Page 4 of Sorry, Not Sorry

It was dark, and the autumn wind was biting. Delilah burrowed her chin into the thick woolly scarf wrapped around her neck and picked up her pace. She could almost taste the strong, steaming cup of tea she intended to brew as soon as she reached her sister’s house.

While keeping a wary eye on the pavement that was slick with wet leaves from the overhanging trees, she failed to notice the woman approaching from the other end of the street until she reached Salome’s front gate.

Several inches taller than Delilah’s petite five feet two inches, the woman appeared to be in her sixties and was elegantly dressed in a tailored camel-coloured coat, a matching fur-trimmed hat and knee-length black boots.

Caught unawares, Delilah could only stare at her in silence, painfully aware of her own scuffed leather jacket and striped football scarf.

‘Hi, Mrs West,’ Delilah said eventually, the steam from her warm breath curling up into the chilly evening air.

The woman returned the tentative greeting with a hostile glare, drawing in her breath sharply and flaring her nostrils as if outraged at being spoken to.

Without saying a word, Mrs West opened the gate to the adjoining front garden and closed it firmly behind her, marching up the path and into the house next door without looking back.

* * *

Delilah pushed her way into Salome’s house, almost knocking over the man holding the door open.

‘Whoa! Slow down, Del!’ He peered into the darkness for a few moments and then shut the door before turning to Delilah, who was unwinding her scarf and trying to catch her breath after running up the garden path.

‘What’s wrong? Were you being chased by a fox?’ There was a hint of humour beneath the concern.

Shaken by the encounter with Mrs West, Delilah kicked off her trainers and scowled at him.

‘Less of the sarcasm if you don’t mind – there really was a fox following me last week!

No, I just ran into that witch next door.

I said hello – because at least some of us have manners – and she looked at me like I was something she’d stepped in, and then totally ignored me.

Again . You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but – anyway, where’s Sal? ’

‘Hello to you, too. It’s lovely to see you, and, yes, I’m fine.’

‘Sorry, Farhan,’ Delilah mumbled sheepishly. Her brother-in-law was the most chilled man on the planet, but that was still no excuse for rudeness. Farhan smiled and nodded in the direction of the stairs.

‘She’s upstairs changing Arin if you want to give her a hand?’

‘Er, no thanks.’ Delilah grimaced, shrugging off her jacket.

‘You know dealing with dirty nappies is not my thing. What I do want, though, is a huge mug of tea.’ She hooked her jacket onto the coat rack and stamped her feet to get some warmth back into her frozen toes.

‘It’s seriously nippy out there and I’m parched. ’

Farhan shrugged. ‘Well, you know where the kitchen is. I’m in the study if anyone needs me. I’ve got to finish a report and send it out to my team before I can call it a day.’

‘You’re not still working, are you? It’s Friday night!’

Farhan had been working from home for almost three years and seemed to spend twice as much time on call as when he had gone into the office.

But Salome was happy to sacrifice her treasured dining room for her husband to use as an office in exchange for having him on hand to help with their two young children.

‘No choice, I’m afraid,’ he said. ‘We’ve just started a new project, and I’ve got to get a bunch of information to the folks in Mumbai before they start work on Monday morning. I’ll see you in a bit.’

Farhan disappeared into his office off the hall and Delilah stood at the bottom of the staircase and shouted, ‘Sal! I’m here!’

‘I’ll be down in a minute!’ came the reply.

Rubbing her chilled hands together, Delilah pulled up her thick socks and made her way to the kitchen.

As soon as she turned on the light, she relaxed into the comforting warmth of her favourite room in the house.

It was spacious with high ceilings and spotlessly clean appliances, and the crayoned drawings Blu-tacked onto the walls were an indication that Salome’s obsession for neatness was superseded only by her obsession with her children.

Delilah padded over the slate-tiled floor to the sink to fill the kettle and while she waited for the water to boil, she went to sit at the large pine dining table.

Her mind returned to the disturbing conversation she’d had with Polly earlier that afternoon with the persistence of a tongue probing a sore tooth.

The implied threat to her job had unnerved her enough to rush straight over to her sister’s for reassurance, and as if the fear of losing her job wasn’t enough, the universe had thrown her into the path of Mrs West. The woman clearly still hated her, despite Delilah’s efforts to make things right with her after?—

The click of the kettle roused her from her brooding, and she went to the cupboard, standing on tiptoe to retrieve her favourite mug and the large box of PG Tips Salome bought in especially for her.

She had just taken her first sip of hot tea when the door bounced open, and a little girl wearing a pair of Paddington Bear pyjamas and holding a teddy bear skipped into the kitchen.

