Alanna chose not to laugh at that obvious lie. ‘So why aren’t you going to a hotel?’
Her mother ground her teeth. ‘I’ve been… I need to be on a budget for the moment. Until we can get some things sorted out.’
Alanna narrowed her eyes. ‘Mum, what’s going on. Just spit it out.’
She examined her fingernails. ‘I made a few errors, financially.’
‘Like what?’ Alanna pressed. This was worse than trying to crowbar info out of her clients. But Alanna knew that something had gone enormously wrong for her mother to have comeherewith her version of her cap in her hand.
‘I gave some money to… a friend.’
Alanna raised her eyebrow. ‘What friend?’
‘Just afriend. And well, it didn’t work out. So now Ed is rather… It was a few things. Your behaviour at the party didn’t help!’
Alanna was incensed. ‘What the hell didIdo?’
‘You made the whole thing about you. You and Keira.’
‘You mean her asthma attack?’ Alanna asked disbelievingly.
‘Oh, come on. That was all a bit much, wasn’t it?’
Alanna couldn’t answer that. Her jaw was too wide open to form words.
‘Anyway, I need a room—for a few days. It’s the least you can do,’ her mother told her with finality, as though it concluded things.
Far from it. The least Alanna could do was nothing. She was incredibly tempted to do just that. ‘Mum…’ She began.
Her mother, sensing her arrogant request was about to be denied, switched tactics. ‘I can’t go anywhere else, Alanna. Please. I just need a couple of days,’ she said, letting a little desperation into her tone.
‘I can’t do that. This is Keira’s place too.’
‘Then ask her for me.’
‘You’ve been nothing but rude to her. Why would she ever say yes?’
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is that the reason you don’t want to ask? Is it difficult? Are you having problems? Because I can imagine the bloom is coming off the rose about now.’
Alanna gritted her teeth. ‘We’re fine.’
‘Great. So you can talk to her. I mean, you’re not gonna let your mother become homeless, are you?’
‘Why can’t you go toyourfriends?’ Alanna asked reasonably.
‘Because they don’t know about everything. Things are stressful enough as it is without all that.’
‘Allwhat?’
‘Judgement.’
Alanna allowed herself a small laugh about that.
‘What’s so funny?’ her mother frowned.
‘Nothing, Mum.’ Alanna thought it over. Her mother had housed her from years zero to eighteen. So even if she was a difficult woman, Alanna felt she had some obligation to see if she could help. But the final word had to be Keira’s. This was more her place than Alanna’s. She thought Keira would probably say no, which was fair enough. ‘Look, I’ll talk to Keira. But if she says no, there’ll be nothing I can do. Alright?’
‘Well, I just hope you two have as strong a relationship as you claim,’ her mother said snottily.
