‘Have you let your mum know where you are?’ I asked.
He dropped his head. ‘She’s blocked me, too.’
Wow.
I was almost as worried about Hazel, acting so callously towards her son and granddaughter, as I was about them. I decided to wait and message her myself at a more reasonable hour. If she wanted to know whether Toby was safe in the meantime, she could unblock him.
He talked for a while longer about Courtney, the building tension in the house, how his college grades had suffered as a result. I handed him a tissue when he eventually crumpled into tears, and then tossed propriety aside and gave him what he really needed – a proper hug.
It was nearly three by the time I gently insisted he tried to get some sleep. An hour later Hazel started wailing for another feed.
Thank goodness it’s Sunday,was my last comprehensible thought before I finally drifted off to the dawn chorus starting up in the trees outside my window.I can sleep in a little.
It was eight minutes past six precisely when Isla ran squealing into my bedroom, having discovered a strange man peeing in the bathroom.
‘I’m so sorry, Libby!’ Toby gabbled, his cheeks scarlet. ‘The lock on the bathroom door’s broken. I didn’t think anyone was up yet, so it wouldn’t matter.’
Tucking Isla in bed with me, I snatched a desperate few more minutes of sleep before Hazel demonstrated just how loud a teething baby can be.
I was whipping up pancake batter, thanks to Toby demolishing the rest of the bread before we’d got up, nursing my headache with a super-strong coffee and keeping one eye on Finn and Isla, happily amusing Hazel with funny faces, when my phone beeped with a text.
After glancing at it, I immediately put down the whisk and took another gulp of coffee.
Jonah.
I’d love that. It’s not easy pinning down Ellis at the moment, but she said she’d come over to Bigley before the class on Thursday, if you wanted to have dinner somewhere? Otherwise, might have to wait a couple of weeks.
I did some mental calculations then messaged Dad:
Any chance you could babysit around teatime on Thursday? I’ll treat you all to fish and chipsx
We were sitting at the table, Finn squirting the last of the syrup on his fifth pancake, when Toby sauntered in.
‘Right, the lock on the bathroom’s sorted. I noticed the showerhead holder was loose, can’t figure out how you shower without having to hold it in position.’
Yep, that sounded about right.
‘Anyway, I’ve tightened it up so it should be steady for now.’
‘Would you like a pancake?’ I asked, blinking in a blend of shock and gratitude. The thought of standing in a shower with two free hands to shampoo my hair felt too good to be true.
‘Just the one?’ Toby winked, going over to pick up Hazel and plant a kiss on her wispy head.
‘Mum said there’s only enough batter left for one more,’ Finn announced, smearing at the chocolate spread on his face with the back of his hand.
I handed him a paper towel. ‘There was only one more for boys who’ve already eaten a plateful. Toby can have as many as he likes.’
I’d just flipped the final pancake when Dad replied:
Sorry, Libby. I’m spending the evening with Janet. I hope it’s nothing urgent.
Ugh. It hurt when Dad said no, because this confirmed all my fears about depending on him too much, although it did meanI could delay telling him why I’d asked. I usually only asked for extra help when I had a meeting or important appointment.
For a second I debated asking Brayden. But I was still processing how I felt about Brayden and Silva wanting to involve the children more in their lives, and, alongside feeling anxious about where this was heading, I still didn’t trust him not to cancel at the last minute.
Nicky was at the surgery until six-thirty on a Thursday.
But, oh, the thought of having a proper conversation with Jonah, having some of my questions answered.
