‘Hi,’ said Felix, ‘look we got off on the wrong foot.’
‘Twice,’ stated Charlie with a bored, slow blink.
‘Yeah, sorry. Everything feels like such a mess, I wondered if we could have a chat. Just you and me.’
‘Is this so you can give me my notice?’
Felix chuckled, ‘No, suspicious Londoner. I want to talk to you about the kids. I think you’re a moody cow but I also think you know them the best.’
At least he was honest, thought Charlie. ‘Wait there.’ She left Ted in charge, grabbed her umbrella and met Felix on the doorstep. ‘Posh coffee?’
‘Yeah, sounds good,’ he said.
‘You’re paying,’ smiled Charlie as she led the way.
The coffee shop was busy and they stood awkwardly in silence in the queue next to each other and gave their orders separately. They found a small table shoved into a corner and settled down. Felix looked around.
‘So many miserable people,’ he said. ‘Do you think it’s the weather that makes them like that?’
‘It’s summer.’
‘Not so as you’d notice. It’s raining most of the time.’
Charlie looked at him. ‘Are you not a fan of London?’
‘Hate it. It’s cold, wet, there’s too much traffic, it’s noisy, nothing feels clean, nothing is clean and nobody cares about anyone else.’
‘Definitely not a fan, then,’ she sipped her coffee. ‘Thanks for this,’ she said, raising her mug.
‘And everything is ludicrously expensive,’ he said, with a broad smile.
They sipped drinks and glanced at each other for a minute or so and Charlie felt her cheeks colour up. What was that all about?
‘We need to talk about the kids,’ said Felix at last. ‘I don’t think there is anyone who can be the kind of guardian that Tobes and Helen would have wanted. You know, someone in the family who could love the children like their own.’
Charlie swallowed hard. It wasn’t meant to be but it felt like a blow to her relationship with them.
‘What about Roger?’ she suggested. ‘He’s their grandfather and he wouldn’t actually have to do anything.’
‘He’s a bit of a long shot, being elderly, and wasn’t he a bit unsteady on his feet?’
‘He’s got arthritis. He’s in a nursing home.’
Felix shrugged and fiddled with the handle of his mug. ‘He wouldn’t be very involved, so I don’t know what Social Services would say about that. Or the solicitors, as it was me and Ruth who were named in the will.’
Charlie knew the odds were stacking up against Roger. ‘I’m not saying he’s a great option but he could be an option.’
‘So is Ruth. She’s keen to make sure the children have a financially secure future, but she’s not the mothering type.’
‘That’s an understatement,’ said Charlie and they both smiled at each other and held eye contact. ‘So that leaves you,’ said Charlie, and she knew she looked like a puppy as she eyed him hopefully.
Felix blinked and broke the intensity. ‘I am the last thing those kids need.’
‘But you don’t have to actually do anything. I would look after them…’
‘That’s not what their parents would have wanted.’
‘Then stump up!’ said Charlie, sounding crosser than she intended. Felix looked taken aback. Charlie tried to relax the situation with a smile. ‘What I mean is…’ she thought for a moment, this was tricky because stump up was exactly what she meant. ‘Nobody is ever going to replace their parents. They just need someone to love them. You could do that.’
Felix stood up abruptly, bumping into the table and knocking over what was left of Charlie’s coffee. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said waving at the coffee. ‘I’ll be in touch.’ He squeezed his way out of the coffee shop repeatedly saying ‘excuse me’ as he went and repeatedly he was ignored.
On Monday morning, Charlie sat on the floor of the living room, her ear getting quite soggy from the prolonged closeness of the telephone. She had been listening to Fleur for the last fifty-two minutes and if she didn’t manage to get her off the phone soon she wouldn’t have time to put the vacuum cleaner round before the lady from Social Services arrived. She probably didn’t need to do it as the cleaning company did the house every Wednesday but, what with Wriggly, who did so love to get on the sofas and roll around on the carpet, Charlie was keen to make sure that everything looked in place. And Charlie thought that fifty-two minutes of being conciliatory was enough for her blunder. Thankfully, Fleur had quickly forgiven Charlie for not telling her about Rob’s infidelity as she was far too busy directing all her venom at Rob.
Charlie tuned back to what Fleur was saying.
‘I think Ma is secretly pleased. She won’t admit it, but she hadn’t really taken to him.’ Fleur had now followed her mother’s lead and taken to avoiding using Rob’s name and instead he was either referred to as ‘him’, ‘Rob the Knob’ or Charlie’s personal favourite and all her own work, the ‘bridegloom’.
‘Like all of us you want someone who will make you happy, Fleur, and Knob simply wasn’t the man for the job.’
‘But I loved him, Charlie.’ Fleur’s voice faltered. Charlie couldn’t endure another round of tears. There simply wasn’t time.
‘He didn’t deserve you. Look, Fleur, what you need is a duvet day with a bunch of rubbish films. Shall I come round later?’
‘No, thank you. I’m okay. But lunch somewhere special on Wednesday or Thursday might be nice.’
‘Okay, let’s do that. Text me.’
‘Will do. And when we meet I’ll give you the details of Pa’s friend, whose nanny is about to go on maternity leave. Pa’s already put a good word in for you so I think the job’s yours. Bye.’
With relief, Charlie put the phone down. Her head was swimming. Should she be thinking about looking for a new job? Perhaps it was foolish to think that whoever became the children’s guardian would want to keep her on. It was a huge assumption. In which case there would no longer be a role for her to play. The trouble was that although Fleur’s suggestion made absolute sense Charlie couldn’t deal with the amount of emotion her thoughts were stirring up. Right now she didn’t want anything else to change, so she would stick her head in the sand – or in this case, the cupboard – and carry on.
She was tugging the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard when she heard the doorbell go. Surely that couldn’t be the social worker? If it was they were twenty minutes early. Charlie pushed the cleaner back in and ran up to the front door. Sure enough, there, on the doorstep, was a petite woman with an insipid smile and very floral clothes. She was most
