says Nicola. ‘Whose are them feet?’
Two fluffy heels stick out of the end of the bed: Jim’s stupid pink socks.
‘Mummy, who’s that?’
It’s a man with his hand between my legs, she thinks, trying to get his head out of my top. Jim moves his hand. She almost squeals. He lets his forehead drop onto her belly and she can tell he is giggling. Nicola is still looking at her, twirling from side to side. Bugger, bugger, bugger. Jim’s head appears, his shoulders. His arm shoots out.
‘Found it,’ he says. ‘My watch.’
She meets his eye, sees mischief. ‘Oh good. Thanks heavens for that, eh.’ She turns to her daughter. ‘This is Tommy’s cousin Jim.’
Jim smiles and rolls out from under the covers. Thank God he is dressed. ‘Hello,’ he says, grinning quite naturally. ‘You must be Nicola.’
‘Hello.’ Nicola looks at them both for a long while. ‘Were you doing sex?’
If there’d been tea left to spit, she would have hit the wardrobe with the spray. ‘Don’t be silly.’ Her mind flails. ‘Jim’s Tommy’s cousin.’ Oh, she’s just said that, and it’s not like it explains anything. ‘He had to sleep in the lounge, what with us having no spare room yet, and he just brought me a cuppa and then he lost his watch.’ She straightens her back. ‘Anyway, miss, what do you mean, sex?’
Jim is by the window. He snorts into his tea and takes a gulp.
‘OK to drink now, is it?’ she says under her breath.
‘Just right.’
‘Come on,’ she says to Nicola, bolder. ‘What do you mean, missy?’
Nicola sways from side to side, smacks her lips and looks at the floor. When she finally speaks, it’s with her bottom teeth hooked over her top lip.
‘It’s when you kiss and cuddle and stuff.’
‘Is it now?’ Carol stands up and puts her cardigan around her shoulders.
‘Jim’s Tommy’s cousin.’ Bugger. Change the record, Carol. ‘He’s brought us some bacon and eggs from the Spar. How do you fancy that for breakfast? Eh? Bit of a treat? Bacon and eggs?’
‘Yeah!’ Nicola runs out and down the landing. ‘Gray!’ they hear her call out, exchanging a glance. ‘We’re having cooked breakfast. There’s a man called Jim here. He’s Tommy’s cousin. He talks funny.’
This last is delivered quietly, but they hear it all the same and it makes them both smile.
Carol pulls on her jeans and heads out onto the landing, where she almost crashes into Graham. She has to grab him by the arm to prevent a full collision.
‘Who’s here?’ He strains to look over her shoulder.
‘No one, love.’ Why did she say that?
He pushes past and continues into her room.
‘Wh-who are y-you?’ He’s standing, hands on hips, at the doorway. Beyond the black shape of his head, Jim runs a hand through his messy hair.
‘Graham, love. Hold your horses.’ She lays her hand on his shoulder, grips his waist so she can make her way round the side of him and back into the bedroom. If she can just get where he can see her, she can speak to him. ‘Jim’s come to give us a hand.’
Graham is not looking at her. He is staring at Jim. ‘We d-d-don’t need a h-hand.’
‘Love.’ She grabs for his arm, but he shakes her off.
‘Graham.’ Jim lifts his palms, spreads his fingers.
‘It’s OK, Jim.’ She puts her hand up to shush him. ‘Graham, look at me, love.’ Her son is too tall. Has he grown in the night? He won’t look at her. She has to get him to look at her. ‘Graham.’
He looks at her at last, but just as quickly to the floor.
‘Jim’s here to help us, love.’
‘I c-can look after us.’
She fights to find words. ‘You’ve done a brilliant job, you’re doing a brilliant job and I need you to carry on. I didn’t know Jim was coming; it’s not like I phoned him.’
‘S-s-so wh-why’s he h-here?’ He is still talking to the floor, tracing arcs back and forth across the carpet with his bare feet. His toenails want cutting.
‘I met him at Tommy and Pauline’s wedding. He’s from Scotland.’
Slowly Graham looks up, his head at an odd slant, like he’s cricked his neck. Come on, son, she thinks. Meet me halfway.
‘He was at the wedding,’ she carries on. ‘This is the chap who cut his leg, d’you remember me telling you? And I had to take him to hospital ’cos everyone else was plastered. I told you. And then when I got home, that was when your dad … that was when