Meanwhile, Keli was still trying to make a decision, so she just blurted out the quandary. ‘Noah, a friend of mine is dealing with something and she’s just texted and asked me to go over. It’s no biggie, though. I can stay if you want company.’
Her mum took her head out of the oven and stood up. ‘Am I not here? Do I not exist?’
‘I mean sisterly company. Which is second best to you, Mum. Obviously,’ Keli back-pedalled, frantically.
At least Noah was still laughing.
‘Honestly,’ she tried again with Noah, ‘I can tell her I can’t make it.’
He tossed his jacket on the chair, rolled up his sleeves as he crossed the lounge to the kitchen. ‘Nope, not having that on my conscience. I’ve upset enough people today. You go, sis.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘He’s sure,’ their mother reinforced the point. ‘Now go. And make sure you remember what I told you earlier.’
‘What did I miss?’ Noah asked, puzzled.
‘Nothing! Nothing at all. Just Mum giving me a lecture. Usual stuff.’
She threw her mother a warning glance, but she knew it was unnecessary. Rule number three in the Gilda Clark Parenting Manual – Never discuss your children’s issues with their siblings unless granted explicit permission.
Her mum’s lips would be sealed.
Keli didn’t ask again. She trusted Noah was being honest, grabbed her jacket and kissed them both on the cheek.
‘Call me later,’ her mother called after her.
‘I will, Ma. Love you both.’
She pulled the door shut behind her and practically ran to the car, in a completely different mindset from this morning.
If she’d been pregnant, she’d have had to play nice.
Now, she could do and say exactly as she pleased.
And she intended to.
8 P.M. – 10 P.M.
25
ODETTE
With trembling hands, Odette Devine reached out and knocked on Nancy Jenkins’ door, hoping that she wouldn’t be dead on the doorstep by the time Nancy answered. There was a searing pain in her head and she felt like it could explode at any second. Meanwhile, her heart was beating like the drum in one of those rave songs from back in the eighties. Or was it nineties? She couldn’t think straight.
She’d asked Harry to stop just a little bit along the street because she didn’t want Nancy to open the door and see a big bloody limo, as if Odette was trying to show off. That was the last thing she was aiming to achieve here.
She had no idea what she was going to say. Not a clue how she would be received. And she was terrified to find out, but what were the options?
She waited. And waited. No answer. She waited a few seconds more, then knocked again. This time, she battered the door like it was a police raid on a drug den. Nancy Jenkins was either deaf as a post, or not in.
Exasperated, Odette stepped to the side of the path, onto the grass of the front lawn and peered in the window to get theanswer. Yes, the light was on, but that was all. In the corner, the TV was black, the fire was off and there were no other signs of life.
Bugger. The deflation and disappointment almost took the wind right out of her, and she held on to the windowsill for a moment until the light-headedness passed. It felt like she’d been in a car, racing towards a brick wall at 100 miles per hour, only to swerve at the last minute, and now her body was being flooded with a combination of relief, fear and terror at what could just have happened. And a whole load of dread, because she knew that if she were going to have a chance of making amends, she was going to have to do this all over again another time.
Behind her, she heard Calvin striding up the path. ‘Not in? Right then. Let’s get back into town and go for dinner. My hair and this outfit aren’t cut out for the suburbs.’
Damn it. There were two choices: go back and sit in the car until Nancy came home or leave and come back tomorrow.