Bad.
She wished they’d talk about something else, but Avery didn’t seem inclined to do that.
“So what next?”
“I don’t know.” And it was bothering her. She didn’t like not knowing. She’d invested everything in doing what she could to keep life the same, and now her father had rocked the boat so hard it was taking on water.
She’d expected him to ask what she’d thought of Flora, but he hadn’t. Did that mean he didn’t care what she and Molly thought? Did they have no say in their future? Or did it mean he wasn’t seeing her again?
Her spirits lifted a little as she focused on that possibility. If it was still on he’d be talking about her, wouldn’t he? Inviting her round again. He hadn’t mentioned her, and Izzy hadn’t seen him leave the room to take a call.
The most likely explanation was that the relationship was over.
She felt a rush of optimism. If that was the case, then at least some of her problems were over, too.
5
Flora
“So how was the date?” Julia tugged Flora into the cold store at the back of the shop. “The kids fell in love with you, right? You’re their new mommy, and you’re all going to live happily ever after.”
Hardly.
The relationship was over. She’d blown it.
“It was…interesting.” The evening had brought back memories of sitting at the table with her aunt. Flora had invariably picked at her food and wondered how it was possible to feel lonely when you were sitting across from another human being. She’d had the same feeling in Jack’s house. “Little Molly was very shy, which is natural I’m sure. The older one was a little wary.”
Wary? She was pretty sure Izzy had hated her on sight, and Flora had plunged in with her well-meaning conversation and people-pleasing techniques and made things worse. She didn’t even blame them for rejecting her, but now the past churned around inside her like a deep, dark sludge.
It was pathetic that she should care so much about belonging and being accepted.
“Teenagers are always wary,” Julia said. “Mine look at me suspiciously when I walk into the room. They’re worried I’m going to ask them to do something. Welcome to family life.”
She hadn’t felt welcomed. Not by those who were alive, and not by those who were dead. Throughout the whole uncomfortable evening, Becca had been gazing down at her with those watchful sloe eyes. She’d smoldered down from the walls like a security system.
Stay away from my family.
Was it selfish to wish Becca hadn’t had such a large visible presence in the home?
Yes, it was. Becca’s pictures probably brought comfort to the children. And to Jack. She remembered how much it had hurt her when her aunt had packed away all the photographs of her mother. Looking at them will make you unhappy. Remind you she’s gone. Photographs simply kept the past alive.
Flora had sneaked a photograph under her mattress. She’d looked at it every night and it had comforted her. Knowing that, how could she blame the children for wanting pictures of Becca on the walls?
She thought about Izzy.
“Do your teenagers cook and do a lot around the house?”
Julia gave a shout of laughter. “Are you kidding? I can’t even get them to put a plate in the dishwasher without a fight.”
“Izzy ran the house. She didn’t seem like a typical teenager.”
“A teenager is a unique and unpredictable animal. They adapt to their surroundings.” Julia frowned. “Which, now that I think about it, is probably the definition of a virus, too. Go figure. Even after they leave home you feel the aftereffects.”
Her friend always managed to make her smile.
“She cooked. From scratch. Homemade burgers. Veggie. She even toasted the buns.”
“And she’s seventeen?” Julia’s eyes widened. “Color me impressed. Lucky you.”