imagining Mum and Suze would gasp and cheer and congratulate me on having pinned Dad down to breakfast in Las Vegas. There I was, hoping for a group hug. I must have been deluded.
Neither Mum nor Suze looks any cheerier for the news that their beloved husbands are alive and well. There was a brief flicker of delight, and Suze breathed, “Thank God.” But now both of them are back on their grievances.
Mum’s line is: “Why doesn’t my own husband trust me?” At least, it’s a kind of duet, with Janice taking the lines: “I know, Jane,” and “You’re so right, Jane,” and “Jane, dear, have some M&M’s.” Mum’s basic argument is that any husband who goes off with secrets is disrespectful and he’s a grown man and who does he think he is, Kojak?
(I’m not sure how Kojak comes into it. In fact, I’m not sure who Kojak is. Someone off the telly, I think.)
Meanwhile, Suze’s complaint is: Why didn’t Tarkie want to talk to her ? She’s tried Tarkie’s number about ninety-five times, and each time it goes to voicemail and she darts me a resentful look, as though it’s my fault. As we approach the looming skyline of Las Vegas, she’s chewing her fingers and staring out of the window.
“Suze?” I say cautiously.
“Yes?” She turns her head impatiently, as though I’ve distracted her from something really important.
“Isn’t it great? Tarkie’s fine!”
Suze looks blank, as though she doesn’t even understand what I’m saying.
“I mean, you can stop worrying,” I persist. “It must be such a relief.”
A pained expression comes over Suze’s face, as though I’m too stupid to realize the truth.
“Not till I see him,” she insists. “Not till I see for myself. I still think Bryce has got to him. He’s messed with his head somehow.”
“He sounded OK to me,” I say encouragingly. “He wouldn’t want to have breakfast with us if he’d been brainwashed, would he? I mean, isn’t it all good news?”
“Bex, you just don’t get it,” says Suze aggressively, and at once Alicia puts her hand on Suze’s as though she gets it because she’s a better friend than I am.
My heart sinks, and I pull Minnie onto my lap for comfort.
“Stop fretting?” Mum is muttering murderously to Janice. “I’ll give Graham something to fret about. Have I ever kept any secrets from him?”
“There was the sun bed in our garage,” points out Janice.
“That was different, Janice.” Mum nearly bites her head off. “What Graham’s doing right now, it’s shifty.”
“It’s not like Graham,” agrees Janice sorrowfully, and she has a point. It’s not that my mum and dad haven’t had their ups and downs, discoveries and moments of drama. But I never remember him being secretive like this before, especially toward Mum.
“Where are we going to stay in Las Vegas?” I ask hastily, to change the subject. “ Not in an RV park.”
“No, no,” says Luke from the driver’s seat. “We’ll park the RV and check in to a hotel.”
And despite everything, I feel a flicker of anticipation. I’ve never been to Las Vegas before in my life. Maybe, now we know that Dad and Tarkie are safe, we can unwind a little?
“You need to relax, Jane,” says Janice, as though reading my mind. “Maybe we’ll book some spa treatments.”
“Isn’t there a hotel with a circus?” Mum seems a bit mollified. “I wouldn’t mind seeing a circus.”
“Or the Venetian?” I suggest. “We could go on the gondolas.”
“There’s the Egyptian one….” Janice is scrolling on her phone. “The MGM Grand…And we should pop into Caesars Palace. Fabulous shopping, Becky.”
“Elton John,” chimes in Mum suddenly. “Is he still in Las Vegas?”
“Elton John?” interrupts Suze shrilly, and we all jump. “ Gondolas? How can you all talk about Elton John and gondolas and Caesars Palace? This isn’t some little vacation we’re on! We’re not here to enjoy ourselves !”
Her eyes glitter
Neither Mum nor Suze looks any cheerier for the news that their beloved husbands are alive and well. There was a brief flicker of delight, and Suze breathed, “Thank God.” But now both of them are back on their grievances.
Mum’s line is: “Why doesn’t my own husband trust me?” At least, it’s a kind of duet, with Janice taking the lines: “I know, Jane,” and “You’re so right, Jane,” and “Jane, dear, have some M&M’s.” Mum’s basic argument is that any husband who goes off with secrets is disrespectful and he’s a grown man and who does he think he is, Kojak?
(I’m not sure how Kojak comes into it. In fact, I’m not sure who Kojak is. Someone off the telly, I think.)
Meanwhile, Suze’s complaint is: Why didn’t Tarkie want to talk to her ? She’s tried Tarkie’s number about ninety-five times, and each time it goes to voicemail and she darts me a resentful look, as though it’s my fault. As we approach the looming skyline of Las Vegas, she’s chewing her fingers and staring out of the window.
“Suze?” I say cautiously.
“Yes?” She turns her head impatiently, as though I’ve distracted her from something really important.
“Isn’t it great? Tarkie’s fine!”
Suze looks blank, as though she doesn’t even understand what I’m saying.
“I mean, you can stop worrying,” I persist. “It must be such a relief.”
A pained expression comes over Suze’s face, as though I’m too stupid to realize the truth.
“Not till I see him,” she insists. “Not till I see for myself. I still think Bryce has got to him. He’s messed with his head somehow.”
“He sounded OK to me,” I say encouragingly. “He wouldn’t want to have breakfast with us if he’d been brainwashed, would he? I mean, isn’t it all good news?”
“Bex, you just don’t get it,” says Suze aggressively, and at once Alicia puts her hand on Suze’s as though she gets it because she’s a better friend than I am.
My heart sinks, and I pull Minnie onto my lap for comfort.
“Stop fretting?” Mum is muttering murderously to Janice. “I’ll give Graham something to fret about. Have I ever kept any secrets from him?”
“There was the sun bed in our garage,” points out Janice.
“That was different, Janice.” Mum nearly bites her head off. “What Graham’s doing right now, it’s shifty.”
“It’s not like Graham,” agrees Janice sorrowfully, and she has a point. It’s not that my mum and dad haven’t had their ups and downs, discoveries and moments of drama. But I never remember him being secretive like this before, especially toward Mum.
“Where are we going to stay in Las Vegas?” I ask hastily, to change the subject. “ Not in an RV park.”
“No, no,” says Luke from the driver’s seat. “We’ll park the RV and check in to a hotel.”
And despite everything, I feel a flicker of anticipation. I’ve never been to Las Vegas before in my life. Maybe, now we know that Dad and Tarkie are safe, we can unwind a little?
“You need to relax, Jane,” says Janice, as though reading my mind. “Maybe we’ll book some spa treatments.”
“Isn’t there a hotel with a circus?” Mum seems a bit mollified. “I wouldn’t mind seeing a circus.”
“Or the Venetian?” I suggest. “We could go on the gondolas.”
“There’s the Egyptian one….” Janice is scrolling on her phone. “The MGM Grand…And we should pop into Caesars Palace. Fabulous shopping, Becky.”
“Elton John,” chimes in Mum suddenly. “Is he still in Las Vegas?”
“Elton John?” interrupts Suze shrilly, and we all jump. “ Gondolas? How can you all talk about Elton John and gondolas and Caesars Palace? This isn’t some little vacation we’re on! We’re not here to enjoy ourselves !”
Her eyes glitter
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