She turned back from the counter with her best breezy TV smile.
‘So, Mia,’ she said. ‘I think I know one of your cousins. Terri-Lynn?’
‘Yeah? She said she was at school with you.’
‘How is she?’
‘Living in Leicester now. She’s a grandma.’
‘Fuck off!’
The expletive flew from her mouth before she could stop it, and she clamped a hand to her mouth, her ears burning. You could take the girl out of Bledburn …
‘Sorry,’ she whispered, her eyes flicking around the clientele of bristling elderly folk, there for the vast range of teas, and a few hipsters. ‘But she’s my age.’
Mia giggled. ‘I know. She had Cindy when she was sixteen and Cindy’s just had Reuben, so …’
‘Jesus.’ She tried to shake the thought from her head. ‘I don’t feel mature enough to have one kid, let alone a grandchild. Do you have any kids?’
‘Nah, not me. I don’t think I’m cut out for it.’
‘Can’t say the thought’s crossed my mind much. Perhaps I’m just not the maternal type. But I’ve been too busy to even consider it, mostly.’
‘I bet. What with all your TV work and looking after big name stars. What a life.’ Mia’s voice dripped with good-natured envy. ‘How did you do it?’
‘I’m not sure. It was a whirlwind thing, once Deano’s career took off. Looking back, it seems as if I went from the estate to the Ritz in about five seconds flat.’
‘Must have been amazing.’
‘Actually, it was quite frightening. I was such a small-town girl, in a world I didn’t know or understand. I had to pretend to be this loud, confident person just to get through. You know, Eleanor Roosevelt said “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent”, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t come from Bledburn.’
‘I’ve never heard of her.’
‘No, I guess you haven’t. So, anyway, you’re Terri-Lynn’s cousin and you run a karaoke. How long have you been doing that?’
‘Not that long. Came into a bit of cash a couple of months back and bought the rig. Karaoke’s big now, with all the karaoke TV shows. Everyone wants to be on them. Well, you should know, since you’re a judge in one of them. What I do gives people a chance to see if they’ve got a bit of what it takes. Belt out the Titanic song in front of an audience – if it goes down well, they might apply for the next series of Talent Team UK.’
‘It was a good idea. Good way to spend the money. What was it, an inheritance?’
Mia looked down at her knife and fork, and seemed immensely grateful when the food arrived, distracting them from the question.
‘Bit poncey, this,’ she said, grinning at Jenna over her upmarket bacon sarnie. ‘I don’t even know what that stuff is in yours.’
Jenna decided to try another tack.
‘I love your tattoos,’ she said. ‘That one on your arm there is stunning. Is it a copy of an artwork?’
‘Sort of. It was designed for me.’
‘Who by? Leonardo da Vinci?’
She coloured so deeply that Jenna felt she’d drawn first blood. She could do this. It was possible.
‘In a funny way,’ said Mia, ‘yeah.’ And her eyes were misty and she looked so upset that Jenna had to work hard to keep her tone light.
‘What, he came back from beyond the grave?’
‘No, it was his nickname. The guy’s nickname. The guy who did the tattoo.’