The Watchful Neighbour - Debbie Viggiano Page 0,12

starts and it continued to present moments that added to her feelings of disharmony.

Her mother rang mid-morning. Fortunately, the call coincided with Jade’s tea break. Personal calls were frowned upon by her employer unless it was an emergency. Not wishing to be overheard, Jade stepped out of the back room into an outside staff area. It was cold and starting to drizzle.

‘Hello, yes?’ Jade instantly regretted her curt manner and tried adopting a kinder tone. ‘Sorry, Mum. It’s tricky speaking when I’m at work.’

‘Apologies, darling, I won’t keep you too long,’ said Ginnie Ferguson. ‘Dad and I just wondered how your first night was in the new house.’

‘Fine.’

‘Good,’ Ginnie chirped. ‘So when are you going to let us see your new abode?’

Jade hated the way her mother said abode. Somehow it conjured up a picture of a cute little cottage with a cosy wood-burner full of crackling logs, rather than a drab Victorian terrace with a hideous electric fire.

‘You’re not missing anything.’

The heavens were really starting to open. A second later and the rain was tanking down. Jade moved back under the exit door’s canopy, seeking shelter.

‘Can Daddy and I come over tonight and see the house?’ asked Ginnie.

‘Not yet, Mum. I’m still getting straight.’

This was a lie. Jade liked order in her life. Her belongings had been dealt with immediately and her suitcase was now neatly stowed under the bed. The house had been let to her fully furnished. She hadn’t even needed to buy plates or utensils. Everything had been provided and everything was in its place. Just as Jade liked it. There could be no disorder.

‘Perhaps Daddy and I could give you a hand?’

‘I’d rather do it myself. But thanks,’ she added, not wishing to sound ungracious.

‘Okay, well, what about you come over to us for dinner tonight and give yourself a break?’

Jade was silent for a moment as her mind sought an excuse. Perhaps she could say that one of the neighbours had invited her over for a glass of wine and some girly bonding? Almost immediately Jade dismissed the idea. It would give her mother the impression that Jade was making friends, and then Ginnie would ask twenty questions about a fictitious neighbour, the answers of which Jade wouldn’t know and couldn’t be bothered to fabricate.

For a fleeting second Jade wondered whether to say she had a date, but then scrapped the notion. She didn’t want her mother jumping to incorrect romantic conclusions. The last thing Jade wanted was six million questions about a fake boyfriend’s age, where he worked, and if he had good prospects. In other words, whether he was “a catch”.

‘Are you still there, darling?’

‘Yes, sorry. I think it’s a poor signal.’

‘I could cook your favourite dinner,’ said Ginnie, adopting a wheedling tone.

Jade wasn’t even sure she had a favourite meal. She simply ate to live. Food was a means to an end. She didn’t take any pleasure from it.

‘Chicken roast,’ Ginnie prompted. ‘You always loved it when you were a little girl.’

Jade felt a flash of irritation. For God’s sake, she was twenty-eight, not eight.

‘Yeah, fine,’ said Jade with a shrug.

She had a sudden flashback to all the roast chicken meals her mother had cooked over the years. It was always the same formula: Ginnie slaving away in the kitchen, her cheeks red from the heat of the oven as she basted a chicken. On the hob there were pots and pans full of simmering veg, their lids rattling as water spat across the burners. Ginnie always boiled the nutrition out of the vegetables.

Jade realised that she probably sounded churlish. Cooking a roast dinner wasn’t a five-minute job. When she next spoke, she ensured there was a smile in her voice.

‘That would be lovely, Mummy.’

She hated calling her mother Mummy. It sounded so infantile. But Jade knew Ginnie Ferguson would be giddy with delight at the term and thrilled that her daughter was showing a sweeter side. After all, her mother had experienced a tough time dealing with the old Jade. That girl had been silent with a head stuffed full of dark thoughts.

‘Wonderful, darling. Daddy will be delighted too. Shall we see you about, say, sevenish?’

‘Okay.’

Jade ended the call. She wouldn’t go straight from work to her parents’ place. She would go home and change into something more comfortable. More importantly, she wanted to be sure that Puddles was indoors, safe and sound, before heading off for a few hours.

She hadn’t really wanted Puddles exploring the outdoors. Not so early