Tears were stinging
Anna’s eyes, but she shook them away. Jason pressed home his argument. “What
I’m trying to say, is that I know you were burning something and a good guess
would be the letter that came this morning. Now I don’t understand why you would
want to burn a letter, unless it’s caused you a great deal of pain. As a
friend, I’d like you to know that I’m here, if you have a problem you would
like to talk about. We think of ourselves as a family, Anna. That means we
care for each other.”
“I
know. And thanks for the offer, but, honestly, there isn’t anything that needs
talking over.” He gave a sigh and dropped his hands from her shoulders. “I’ll
go for that walk now, if you don’t mind.”
After
she had left, Jason stood in the kitchen for a few minutes longer, deep in
thought. He looked up at the smoke detector. “Toast, indeed! But we shall
see. We shall see.”
The
walk to the village took ten minutes, but for Anna it seemed like a few seconds
as her mind spun with her tumbled thoughts. She must be careful in the future,
otherwise Jason would become suspicious that she was hiding something. Perhaps
he already was? She heard the hooting of a car horn and turned her head to
look, surprised and delighted when she saw Kiera sitting in her car on the far
side of the road.
She
ran across and Kiera opened the passenger door. “Jump in. I’ll give you a
lift home.”
“Is
everything OK?” asked Anna, sliding into the seat and buckling her belt.
Kiera
visited the house only when she came to collect Hollie and Anna had got into
the habit of sitting in the kitchen with her while she waited. Hollie always
left it to the last moment to collect her things together so there was ample
opportunity for a chat. Anna found Kiera a fascinating person and was bowled
over by her stories about her childhood in Canada, her education at Berkeley
College in California and the year she had backpacked around the world with
three friends. In contrast, Anna’s life seemed very domestic.
“I’ve
come to see Jason,” said Kiera. “To talk about the divorce.”
Anna
glanced at her and noticed her features turn grey, her eyes become even
darker. It must be an awful business going through a divorce, thought Anna
grimly. She wondered what her experience would be if she and Dave ever
divorced. She knew it might be worse, since Dave could be very vindictive when
he wanted to. For a terrible brief moment she really wished she were a widow.
But
then sanity returned and she dismissed the thought from her mind. “Is Hollie
looking forward to visiting tomorrow? Jason is thinking of taking her to the
zoo,” said Anna, smiling.
Kiera
paused for a brief moment before answering. “Actually, she’s gone there
today.” Seeing Anna’s expression she gave a gentle chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’m
sure Jason will find somewhere else to take her.”
They
had arrived at the front of the house and Kiera parked the car. They decided
to walk round the back since Anna knew that Mrs Wilby would have the kitchen
door open and it made for a much easier access. As they entered the garden
they saw Ben engrossed in putting a coat of creosote on the fence. His
expression showed surprise when he saw Kiera, but he waved his arm in a warm
welcome.
Mrs
Wilby was just putting some maids of honour in the oven in readiness for
Hollie’s visit and was equally taken aback as the two women stepped over the
threshold.
“Kiera’s
here to see Jason,” explained Anna.
“He’s
still in the office,” said Mrs Wilby. “Would you both like some coffee? Or
there’s cold drinks in the fridge.”
They
declined the offer and Kiera followed Anna through the hallway and into the
office. Jason was on the phone as they entered and his flow of conversation
abruptly stopped at Kiera’s entrance.
Making
a polite excuse to the person at the end of the phone,
Anna’s eyes, but she shook them away. Jason pressed home his argument. “What
I’m trying to say, is that I know you were burning something and a good guess
would be the letter that came this morning. Now I don’t understand why you would
want to burn a letter, unless it’s caused you a great deal of pain. As a
friend, I’d like you to know that I’m here, if you have a problem you would
like to talk about. We think of ourselves as a family, Anna. That means we
care for each other.”
“I
know. And thanks for the offer, but, honestly, there isn’t anything that needs
talking over.” He gave a sigh and dropped his hands from her shoulders. “I’ll
go for that walk now, if you don’t mind.”
After
she had left, Jason stood in the kitchen for a few minutes longer, deep in
thought. He looked up at the smoke detector. “Toast, indeed! But we shall
see. We shall see.”
The
walk to the village took ten minutes, but for Anna it seemed like a few seconds
as her mind spun with her tumbled thoughts. She must be careful in the future,
otherwise Jason would become suspicious that she was hiding something. Perhaps
he already was? She heard the hooting of a car horn and turned her head to
look, surprised and delighted when she saw Kiera sitting in her car on the far
side of the road.
She
ran across and Kiera opened the passenger door. “Jump in. I’ll give you a
lift home.”
“Is
everything OK?” asked Anna, sliding into the seat and buckling her belt.
Kiera
visited the house only when she came to collect Hollie and Anna had got into
the habit of sitting in the kitchen with her while she waited. Hollie always
left it to the last moment to collect her things together so there was ample
opportunity for a chat. Anna found Kiera a fascinating person and was bowled
over by her stories about her childhood in Canada, her education at Berkeley
College in California and the year she had backpacked around the world with
three friends. In contrast, Anna’s life seemed very domestic.
“I’ve
come to see Jason,” said Kiera. “To talk about the divorce.”
Anna
glanced at her and noticed her features turn grey, her eyes become even
darker. It must be an awful business going through a divorce, thought Anna
grimly. She wondered what her experience would be if she and Dave ever
divorced. She knew it might be worse, since Dave could be very vindictive when
he wanted to. For a terrible brief moment she really wished she were a widow.
But
then sanity returned and she dismissed the thought from her mind. “Is Hollie
looking forward to visiting tomorrow? Jason is thinking of taking her to the
zoo,” said Anna, smiling.
Kiera
paused for a brief moment before answering. “Actually, she’s gone there
today.” Seeing Anna’s expression she gave a gentle chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’m
sure Jason will find somewhere else to take her.”
They
had arrived at the front of the house and Kiera parked the car. They decided
to walk round the back since Anna knew that Mrs Wilby would have the kitchen
door open and it made for a much easier access. As they entered the garden
they saw Ben engrossed in putting a coat of creosote on the fence. His
expression showed surprise when he saw Kiera, but he waved his arm in a warm
welcome.
Mrs
Wilby was just putting some maids of honour in the oven in readiness for
Hollie’s visit and was equally taken aback as the two women stepped over the
threshold.
“Kiera’s
here to see Jason,” explained Anna.
“He’s
still in the office,” said Mrs Wilby. “Would you both like some coffee? Or
there’s cold drinks in the fridge.”
They
declined the offer and Kiera followed Anna through the hallway and into the
office. Jason was on the phone as they entered and his flow of conversation
abruptly stopped at Kiera’s entrance.
Making
a polite excuse to the person at the end of the phone,
Similar Books
