Page 22 of The Missus
The flat buzzer went. A minute later, she was among them. Alanna’s mother was absurdly glamourous, wearing very fancy clothes and a coifed silver bob. She looked like Alanna might look in thirty years if she got heavily into animal print and hairspray. ‘Darling, you look dreadful,’ she said by way of a greeting. ‘Is it the stress?’
‘What stress?’ Alanna asked.
‘Benjamin leaving you.’
‘I lefthim,’ Alanna corrected.
‘Oh, yes. Of course.’ She looked around and spotted Keira. ‘Oh. Hello.’
‘Hello, Mrs Hall,’ Keira greeted her.
‘It’s Mrs Lennox,’ the woman corrected.
‘Hall was four husbands ago, right, Mum?’ Alanna said, as though it was a joke, but it didn’t sound like a joke.
Mrs Lennox laughed humourlessly. ‘So, shall we get on with it?’
‘Get on with what? I presume you’re not helping me drag a bed out, Mum. Didn’t you bring someone with a van?’
‘No, not today. I’ll send someone later. I’m here for what can fit in the Benz.’
Alanna sighed.
‘What does Benjamin have?’ Mrs Lennox asked.
Alanna shook her head. ‘Nothing.’
‘He must havesomethings of yours,’ Mrs Lennox insisted.
‘He can keep whatever’s in the flat. Stuff is all he cares about anyway. Might as well let him enjoy it,’ Alanna shrugged.
‘Well, let’s just knock on and see what he might give you.’
‘What, Mum, no—’ Alanna said, horrified.
But Mrs Lennox was already opening the door, heading across the hall, and knocking on Benjamin’s door. Keira had a pretty good view of the scene from her living room.
‘Benjamin,’ Mrs Lennox said when the door opened, grabbing the guy in an embrace. Keira was rather shocked to see that. She hadn’t hugged her daughter, so what the hell was this?
Benjamin was confused but looked pleased to see his her. ‘Sandra, hi,’ he smiled.
‘I’m so sorry to have to do this to you, but I did wonder if you might have anything we need to take to my place? Knickknacks, flat screens, that sort of thing.’
‘Oh.’ He looked past Mrs Lennox into the opposite flat, making eye contact with Keira and then Alanna. ‘You guys didn’t work out?’ he smirked. Alanna looked down at the ground.
Keira was struck by the impulse to stride over to him and punch him in the throat. She was rather surprised by it. She was normally very good at remaining beyond other people’s dramas. But something about that guy truly rubbed her the wrong way. Looking at him right now, she could sort of see why Alanna had wanted to wipe the smile off his face however she could.
‘Right, well, I’d be happy to walk around with Alanna and talk through what she wants,’ Benjamin said with faux graciousness.
Alanna sighed. ‘Fine.’ She walked from one flat to the other, passing her mother. Mrs Lennox tried to join her. ‘You stay there,’ Alanna said firmly.
‘Oh!’ Mrs Lennox exclaimed, hand to her chest. The door closed on her, and she came back into Keira’s. ‘So kind of you to take my daughter in,’ she said. She obviously hadn’t read into Benjamin’s comment about not working out very deeply.
‘No trouble. Er, coffee?’ Keira asked.
‘Well, I only drink the freshly ground stuff,’ Mrs Lennox said haughtily.
‘I can do that.’
