I am doing something tonight that I haven’t done in a long, long time – I am sharing a bed with my mother.
‘This is fun,’ Viv says. ‘Just like old times.’
My nightie-clad mum climbs into the double bed next to me because, it turns out, after promising my mum she could have the bed, I am just that little bit too long to sleep on the sofa. My mum insisted I share with her, that I used to do it all the time when I was younger. Between my ex sleeping in my driveway and my mum sleeping in my bed, I’m not sure I could do more to put Alfie off if I tried – not that I’ve heard from him.
‘It’s not awkward at all,’ she insists.
‘Actually, there is one elephant in the room,’ I start. ‘Why on earth did you bring Nathan here? Without telling me?’
‘I thought it might be a nice surprise,’ she says brightly.
‘You didn’t though, did you? You know I hate surprises.’
My mum’s smile drops.
‘I guess I just thought that…raising a child is hard work as it is, and here you are, struggling, trying to do everything alone. And I’m not saying that you’re not doing a great job with Frankie, because you are, but if I have one regret, it’s that you never had a dad in your life. So when Nathan showed up at my door, asking for you, it seemed like fate – so I brought him with me.’
‘I understand why you did what you did,’ I assure her. ‘But I’m not sure it was the right thing to do. It sounds to me like he ran out of money and had nowhere to go, so he thought he’d come here and sponge off us.’
‘That may be the case,’ Viv replies. ‘But now that he’s met Frankie, how could he not be head over heels in love with him? Even if his intentions were wrong, he might make things right now. Can you imagine, if he mans up, steps up, and makes a life for himself here?’
‘I can,’ I say.
I try and imagine a life where Frankie and I live here, happily, with Nathan just down the road somewhere, always around, always in our business. Suddenly thinking he’s a part of our lives and that he can tell me how to raise my son – and all the while scaring off any man who even looks at me.
Having Nathan around really is the last thing I want but I have to put my son first. And maybe my mum is right, maybe this will be just what he needs to step up and be a real dad.
‘So, how’s the deli going?’ my mum asks. ‘Ha, look at us, we’re like an old married couple, tucked up in bed early, asking each other how our days have been.’
‘Early? Viv, it’s 10. 30 p.m.’
‘On a Tuesday,’ she points out. ‘I have singles salsa on a Tuesday.’
How could I forget that my mum goes to singles salsa? ‘Psychological repression’ is what they call it, I think.
‘The deli isn’t going all that well. It’s pretty much ready, from a construction point of view, and it’s looking amazing. But we’re still waiting on the liquor licence – I think the locals kicked up a fuss there, as a means to stop us from opening. And I still need to name the damn thing, not that there’s going to be much point if it doesn’t open.’
‘Do you have any ideas?’
‘Run away, change my identity and start my life again,’ I suggest.
My mum laughs.
‘I meant for the name.’
‘Oh. No, nothing yet. I wanted something that would honour the town, maybe, not that they’d appreciate it.’
My mum thinks for a moment.
‘What about Deli-cious?’ she suggests. ‘Like delicious, but with emphasis on the deli part.’
‘I like the pun, but I don’t know if the locals will. Then again, they have a jam shop called Fruitopia.’
My mum snorts.
‘That’s fantastic,’ she says. ‘I’ll have to visit tomorrow, pick some up for breakfast. Do vegans eat jam?’
‘Vegans are no trouble – Nathan is a nightmare. I remember everything he ate would be preceded by a ten-question form, ensuring it was vegan friendly, Fairtrade and whether or not the person who grew the apple was in a good mood when he picked it.’
She laughs.
‘I really did think I was doing the right thing, bringing him here. I thought a male influence would do Frankie good. I didn’t realise you and Alfie were so close.’
‘Were being the operative word in that sentence. I haven’t heard from him since earlier.’
‘I went for a cup of tea with him,’ my mum says. She bites her lip theatrically.
‘Oh, God, Mum please don’t.’
‘I’m teasing, relax,’ she laughs. ‘It’s not that he’s too young for me, but you did see him first. We don’t want another David Dixon on our hands, do we?’
Oh God, I’m never going to live that one down. David Dixon is one of the few people I dated after Frankie was born and, for once, I actually felt like our first date went well. For our second, however, he offered to cook me dinner at his house. My mum and Frankie dropped me off, only for her car to break down outside. When she texted me to tell me that’s why they were still parked outside, I read her message out loud and David insisted I invited them in for some dinner. I was taken aback – not only was he on board with me having a kid, but he wanted to cook him and my mum dinner on our second date. I should have known he was too good to be true then. David spent the entire night flirting with my mum, right in front of my face. For me, that was enough to put me off the guy, but – and you’re not going to believe this – he has kept in touch with my mum. I was the one he dated briefly, and yet he kept in touch with her. They still exchange birthday and Christmas presents, which I find entirely weird. My mum assures me nothing romantic happened between them – I don’t care if it did, I just don’t want to think about it.
‘Alfie was supposed to be helping me with the deli, well, changing public opinion of the deli, but I don’t suppose he’ll want to be around me now, not after what happened today.’
‘He seems like a lovely person, don’t write him off just yet.’
I smile. We’ll see.
‘Well, I spoke to my bosses earlier and they said that, in the short term, there’s not much I can do, not until they figure the licence issue out, so I’ve got some free time to spend with you and Frankie.’
‘Oh, lovely,’ she replies. ‘You can show us the sights. Nathan too, I suppose.’
‘Yay,’ I say sarcastically. ‘Like one, big, happy family.’