Best of Friends. Cathy Kelly
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Название: Best of Friends
Автор: Cathy Kelly
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
isbn: 9780007389315
isbn:
Abby flung the used teaspoon in the sink to join Tom’s dirty cup and plate. If he couldn’t be bothered to put things in the dishwasher, then neither would she. And when the house was a slum with no clean dishes and no clean clothes, perhaps then he’d cop on to how hard she worked.
Coming up Briar Lane, Jess realised that she hadn’t thought about the exams for at least an hour. Which was good, because when she did think about them, she got this weird ache in the back of her neck that crept up into her head and sort of bounced against her skull. Nothing made it go away except lying in the bath, and you couldn’t very well do that four times a day. But thinking about the animal refuge meant she hadn’t time to worry about the exams. Tonight would help too. She was helping Sally Richardson with the boys later, so that Sally could get ready for the party. Jess loved the relaxed atmosphere in the Richardsons’ house: there was always an air of laughter and good humour, not like at home.
A plastic bag of garden rubbish and a big gardening fork were sitting inside the gate when she got home but there was no sign of either Mum or Dad. Jess hoped she wouldn’t be roped into picking up leaves or anything. She hated gardening, apart from that time in science class, when they’d all grown shoots from a bean.
Her mother was standing in the kitchen, dressed in old clothes and reading a newspaper laid out on the counter top.
‘Oh, Mum, I met this amazing woman today who runs the animal rescue centre,’ Jess began enthusiastically. ‘She had this gorgeous puppy, Twiglet. Imagine, people dumped him and his brother in a refuse bag on a building site, but he’s fine now.’
Her mother didn’t respond, so Jess continued. ‘They’re trying to save the animal refuge because they don’t have enough money, and this woman said if I wanted to, I could volunteer to help out. They always need people to feed puppies and kittens, and to clean up.’ Jess felt a fresh surge of pride at the thought that this total stranger had trusted her enough to offer her a volunteer job. ‘I can do weekends.’
‘What about your exams?’ said Abby, unnecessarily sharp. As soon as she’d spoken, she regretted it. What did exams matter when this animal refuge had brought a smile to her daughter’s face for the first time in months.
But the shutters had already come down and Jess assumed the blank mantle of teenage indifference.
‘Whatever,’ she said, turning towards the door. ‘Forget it.’
‘I didn’t mean it to sound like that,’ Abby said but Jess was gone. Within seconds, she heard the thump of Jess’s boots on the stairs and then the slamming of her door.
Abby gave up on the notion that if she read the papers standing up then she wouldn’t get too comfortable to return to the wilderness that was the garden. She pulled out a chair and slumped down on it. She felt she was a failure – a failure at motherhood. If she was a failure at being a wife, then Tom had to shoulder a large percentage of the blame. But failing at being a good mother was all her own work.
Abby felt a huge desire to go upstairs, climb into bed and pull the covers over her head. But she couldn’t. She had to finish the garden and go to the party. Sally had asked Jess to keep an eye on the boys, so the whole Barton clan would be there trying to pretend that they were playing happy families. Abby wistfully remembered when they had been a happy family for real.
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