Page 18 of When We Are Old

But of course, to Hannah, Matthew was just some guy. A man who turned up just over a week ago and turned our small world upside down.

Still, a week-and-a-half ago, Hannah and I wouldn’t have been talking. She’d have been in her room and I would have been downstairs cursing my pathetic life.

Things had changed.

“Ange lied, Hannah. Lying is never good.”

“But, Mum, she looked so lonely and lost.”

That ping flicked my chest again. “I’ll call her.” Next week. “Now. Have you got homework to do?”

“No, Annabelle and I did it yesterday while you were gallivanting.” She smirked a smile. Let it be known it leant heavily towards a smirk, but not enough that I could tell her off.

“Okay. It’s late, and I’m knackered. Shall we call it a night and we can talk more tomorrow if you like?”

“Is this where you try to tell me that life isn’t going to change and I don’t need to worry about it?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“It’s okay, Mum. Zoe’s mum got a new boyfriend. I know what happens.”

“What happens?” I asked her, hands on my hips.

I could really do with someone telling me.

“First you lose loads of weight and you employ a babysitter on a full-time basis. Then once you are super skinny despite going out to eat all the time, you’ll bring this Matthew guy home and move him in and expect us to be a happy family forever.”

“Well that’s not true. I’d never force it on you.” I paused. “How skinny exactly?”

A sly smile slipped over her face. “Night, Mum.” She got up and came close and I realised a beat too late she wanted a hug.

“Oh.” I oophed the word as I squeezed her in my arms.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” With my hands on her shoulders I pushed her back so I could maintain eye contact. “I promise you, Hannah. I’m not rushing anything. You can ask however many questions you want, ask anything you like. If you aren’t sure or comfortable then we stop and talk it through, okay?”

“You’re happy though, right?”

My soul flickered within me, dancing to its own tune, a Scottish reel. “Yeah. I think so. I never thought this would happen.”

“Then I’m happy. It will all work out.”

“It will.” I meant it. One hundred percent.

“Night, Mum.”

I watched her up the stairs and then debated whether to wait up to speak to Ma. I should tell her where I’d been, should find out what she was going on about when she said she was moving to a place with a wet room.

Discussions definitely needed to take place.

Then my phone rang, and I dove for my handbag, grabbing it out from the bottom with a little boom in my heart as Matthew’s face flashed on the screen with an incoming Messenger call.

“Hi,” I gushed.

“You made it home okay?”

I unravelled at the major and minors. “Yes, yes.” God, I sounded like I’d run a marathon smoking a packet of Marlborough Lights. “Yeah, sorry, I was just talking to Hannah.”