, but something in Karl’s favour.
“What are you thinking?” she asked. They knew each other far too well.
“You don’t want to know.”
“You think I’m an idiot.”
“No, I don’t,” he said, putting his fork down and pushing his plate away. “You’re caring and thoughtful, Cheryl, and that’s a good thing. What I was thinking is that it’s probably time we both moved on.”
“I’ll drink to that. In fact, let’s have a glass of bubbly on it tonight.”
“After last night, I’m thinking the nearest I’m getting to bubbles is sparkling water.”
“On Christmas Eve?” she said, taking his plate and going to the sink. “Over my dead body. And anyway, you’ll need alcohol to survive dinner. I’ve brought those two bottles of special reserve Paullac I won in the office party raffle. A vintage you said you’d love to try. It’ll go wonderfully with beef, you said. You are so not going on the wagon tonight. I’m back to eating carbs and drinking whatever I want, remember? For the holidays, anyway. And you are my partner-in-crime.”
“Fine. As long as you promise to be nice to Rudy.”
“When am I ever not nice? Don’t answer that. Anyway, it’ll be good to finally meet him. I’d normally tell you to clear the invitation with Mum first, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
“Clear what with me?” came Mrs M’s voice as she bounced into the kitchen.
“Is it okay? I invited Rudy over to dinner tonight.”
“You know my answer already. That lovely boy is welcome here anytime, day or night. Nice to have somebody with lovely manners around the place.”
While Mrs M busied herself at the sink, Cheryl smiled sweetly at Trevor with her smug ‘I told you so’ smile.
“Hope you’re not alluding to us,” said Trevor.
“You know exactly who I mean.”
“I’ve already told Rudy to come, but I’ll text him later to confirm,” said Trevor. “He’s still saying it’s going to snow, Mrs M.”
“Is he now. Has he seen the weather? Not a cloud in sight.”
“That’s what I said. But he told me all the signs are there.”
“See?” said Cheryl, smiling. “There is a God. Maybe hot Rudy has the manners of a gentleman and is as cute as a cupcake, but clearly his lift doesn’t go all the way to the top floor.”
They all laughed together, even Mrs M, and Trevor marvelled at how nice the shared laughter felt.
“Okay, come on, you two, we’re not staying in the kitchen all day,” said Mrs M, her back to the sink. “If Mon had been here, we’d have been outside on some crazy jaunt by now—a treasure hunt or sailing boats on the loch. I’ve already recruited Jessica and Antoni. But the door to Frank and Johnny’s bedroom is nailed shut, and I think it’s best to leave Karl and her ladyship to their own devices. Go and scrub up, Cheryl, while Trevor helps me put plates and cups into the dishwasher. Then we’re going to scout out the area.”
“I’ll help with the dishes, but I’ll pass on the exploring, Mrs M,” said Trevor. “I’ve already done that with my local guide. It’s my turn to chill. And I also need to text Rudy.”
Trevor didn’t miss the exchange of looks between mother and daughter as he headed to his room.
* * * *
