Page 30 of Merrily Ever After
The bathroom door opened, making both women jump.
‘Quick,’ Emily hissed. ‘Hide behind the door!’
She bundled her mother out of sight and quickly shepherded her dad into his bedroom, where she’d already laid out some clothes for him. He stood in the middle of the floor looking dishevelled and disorientated. The front of his pyjama shirt was wet, so at least she knew he’d had a wash.
‘What’s going on?’ he said, narrowing his eyes.
Her heart thumped with nerves and for an awful moment she wondered if he’d overheard something. ‘Nothing,’ she replied smoothly, ‘you’re going to get dressed, that’s all.’
‘You remind me of my daughter,’ he grumbled. ‘She’s bossy too.’
‘Cheeky monkey,’ she said, slipping his dressing gown off his shoulders. She peered at his face, his jaw was still peppered with white bristles, some of them in long tufts. ‘Did you have a shave?’
He rubbed a hand over his chin. ‘I’ve had half a shave. Goodnight then.’ He pulled back the duvet on his bed.
‘It’s morning time, Dad, you’ve just had a wash and now we’re going for a walk.’
‘It’ll have to be a quick one,’ he grumbled, sitting down on the bed and taking off his slippers. ‘I’m going to work later.’
Outside the bedroom door, Emily heard a snort of laughter and prayed her dad hadn’t heard it too.
‘Can you manage getting dressed or shall I help?’ she said uneasily as he began to unbutton his pyjama shirt. She’d rather not see her dad’s dangly bits if she could help it.
‘Of course, I can, goodnight.’
‘Actually, Dad …’
It was another half an hour before Ray was ready to leave the house and Emily was exhausted.
‘Why don’t you pop upstairs to tell Julia where we’re going,’ she suggested.
Amazingly, he did so without question, which was a huge relief. Julia, of course, knew exactly what was going on. She had been an absolute trooper and had agreed to release Ray from the rest of his lease without a murmur. She was probably glad to see the back of him, Emily mused.It must have been a worry for her recently, having Ray as a neighbour.
Emily nipped back to check on her mum.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been inside your father’s drawers,’ she said, pulling out a pair of boxer shorts. ‘Mind you, I think I remember these.’
Emily winced. ‘Spare me the details. I’ve left a key to the flat and my car keys in the kitchen. Text me when it’s safe to come back.’
‘Will do. Good luck.’
‘I’m going to need it,’ said Emily with a sigh. ‘At the moment, he’s torn between going to work and heading back to bed.’
‘I had to laugh when he said he was going to work,’ Tina replied, rolling her eyes. ‘He was never very keen on earning a living when he and I were together.’
There was a clunking noise from the hallway.
‘Hello?’ Ray shouted. ‘Is someone in here? Come out or I’m calling the police.’
‘No need, it’s just me, Dad!’ Emily dashed back out to find him peering suspiciously into the hall from the doorway. ‘Right, come on, I want to show you all the Christmas trees at the bottom of the road. Would you like to see those?’
‘I can’t go out; I’m waiting for my daughter.’
‘And here I am! I’ve just arrived.’ Emily plastered on a smile and looped her arm through her father’s. It was going to be a very long morning. ‘Let’s go.’
Three hours later, Emily and Ray were standing side by side looking out of the window of his new one-bedroomed flat at Springwood House.
‘This is nice,’ he said. ‘I like a room with a view.’
