‘Even if he does leave, I won’t be taking over from him.’
‘Why not?’
‘Why not?’ Wilf echoed. ‘Everyone knows you’d be the best.’
Elliot put the bite-sized pizza he was holding back on his plate. ‘Being manager takes a lot of organisation. It isn’t just coaching the players, or deciding what positions they’re going to play. It’s dealing with the club and fees and equipment. My personal limitations mean I’m not great at all that. It wouldn’t be fair to the team if I was manager.’
Wilf pursed his lips. ‘I read that a manager’s most important tool is his team. All you need is someone else to help you do some of those things. And didn’t you say that Houghton Harriers under nines are going to push past our so-called limitations, not let them stop us?’
‘Well, as far as I know, Coach Simonson has no intention of quitting, and I’ve no intention of pushing past my limits as his assistant.’
‘As far as you know,’ Wilf muttered, in such a perfect imitation of his mum I had to hide my smile.
I adjusted my position so that my back was resting against a smooth section of the tree trunk, appreciating how nice it was to be sitting on a blanket, eating a lovely lunch and listening to a dozen conversations blending with the birdsong and background music while the leaf shadows danced on the grass. Much better than clearing up the dregs of a raucous wedding, that’s for sure.
13
The next thing I knew, Mum was giving me a gentle shake. I found myself curled up on the blanket, with a cardigan draped over my shoulders.
‘How long was I asleep?’ I sat up slowly, blinking as I took in the near-empty garden.
‘It’s nearly half past three,’ Mum replied, offering a hand to pull me up, which I gratefully accepted.
‘Did I miss all the clearing up?’ Embarrassment scurried up the skin on my chest and neck.
‘Oh, don’t worry about that. It doesn’t take long when everyone pitches in.’
‘Why did no one wake me?’
‘You slept through a game of volleyball. We assumed you must need the rest.’
‘Ugh. I can’t believe I lay there like a big lump, with everyone watching me.’
‘No one was watching you! Well, Elliot noticed you looked cold and asked to borrow my cardigan. But really, you aren’t that interesting.’
I picked up the blanket and Mum took two corners, helping me fold it up.
‘Is there anything else to do?
‘Dad’s vacuuming the foyer then we’re locking up.’
‘Where’s Isaac?’
‘He left a while ago, said he had something important to discuss with his housemates.’
‘I’mhis housemate.’
‘Well, yes, I suspect they were discussing you.’
We reached the folding doors leading into the main hall just as Dad pushed the vacuum into the cupboard.
‘Jessie! You’re awake! We couldn’t believe you slept—’ He caught Mum’s eyes and stopped abruptly. ‘Anyway, I hope you enjoyed lunch. Do you want to come to ours for dinner? We’ve got plenty of leftover cheese.’
I declined the offer, hurrying home as quickly as my sleep-addled limbs would carry me. I’d planned on going straight to the attic to brush my hair, wild with static thanks to sleeping on a blanket, and change out of the old jeans and T-shirt I’d worn to clean in, but only made it half-way up the stairs before Isaac appeared and asked if I could talk.
My heart sank as I reluctantly followed him into the kitchen. I could recall only too well the conditions upon which Isaac had offered me the weekend work, and I didn’t want to get fired by my twin. However, to my surprise, Arthur was also there, sitting at the table, while Elliot leant against a worktop, Penny’s nose resting on his bare foot.
‘Okay… now I’m starting to worry. Have I done something awful without realising? If someone’s food has gone missing, or the toilet roll was all used up, it wasn’t me.’
