Page 16 of One Month's Notice

“Hi, love.” Geoff pulled his daughter in for a crushing hug. “How are you?”

“I’m good, Dad.” Nat kissed him on the cheek, then checked him over. As always, he was wearing smart chinos and a checked shirt with the collar peeking out of a soft woollen jumper. “You’re looking really well.”

“Your mum has me on a special diet.” He patted his stomach. “I’m hoping she will let me off today because lunch is smelling delicious. Lucy! Simon! Come on, let’s get you all inside.”

Nat’s mouth watered as soon as she walked into the hallway. The familiar smell of her mum’s famous roast beef drifted out of the kitchen, tantalising the house with its rich and savoury aroma.

“Do you need anything doing, Mum?”

“You could help me with the vegetables. I’ll get your father to carve the meat in a little while, then we can serve.”

“Of course.” Nat followed her mum into the kitchen. She smiled as she was quickly reminded of the comforting routine of Sunday roast dinners. As expected, there was a glass of dry sherry on the side and a play on the radio to keep her mum company while she took her time preparing everything for the feast.

Nat rummaged around in the drawer and eventually pulled out a peeler and a small knife. As she began to scrape the skin from the carrots, she felt a slight pang of nostalgia for when she was younger and still lived at home. When the only stress in her life was passing her art exams and deciding what colour to paint her bedroom.

“Something on your mind?” Her mum’s voice cut through her thoughts and the steady rhythm of the peeler.

“I’m fine.” Nat dropped another layer of orange into the food waste bin. “It’s been lovely getting to spend so much time with Louis.”

“It’s so good of Simon to let you stay with him.” Anita took a large head of broccoli out of the fridge and handed it to Nat. “It’s such a shame you couldn’t work things out with Joe. He seemed like such a nice boy.”

Nat bristled at her mother’s words and she placed the broccoli roughly onto the chopping board, scattering tiny green florets across the surface.

“It wasn’t that I couldn’t work things out with Joe,” she said, her tone hardening. “It’s that he’d already moved on with somebody else. There was nothing to work out.”

“Still, maybe if you’d tried a little harder…” Anita’s voice trailed off when she saw the look on Nat’s face. “Well, anyway. There’s plenty more fish in the sea.”

They carried on preparing dinner in silence. The brief nostalgia Nat had felt before rapidly evaporating at the reminder of why she had been so keen to leave home at the first opportunity.

“How’s the new job going?” Anita smacked Geoff’s hand as he reached over to take another roast potato from the dish.

“It’s only been a week, but so far it’s OK.”

“What’s your boss like?”

“Yes, he’s fine.” Nat glanced over and spotted the silly grin on Lucy’s face. She kicked her under the table and looked away to avoid giggling. “He’s a little moody at times, and it’s not like I really have any other option. Those job offers weren’t flying into my lap. Hopefully, I won’t have long to wait until a design contract comes through and I can get my business back on track.”

Nat glared as Simon let out an involuntary grunt. The way he dismissed her career infuriated her. Just because he was a hot-shot high paid lawyer didn’t make him any better than her. Interior design was her passion and what made her happy, even if it didn’t always pay the bills. But she bit her tongue. She didn’t want to start an argument in front of their parents, and she was grateful for the fact he was letting her live with them.

“Well, it’s good you finally have a job.” Anita piled some extra vegetables onto Geoff’s plate. “And who knows what that might lead to? Working for a tech company sounds exciting!”

“I’m still looking for interior design work.” Nat struggled to keep her tone neutral.

“I’m just saying, maybe a change in career wouldn’t be such a bad idea?”

“Well, we’re behind you, whatever happens, sweetheart.” This time Geoff managed to swipe a final potato while Anita was distracted feeding Louis. He winked at Nat, before popping it in his mouth whole, wincing at the nuclear heat that hid within and forcing out quick breaths for the steam to escape. Nat shook her head at him, unable to hide a smile.

Anita took advantage of the lull in conversation, relishing the opportunity to update everyone on the latest village gossip. Nat nodded along politely, doing her best to keep up with the different names and how they related to each other. The plates emptied one by one as Anita worked her way through the sordid tales from what, to any outsider, appeared to be a picture-perfect slice of sleepy middle-class countryside heaven.

“I’ll start clearing the dishes away.” Nat stood up, relieved to have avoided any further discussion about her career, or lack of it.

“I’ll help you.” Lucy reached across to take Simon’s plate.

“How very 1950s housewife of us!” Nat winked at Lucy, who curtseyed in response.

“It’s OK,” Lucy said, interrupting Simon just as he was about to protest. “Simon is a very modern father and was just about to change Louis’ nappy, weren’t you?!” She rushed out before he could object, and Nat followed her into the kitchen.

As Nat brought through the last of the dishes, her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She pulled it out to unlock the screen and was surprised to see an email from her favourite university tutor from her last year of studying. They had kept in touch since Nat had graduated a few years ago and Sylvie was always keeping an eye out for new opportunities for her.

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