‘Very good.’ Thora’s mum nodded. ‘Can you give me some examples.’
Thora watched from the kitchen island, taking care as she peeled potatoes not to slip and cut herself. Her mum was good as gold with the twins and had always known how to gently encourage them with their schoolwork.
‘Like… hyperbole!’ Reggie said, grinning as the word came back to him.
‘Excellent. And what is hyperbole?’ Thora’s mum waited patiently. When he didn’t reply, she said, ‘Remember you told me the word reminded you of two things?’
Reggie chewed at a cuticle then his eyes widened. ‘Like hyper… so lots of energy and bowl as in bull?’
‘Strangely enough yes, that’s what you said.’ Thora’s mum laughed.
‘So… it means energy and bull… As in that’s total bull… So…Exaggeration!’ Reggie exclaimed.
‘That’s it.’ His grandmother patted him on the back. ‘So now add some hyperbole into that sentence while I go and make a drink.’ She left Reggie to add to his speech and came to Thora’s side. ‘Anything that helps them remember what a word means is positive.’
‘I agree.’ Thora nodded.
‘Oh hello,’ her mum said as she bent over and scooped Barry up in her arms. ‘How’s my favourite grand dog?’ Barry gave a small bark then licked her cheek. ‘Have you doneyourhomework?’ Barry barked again making her laugh.
‘Barry never leaves his homework to the last minute,’ Thora said under her breath. While Rosie was studious, Reggie often left things as long as possible then had to do them all within a short space of time — like today.
‘Don’t worry, Thora, I’ll help him get it all done.’
‘Thank goodness for grandparents,’ Thora said, flashing her mum a smile. She felt very lucky to have her mum and dad around and didn’t know what she’d do without them. Over the years they’d been so supportive and helpful, and the twins adored them. While her dad was an amazing cook, her mum was good with homework, sorting bills, DIY and anything practical. They were loving parents and both very affectionate and Thora had enjoyed a wonderful childhood with them. It was one of the reasons why she hadn’t wanted to leave Porthpenny. She’d known that she couldn’t bear to be far away from them and that if she one day had children, she’d want to be close to her parents. As an only child she also knew it would be important for her parents to be able to see their daughter and potential grandchildren regularly. Lucas had struggled to understand her need to stay close to them and it had been a bone of contention between them and one of the things that led to their split. Or at least one of the reasons Thora gave herself for not fighting harder to save their relationship. Finn, however, had understood and been happy to stay in Porthpenny, even though he lost his parents before the children were born. Thora’s mum and dad adored Finn though and still saw him often, saying he was like a son to them. They’d also taken Titus into their family and Thora was relieved about this because she just wanted everyone to get on. Life was hard enough without having disagreements with relatives to deal with on top of everything else and so she was able to wake each day with an attitude of gratitude and not to dwell on the things that might have been.
‘Do you need to go out, Barry?’ her mum asked. ‘I think he just broke wind.’ She wrinkled her nose then pushed her glasses back up and Thora laughed. ‘Come with me a moment.’ She touched Thora’s arm then went to the back door and grabbed her coat before stepping out and putting Barry down on the grass.
Thora put the knife down and wiped her hands on a towel. ‘I’ll be back in a bit, Dad,’ she said. ‘Mum wants a word.’
Her dad was removing the foil from the chicken he was roasting, and he smiled at her. ‘Good luck!’
‘Thanks.’ Thora grimaced but she was only teasing. Her mum’swordswere legendary as they usually involved addressing something serious during a one-to-one discussion.
In the garden, she pulled the sleeves of her fluffy jumper down over her hands and walked over the grass to where her mum was standing watching Barry. ‘What’s up, Mum?’
Her mum licked her lips then met her gaze. ‘I was just wondering how you’re doing.’
‘How I’m doing?’
Her mum nodded. ‘Iknow, love.’
‘You know what?’
‘That Lucas is back in town.’
‘Oh…’ Thora folder her arms over her chest and watched Barry as he trotted over the grass and sniffed at a yellow patch.
‘So how are you?’
‘Fine. I think.’ Thora hugged herself tighter. ‘I mean… what can I say? He’s back because of his father and said he could be here until after Christmas.’
‘He looks good.’ Her mum was watching her face carefully.
‘You’ve seen him?’
‘At the café. He’s matured well. He was always handsome but he’s even more so now. That’s got to be difficult to see.’
Thora met her mum’s brown eyes. ‘He is handsome, yes, but I mean… We were together a long time ago. A whole lifetime ago.’
