Page 40 of Atticus Arnott's Great Adventure
Jake laughed and smiled again as he saw#VWCamperand#WinnietheWestie– even his cousin Maeve had reshared the images and started to follow the account. The surprise he’d felt calmed into joy as Jake devoured comments from the new followers.
‘Living your best life!’@oldbeforemytime
‘This boomer knows best!’@BoomersAreBest
‘Grandpa’s snaps are hotter than the sun.’@sweet73
‘This is how retirement is really done!’@69andholding
‘Age is just a number!’@ageisjustanumber100
‘Warning: This influencer may cause severe envy.’@IwishIWasYou
‘Influencer?’ Jake stared at the messages. ‘Grandad is a hero!’ He began to laugh again. His grandfather, @thetravellinggrandad, had achieved in forty-eight hours something Maeve had spent the last two years trying to accomplish.
‘Are you still there?’ Arthur asked.
‘Yes, sorry, but I’m going to go because I want to call Aunty Mary,’ Jake said.
‘Do we need to call your Grandad?’
Jake could hear Arthur gulp the last of his pint.
‘No, I don’t think so. It’s doubtful that he’ll even answer his phone.’
‘Why is that?’ Arthur sounded curious.
‘By the look of things, he’s having far too much fun.’
Chapter Sixteen
At Belvedere House, the Murphy family was running late. Finn, unhappy to be left at home with his younger brother and under the care of a babysitter, whined that it wasn’t fair that he couldn’t join Mary and Conor at the pub.
‘But we always come out with you,’ Finn said petulantly, kicking the end of the bed in Mary and Conor’s bedroom while Mary tried to get into her jeans.
‘Exactly,’ Mary puffed as she sucked in her stomach and held her breath, easing the zip into place. ‘You and your brother and sisters arealwayswith us, and your dad and I want an evening on our own.’
‘I hate you,’ Finn mumbled, crossing his arms and scowling as he shuffled across the room. At the door, he paused, then turned and stuck out his tongue.
‘Finn Murphy!’ Mary yelled and swept out her arm, but the boy had slammed the door and disappeared before she had timeto catch him.
‘Kids,’ Mary sighed. ‘I’m ready to throttle the lot of them.’
Knowing that he would be left behind too, Declan had refused to eat his tea earlier that evening.
‘Don’t like it,’ he whinged and poked at his favourite chicken nuggets with a finger.
When Mary told him that if he didn’t want to eat, she’d take his tea away, Declan’s tears began dramatically, streaming down his face until he started to scream, throwing his teddy across the room. At that moment, Conor entered the kitchen, returning from the golf club. Witnessing all hell breaking out and ducking to avoid the teddy, he did a U-turn. Caitlin, too, had refused to eat, stating that she’d have a takeaway later with the allotment committee.
Maeve pulled a face, and Mary heard her berate her sister: ‘Takeaway? I don’t know how you can indulge in a greasy, calorie-laden concoction dripping with fat and sodium.’
Mary thought the comment was a bit catty, coming from someone who’d just devoured salad leaves and quinoa and was edging longingly towards the biscuit tin. A large tikka masala would work wonders for Maeve’s diet.
‘And I don’t know how you can eat like a rabbit,’ Caitlin snapped back. ‘Plant-based food is hardly human.’
‘Girls, will you stop squabbling and get ready, or we’ll all be late.’ Mary cleared the table and, reaching into the freezer, handed red-eyed Declan an ice cream. Anything to stop him from crying and allow her to get ready.
Now, as she fluffed out her hairand applied a coat of glossy lipstick, Mary studied her reflection. The jeans were a little tight, but they gave her bum a lift, and the pretty lacy top with a low neck flattered her cleavage and hid her tum.Not bad!she thought.
