Although she’d defrosted the mince in preparation, she strongly doubted her sister would be able to transform it into anything her nieces and nephew would consider edible. Especially given her apparent predilection for hommus and whipped cream.
Jill paused with the chip halfway to her mouth and felt a surge of guilt. Then she looked around and let the tranquillity wash away the guilt and replace it with a sense of righteousness. She deserved this, she really did. And most probably she was worrying herself about nothing. More than likely they were enjoying themselves hugely with their aunt, and having a wonderful meal to boot. Maybe even something they would never dream of trying if she cooked it, but because it was Aunt Emily, they would give it a try and finish every scrap. They’d probably barely even notice she was gone. Yes, no doubt they’d be fine. Just fine.
CHAPTER THREE
Emily
‘I want Mummy !’
‘Um, what is this?’
‘Do we have to eat it?’
‘What about if I vomit in it?’ Kate asked sweetly, gazing at her aunt through a stiff, dark fringe that almost covered her eyes.
‘Why? Are you sick?’ Emily looked across at Kate with concern but, as she did so, everybody else at the table chortled as if she had just made a joke. Emily glanced at each of them in turn: Matt, tall and big-boned like his father but with his blond hair shaggy and desperately in need of – well, something ; Kate, dressed entirely in black and with a short, spiky hairstyle that would, if she ever bent down near an oversexed echidna, mean serious trouble; Megan, looking overgrown and scholarly in her school uniform and making the other two seem even more ragged; Cricket, perched on a chair insert, her brown eyes alternating between filthy looks at the food, and filthy looks at Emily. This was already shaping up to be not quite what Emily had in mind, especially as what she had had in mind involved four neat, well-mannered children scattered around the table eating her food and sharing snippets of theirlives with each other whilst she looked on benignly and scattered pearls of wisdom amongst them every so often.
‘Maybe I am sick.’ Kate pushed the mince around her plate with a fork and then looked at her aunt enquiringly. ‘So I’d better leave this. In case I do vomit, you know?’
‘Looks like you already have.’ Matt pushed his plate away and stood up, wiping his fingers on his windcheater. The waistband of his baggy, oversized jeans immediately settled at a point around his lower hips, which left the ragged hems dragging across the floor. ‘Sorry, Aunt Em, can’t possibly finish – already ate at a friend’s. Thanks, though, it was, um, delicious.’
‘Me too,’ said Megan, laying her cutlery neatly across the centre of her plate before smiling apologetically at her aunt. ‘Maybe it’s because we usually, like, eat at about six. And now it’s nearly seven, so we’re sort of past it, if you know what I mean?’
‘Cwap,’ said Cricket shortly, pushing her food around with a blue plastic spoon shaped like an aeroplane.
‘ What did she say?’ Emily regarded her niece with puzzlement and then looked over at the other three. ‘Did she say what I thought she said?’
‘Probably.’ Megan played idly with a selection of silver bangles on her right wrist as she frowned at her youngest sister. ‘She’s got a mouth like a sewer.’
‘Well, in this case she’s right.’ Emily stood up and, to the stunned silence of her dinner companions, started gathering plates. ‘It is crap. Sorry, guys, I’ve never done anything with minced stuff before. How do fish and chips sound?’
‘Cool.’
‘Yummy!’
‘Excellent!’ chimed in Megan, obviously forgetting that she was ‘past’ eating. ‘We totally love fish and chips!’
‘Okay, let’s get organised. Matt, get some money out of mypurse and go grab some fish and chips. Megan, you can help me clean up. Kate, ah – you guys have a dog, don’t
Jill paused with the chip halfway to her mouth and felt a surge of guilt. Then she looked around and let the tranquillity wash away the guilt and replace it with a sense of righteousness. She deserved this, she really did. And most probably she was worrying herself about nothing. More than likely they were enjoying themselves hugely with their aunt, and having a wonderful meal to boot. Maybe even something they would never dream of trying if she cooked it, but because it was Aunt Emily, they would give it a try and finish every scrap. They’d probably barely even notice she was gone. Yes, no doubt they’d be fine. Just fine.
CHAPTER THREE
Emily
‘I want Mummy !’
‘Um, what is this?’
‘Do we have to eat it?’
‘What about if I vomit in it?’ Kate asked sweetly, gazing at her aunt through a stiff, dark fringe that almost covered her eyes.
‘Why? Are you sick?’ Emily looked across at Kate with concern but, as she did so, everybody else at the table chortled as if she had just made a joke. Emily glanced at each of them in turn: Matt, tall and big-boned like his father but with his blond hair shaggy and desperately in need of – well, something ; Kate, dressed entirely in black and with a short, spiky hairstyle that would, if she ever bent down near an oversexed echidna, mean serious trouble; Megan, looking overgrown and scholarly in her school uniform and making the other two seem even more ragged; Cricket, perched on a chair insert, her brown eyes alternating between filthy looks at the food, and filthy looks at Emily. This was already shaping up to be not quite what Emily had in mind, especially as what she had had in mind involved four neat, well-mannered children scattered around the table eating her food and sharing snippets of theirlives with each other whilst she looked on benignly and scattered pearls of wisdom amongst them every so often.
‘Maybe I am sick.’ Kate pushed the mince around her plate with a fork and then looked at her aunt enquiringly. ‘So I’d better leave this. In case I do vomit, you know?’
‘Looks like you already have.’ Matt pushed his plate away and stood up, wiping his fingers on his windcheater. The waistband of his baggy, oversized jeans immediately settled at a point around his lower hips, which left the ragged hems dragging across the floor. ‘Sorry, Aunt Em, can’t possibly finish – already ate at a friend’s. Thanks, though, it was, um, delicious.’
‘Me too,’ said Megan, laying her cutlery neatly across the centre of her plate before smiling apologetically at her aunt. ‘Maybe it’s because we usually, like, eat at about six. And now it’s nearly seven, so we’re sort of past it, if you know what I mean?’
‘Cwap,’ said Cricket shortly, pushing her food around with a blue plastic spoon shaped like an aeroplane.
‘ What did she say?’ Emily regarded her niece with puzzlement and then looked over at the other three. ‘Did she say what I thought she said?’
‘Probably.’ Megan played idly with a selection of silver bangles on her right wrist as she frowned at her youngest sister. ‘She’s got a mouth like a sewer.’
‘Well, in this case she’s right.’ Emily stood up and, to the stunned silence of her dinner companions, started gathering plates. ‘It is crap. Sorry, guys, I’ve never done anything with minced stuff before. How do fish and chips sound?’
‘Cool.’
‘Yummy!’
‘Excellent!’ chimed in Megan, obviously forgetting that she was ‘past’ eating. ‘We totally love fish and chips!’
‘Okay, let’s get organised. Matt, get some money out of mypurse and go grab some fish and chips. Megan, you can help me clean up. Kate, ah – you guys have a dog, don’t
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