‘I suppose.’ Sarah wasn’t convinced, though. They would have had to furnish that room pretty damn quickly. ‘But what about the presents?’
The bemused furrow in Joe’s brow deepened.
‘Twice she’s bought the same present I was going to get him. I told her I was getting him a Magicube dinosaur set for his birthday, and coincidentally she gets him the very same thing. Then I find out she’s bought him a Wheelybug, which I’d decided to get him instead. We looked at them in John Lewis, remember? I told Steve I was getting one and then she goes and orders one. She said Steve forgot to tell her, but …’ She knitted her brow. ‘Don’t you think it’s odd that she would choose the exact same toys?’
‘Sounds to me as if it’s definitely a case of miscommunication.’ Joe checked his watch. ‘They’re popular toys, right? Steve probably did forget to tell her.’
‘So you think it was just a coincidence then? Twice?’ Sarah forced the point, because it did all seem bloody odd – and this was without finding Ollie’s maimed bunny.
He emitted a sigh. ‘I don’t know, Sarah. Maybe you should be asking Steve.’
He looked as if he’d rather be gone, making Sarah feel she couldn’t talk to him about her concerns for her son. What kind of future did they have if that was the case?
‘Her mother turned up,’ she said, willing him to realise that she needed him to listen and try to understand. She couldn’t compromise where Ollie was concerned. Joe had to be every bit as caring about him and his welfare as she was, or it simply wouldn’t work between them.
‘And?’ he asked patiently.
‘They don’t get on. It was obvious immediately. Laura had already told me they didn’t. Yet she still let her in.’
He nodded and massaged his forehead. ‘She is her mother, though, Sarah. She could hardly have left her standing on the doorstep, could she?’
‘Yes. No. I …’ Sarah was confusing herself now. Was it such a big deal that Laura didn’t get on with her mother? Lots of people had parent issues, after all. ‘She started stuttering,’ she tried to explain, but how did you explain something that was nothing more than intuition, a feeling that whatever issues there were between them were a big deal? ‘As soon as her mother arrived, she started stammering.’
‘Because she was nervous?’ Joe suggested.
‘Precisely.’ She latched onto that. ‘It’s a bit odd to be nervous around you own mother, isn’t it?’
‘So now you’ve decided you don’t like her because she doesn’t get on with her mother?’ He shook his head in obvious despair. ‘Don’t you think this might be a bit—’
‘No!’ Sarah snapped, before he accused her of getting things out of perspective again. ‘It’s nothing to do with whether I like her or not.’ She groped for a way to make Joe see that she wasn’t being neurotic. ‘She said she’d left his bunny guarding his toy box, and when I slipped up there—’
‘Slipped up there?’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘You mean you went up to Ollie’s room without being invited?’
‘Yes,’ she admitted, her cheeks heating up. ‘Laura and her mother were talking in the kitchen. It was obvious the situation between them was awkward, so I waited in the hall. I wondered whether I should just let myself out, but I wanted to see where Ollie slept. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to pop up while—’ She stopped as Joe’s phone rang.
He pulled it from his pocket and checked the number. ‘It’s work. I have to get it,’ he said, frowning as he took the call. ‘Yep, on my way … Sorry. Car trouble.’
He was lying, because he was late, because she’d made him late. Sarah swallowed back another lump of guilt.
‘I have to get going,’ he said, pocketing the phone.
‘You’re annoyed, aren’t you?’ She noted the agitated tic playing at his cheek.
He hesitated. ‘I’m not annoyed, Sarah,’ he said contemplatively. ‘Why would I be? I’m just concerned, that’s all. I hear what you’re saying, but if you want my honest opinion, it seems as if you’re looking for reasons not to like her.’
What? Was that what he thought too? Suddenly Sarah felt as if the whole world were against her.
‘I really have to go.’ He hesitated, and then leaned to give her a cursory kiss on the cheek. ‘I’ll call you.’
Stunned, she stared after him as he turned and headed up the hall. The front door opening galvanised her into action. She was not looking for reasons. She was not being neurotic. She was not jealous of Laura! Had he not heard a word she’d said? He should be concerned for her, not about her.
‘She cut his ear off!’ she shouted as Joe neared his car. ‘Bunny, she cut his ear off!’
Opening the car door, Joe stopped and turned around. Even under the glow of the street lamp, Sarah could see that his look was deeply troubled.
‘Sarah …’ He sucked in a breath, blew it out slowly. ‘Listen to what you’re saying, will you? You’re becoming obsessed with her.’
‘I am not!’ she argued tearfully. ‘I’m concerned! For my son. With damn good reason it appears only I can see.’
Joe dropped his gaze. ‘I have to go,’ he said, his tone flat. ‘I’ll ring you. We’ll talk tomorrow.’
Sarah’s heart dropped. Would he? she wondered, tears pricking her eyes. Would any man bother to ring a woman he believed was obsessing about her ex’s new girlfriend, and was therefore clearly obsessed with her ex?
Thirteen
Laura
‘So stupid of me not to have taken my house keys. I was in such a rush when I left,’ Sherry sighed melodramatically from the bedroom. Laura was well aware that she was pretending despair at herself. Her keys were probably in her bag. She really was a master manipulator. Recalling how she’d coerced Grant into marrying her, how she continued to mercilessly control her daughter, Laura felt a shudder run through her.
‘Any good, darling?’ Sherry enquired as, attempting to keep the peace until her mother had gone, Laura struggled into a top that was supposed to be on trend: a gaudy apple-green thing with bat wings. There was a similar one in fuchsia pink, another colour Laura detested. She’d always preferred subtle, calming colours.
‘Yes, fine, thanks. I’ll try them on with my leggings later,’ she called from the bathroom. Best not to get into an argument about why Sherry insisted on bringing her clothes that were shapeless and unflattering, she decided, pulling her own clothes back on. That was bound to stress her out.
‘So how’s the job going?’ Sherry asked as she emerged, with her usual nuance of interest.
‘Fine,’ Laura replied shortly. ‘I love it there.’
‘I gathered you must. I mean, you’d have to be keen to work somewhere like that, wouldn’t you? With all those poor old people dying around you, I mean.’
And kind, and dedicated, Laura didn’t bother to add. It was rare that her mother recognised her attributes. ‘They’re not all old,’ she remarked, for what it was worth. Steve’s father hadn’t been old. Sixty-five was no age. She’d felt for Steve, been glad she’d been there for him.