Page 72 of Friend of the Family

‘Yeah, yeah, I know. Amy.’ She pulled a face. ‘Maybe we should agree not to tell anyone where we were.’

David held out a hand. ‘Like a pact.’

She shook it. ‘Our secret, yeah? Something to remember the night by.’

He nodded. ‘Oh I think I’m going to remember this night for a long, long time.’

Chapter 21

Present day

David put his bag down in the hallway and didn’t look at Amy as he took off his coat.

Amy was glad. She didn’t want to talk to him either. It had been awkward enough on the plane journey home – both of them directing all conversation at Tilly, who had loved the attention and hadn’t felt the atmosphere prickle between her parents, even though Amy and David had been acutely aware of it.

But now, away from the check-in queues and the squashed aeroplane seats, where it was easy to put your nose in the in-flight magazine, Amy was going to have to face up to the fact that she didn’t want to be with him in the same room. Didn’t want him to touch her, or come near her. If it wasn’t for Tilly, she’d have checked into a local hotel, but there was no way of getting round this – she would have to go through it.

‘Tills, it’s time for you to go to bed,’ she said, scooping her daughter up in her arms and breathing in her soft smell for just one moment.

‘But I don’t want the holiday to be over,’ said Tilly, wriggling to get free.

Amy almost laughed at the irony of her daughter’s remark. She could feel David looking at her but kept her own gaze fixed away from him.

‘It’s late, honey. Give Daddy a kiss goodnight and I’ll come upstairs and read you a story.’

They were all hot and sticky but Amy couldn’t be bothered putting Tilly in the bath. Instead she took her Frozen pyjamas out of her drawer and told her to brush her teeth. She sat on the edge of her daughter’s bed, feeling momentarily soothed by the surroundings of Tilly’s room: the soft moon-shaped night light over the headboard, the rainbow-coloured pile of soft toys, all of whom had a name and, according to Tilly, a personality, the framed drawings on the walls, the glittery princess costume and pink fleece dressing gown on the back of the door. They were heartbreaking in their innocence, a reminder of the reassuringly happy home they’d had before Josie had come into their lives.

Tilly ran back into the room, a white ring of toothpaste still around her mouth, and climbed under the duvet.

‘Is Josie going to be our nanny now?’ she said, looking at Amy wide-eyed in the low light.

‘No, sweetheart. Claudia is coming back soon.’

‘I like Claudia, but I like Josie too.’

‘Josie was just helping out.’

‘I’m tired,’ said Tilly suddenly.

‘No story?’ said Amy, stroking her forehead.

‘Tomorrow,’ Tilly said, her eyes already wilting.

Amy closed the door and paused at the top of the stairs. For a moment she felt dizzy. It was a long way down and she didn’t want to go. She could hear the gurgling sound of the coffee machine, which meant David wanted to talk. She put one foot in front of the other, knowing that she had to confront him sometime.

He was sitting at the breakfast bar pretending to read a copy of The Economist.

‘That was quick.’

‘She was exhausted.’ Amy took the mug of coffee that was on the worktop.

‘Have you spoken to Claudia yet?’ he said after an awkward pause.

‘A couple of days ago,’ she said, hearing the crispness in her voice. ‘She’s signed off work for another two weeks. I don’t suppose the situation has changed since then, but I can ask.’

David closed his magazine. ‘What are we going to do? I’ve got to go to Hong Kong on Tuesday, and you’ve got the shows.’

‘Hong Kong?’