Family For Beginners

od up abruptly, knowing that she needed to end this conversation right now. She whipped the tomatoes out of the oven, and fried bacon until the edges turned crispy.

“Thank you for telling me a little about her.”

“Jack hasn’t done that?”

“No. I think he finds it difficult. If he wanted to talk about her, he’d talk about her.”

Not necessarily, Clare thought. Sometimes men thought that the best way to handle a difficult topic was to ignore it. But who was she to think that was wrong? She knew she tended to chew on things until they were pulp. “Is your aunt still alive?”

“No. She developed dementia a few years ago. She managed to stay at home until the last year.”

“Who cared for her?”

“I did. It was the least I could do. She gave me everything.”

Except love, Clare thought. And now she saw it so clearly. Flora yearned for family. To belong. “And now? You live in the same house?”

“No. Her house was sold to pay for her care. I moved into an apartment. But last month the roof leaked and I had to move out. Jack invited me to stay with him.”

“You’re living with him?” Interesting. Why hadn’t Jack mentioned that?

“Not living with him exactly. It’s a temporary thing until I can find somewhere else. And I’m in the spare room.”

Thinking of her morning with Todd, Clare sent her a womanly smile. “That must be frustrating.”

Flora blushed. “I don’t want to unsettle the girls, or hurt them in any way. Their needs have to take priority.”

Did they?

Clare wondered if she would have been so restrained in the circumstances. “What about you and what you need?”

Flora had inadvertently given her a gift by stripping away all the anger Clare had felt toward Becca. Maybe she could repay the favor.

She carried on talking. “As women we often feel we have to put our needs bottom of the pile. But why are we less important than others? I love my son, and that love isn’t diminished when Todd and I prioritize our relationship.” She thought about the tangle of sheets upstairs in her bedroom. Had she left her underwear on the floor?

“You two are lucky.”

“Maybe. But we also know it’s important for us to have time together. We make that time. What I’m saying is that your relationship with Jack isn’t all about the children. You matter, too.” She could have said more, but she knew when to stop. She picked up the coffeepot. “I hope you have a good time while you’re here. If there’s anything I can do to make you feel more at home, let me know.” Todd had asked her to be friendly and it turned out not to be hard at all. What she hadn’t expected was that it might feel genuine. That she might in fact have found a friend in Flora.

Flora opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment the rest of the family piled into the room.

Aiden looked half-asleep, Todd was telling Jack about the barn conversion he was working on and Molly was playing with Chase who had managed to find mud in the garden despite the dry spell.

Chaos, Clare thought as she grabbed him by the collar and made Molly take him to the back door to wash his paws. The truth was that family life was a juggling act. She hoped Flora was ready for that.

Jack yawned and immediately took responsibility for Molly’s breakfast.

“There’s granola. You like granola, don’t you?” He paused, bowl in one hand and packet in the other and looked relieved when she nodded.

“But not too much milk.”

“Granola, go easy on the milk. Got it.” He put together Molly’s breakfast with the care of a surgeon doing a life and death operation, which Clare found both amusing and adorable.

Izzy was last to enter. Her hair was scraped back in a messy bun and she was wearing shorts and a strap top. She eyed the empty chair furthest away from Flora, and then with a resigned sigh chose the one next to her instead.

Clare wondered if she was the only person holding her breath.

“Berries, Izzy?” Flora pushed the bowl across the table. “They’re delicious.”