Without a second glance, she giggled and ran off to the pool, throwing herself off the edge, just so that Tor was forced to leap and catch her.
“She’s getting so big,” Mum said.
Our relationship was still tense. It wasn’t that I was holding onto old resentments, but we honestly hadn’t had that many positive interactions, which made it difficult to build a relationship. She was trying though.
“You’re very good with her.” Mum shot me a sidelong look. “A lot more patient than I was.”
Don’t say it, I thought furiously.Don’t say it.
Because there was no point now. I’d had my say more than once and every time Mum crossed a boundary, we’d have another conversation, but Piper? She seemed to be the motivation Mum needed. Being a grandmother seemed to soften her somehow.
“You’re an amazing mother.” Why did I need to hear that? Maybe because being a parent was confusing, scary, overwhelming and incredible and often all four on the same day. “And now you’re running a successful business.” She turned back to the pool, the two of us waving as Piper shrieked and then shouted for us to watch her. “I’m…”
Why the hell did I hang on that last word, waiting for it to drop? Would I ever get to the point when I didn’t care? Probably not.
“I’m proud of you.”
My throat worked, ready to reply, but something choked the words off. Mum noted this with a smile, right as Nanna called out to us. She was sitting at the table on the deck, protected from the sun and splashes, no longer moving quite as easily as she did. We both walked over.
“Hello, darling,” she said to me, holding out her cheek for me to kiss, then her eyes narrowed as she took Mum in. “What’re you wearing yellow for, Susie? You know that washes you out.”
I shook my head, aware of what I was seeing. This could be one long line of mothers hassling their kids, or…? I grinned as Tor tossed Piper to Kieran, only for Mack to snatch her out of the air and swim off with her, muttering something about it being dangerous. Or I could start a whole new cycle.
“Hello, ladies.” Anya came over carrying a perilously high pile of presents. “I brought a little something for our tiger princess.”
“Will Piper become a tiger when she’s older?” Mum asked Nanna in a low voice.
“And something for you, darling.” Anya pressed a box into my hand. Before I could protest, she turned to Mum. “Susie, you look stunning in that blouse. Yellow really is your colour.”
Did she…? Yep, Tor’s mum shot me a sly wink.
“Oh, thank you,” Mum said.
“And Agnes. Mother tells me you are the queen of the bingo hall?”
“Oh, I’m lucky sometimes…”
Their chatter, the screams of the kids, the crackle of the barbeque, they all washed over me, creating a soundscape that I would always associate with this.
Home.
My pack, my sleuth, my ambush, my family.
“Hey, girl…” I looked up to see Daria had walked in, then was up and on my feet, walking over to her. “And where’s my little PD?”
Piper’s middle name was Daria, something my bestie never thought I would actually do, but hey. You get taken hostage for me. I figured I owed her.
“Aunty D!”
My little princess clambered out of the pool and came rushing over, throwing herself at Daria’s legs.
“Hey, Pumpkin!” She ruffled my daughter’s wet hair. “I got you a present.”
“Present!” Piper abandoned us, rushing towards the pile on the table.
“Piper!” I yelled, because we’d talked about this. Wrapping paper might be crack for my mercenary little monster, but she needed to learn to at least pretend to be considerate. “Piper, after lunch!”
“Guess I was right.”