‘Auntie Del! Auntie Del!’ she screeched, her silky dark curls bouncing around a chubby, pink-cheeked face as she rushed to Delilah.

‘Ma- ya !’ Delilah quickly put down her mug, splashing tea onto the spotless counter in the process, and opened her arms to scoop up the child, hugging her tightly and inhaling her sweet, just-bathed scent until the child wriggled away.

‘Now tell me the truth, Maya-moo! Have you grown taller since I saw you four days ago?’ Delilah crouched down until she was at eye level with the child and scrutinised her with a mock-serious expression.

‘No, Auntie Del! I’m still small,’ Maya replied, her giggle revealing a missing front tooth. Then her smile disappeared, and she waved her teddy bear in Delilah’s face. ‘Look – Arin chewed off Bertie’s ear. Mummy stopped him from swallowing it and she’s going to sew it back on when it’s dry again.’

‘Oh no, poor Bertie! That was naughty of Arin. Did you tell him we don’t eat bears, and we certainly don’t eat Bertie?’

Maya’s expression darkened. ‘I’ve told him he will be in big trouble if he does it again!’

Her niece’s temper was such that Delilah didn’t fancy Arin’s chances if he crossed his sister. But before she could comment, a dark-skinned woman in jeans and a knitted top walked into the kitchen carrying a toddler with the same chubby cheeks and silky curls as Maya.

‘Hi Sal.’ Delilah’s face lit up at the sight of her sister.

‘Hi hon, how’s it going?’ Salome greeted her with a weary smile. ‘Let me put the little man in his chair and give you a proper hug.’

In contrast to Delilah’s curvy build, Salome was tall and lean, although she had the same high cheekbones and thickly lashed brown eyes. She slipped the baby into the highchair at the table and strapped him in with practised ease before opening her arms to Delilah and crushing her into a hug.

‘Me too! Me too!’ Maya squealed, running over to grab them both by the legs.

‘ Salome! You are literally smothering me!’ Delilah protested, her voice muffled by the thick wool of her sister’s jumper.

Laughing, Salome released her and walked over to the cupboard, taking out a box of herbal tea. As she reached for the kettle, her eyes lasered onto the tea Delilah had spilt on the counter.

‘Honestly, Del, you are so messy!’ She tutted, immediately tearing off a strip of kitchen paper to wipe up the liquid.

Delilah rolled her eyes with exasperation. ‘And you are such a neat freak. Sal, it’s literally a drop of tea!’

Salome tossed the used tissue in the bin and reached for the kettle, giving it a gentle shake. ‘Is there enough water for another cup?’

‘Yes, and it just boiled a minute ago.’ Delilah walked over to the highchair and kissed the baby’s cheek, ruffling his soft curls gently.

‘Hi, Arin,’ she cooed sweetly.

Unmoved, Arin pursed his lips and stared back through huge unblinking brown eyes before sticking his thumb in his mouth.

‘Come on, sweetie, give your favourite auntie a smile. I’ve had a ton of stress today. I’ve already been given the fishy-eyed treatment from the Wicked Witch of the West, so please be nice to me.’

Salome had been pouring hot water onto a teabag, and she stopped and looked at Delilah with raised eyebrows. ‘You ran into her again ?’

‘Imagine! Second time in two weeks. I think the gods are punishing me.’

‘That’s so weird. I live next door, and I hardly see anything of her. Did she speak to you?’

‘What do you think?’ Delilah said derisively. ‘Nope. Just glared at me, as usual, and walked off.’

Salome steered a path around Maya, who was sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor behind Arin’s highchair, playing with Bertie, and set her mug on the table.

Pulling out a chair, she sat down while Delilah retrieved her cup of tea from the kitchen counter and came to sit across the table from her sister.

‘Honestly, Sal, she’s so rude !’ Delilah said moodily.

‘Who’s so rude?’

Farhan walked into the kitchen and strolled over to the fridge. Taking out a small bottle of water, he twisted off the cap and took a long sip before repeating his question with eyes bright with curiosity.

‘Your next-door neighbour,’ Delilah muttered. ‘I don’t know what the hell… Oops! ’ She caught herself and glanced guiltily towards Maya, who could be relied upon to repeat anything she heard. ‘I don’t know what I need to do for her to stop treating me like I’m some kind of serial killer.’

Farhan scoffed, and Salome shot him a warning look. ‘Never mind about Mrs West, Del. You sounded really upset when you called earlier. What’s going on? Is there a problem at work?’