Alphabet Weekends - Elizabeth Noble [47]
‘What?’
Natalie shook herself out of the memory and back to Tara. ‘Nothing. Just thanks, Tom.’
Nicholas and Natalie
Natalie’s phone rang at twelve-thirty p.m. It was Donna from Reception. ‘Your dad’s here.’
‘Thank God,’ Natalie muttered, to no one in particular. Her boss Mike was in a particularly bad mood today – the kind where everything she did was wrong. He’d named and shamed her on air, too, for apparently getting some information muddled, and it hadn’t even been her fault. God, she hated him. She grabbed her coat and made her escape.
‘Hiya, Dad. How are you?’ They hugged. ‘I’m glad to see you. I’m having a really grim day.’
‘Don’t let them grind you down, darling.’
She smiled at him. ‘Shan’t. Besides, you’re here, and you’re taking me out for lunch, so the day is definitely looking up. And I’ve snaffled some freebies that were sent to Mike, so I’ve had my little bit of revenge.’
‘Well, normally I might have an ethical issue with that, but I’ll make an exception.’
‘Quite right. The man is amoral anyway. No point wasting my scruples on him.’
‘Well, okay. What do you fancy, daughter of mine? Italian?Chinese?’
‘Don’t mind, so long as it’s warm. Let’s go here.’
Tucked into a corner booth, they studied the menu.
‘We haven’t done this for a while, have we, you and me?’
‘Not for ages. It’s nice. Do you remember when I was at university?’
Nicholas remembered. He had dropped by sometimes – work took him up that way – and bought her lunch from the deli on campus. He’d loved being there. University hadn’t been an option for him, but the vicarious experience, seeing how it all worked, he’d loved it – and watching his too-thin daughter eat heartily – he’d liked that too. ‘Long time ago.’
He was glad about Simon. They hadn’t been so close when he was on the scene. He knew it was silly, but Nicholas hadn’t liked the idea that what he had told her she might tell Simon later. It had made him uncomfortable. Maybe that was hopelessly insecure for a grown man, but it was how he had felt.
‘I want to talk to you about your mum.’
Natalie had thought that might be it when he rang.
‘But I don’t think she’d want me to so I need to talk to you in confidence.’
‘And not tell Mum?’
‘And not tell Mum.’
‘Okay. It’s not the cancer, is it?’ Natalie felt a drizzle of terror run cold down her spine.
‘No, no. Physically she’s fine.’
‘Thank goodness. What is it, then?’
‘She’s depressed, Natalie, clinically depressed. She’s been to the doctor, who gave her anti-depressants.’
‘Mum?’
‘Yes, your mum. And she would probably hate you knowing that, so you must promise me—’
Natalie waved aside his concern. ‘I promise, Dad. You know you can trust me. Although it’s nothing to be ashamed of…’
‘But she is ashamed.’
‘That’s daft.’
‘She feels like a failure, I think, and that she’s letting me down, and that she’s being ungrateful… lots of things. She’s utterly wretched about it.’
‘Poor Mum. I suppose it explains… you know… why she’s been so weird lately. Do they think the scare last year triggered it?’
‘It’s possible, I suppose, but I think it’s more complicated than that.’
Natalie listened.
‘Your mum feels like nothing.’ Nicholas was suddenly almost tearful. ‘I’m sorry. I find this so difficult.’ Natalie reached across the table and took his hand. The waitress arrived with their meals, and Nicholas looked at his lap while she offered them mustard and arranged their cutlery. Then he carried on talking.
‘It’s really hard to explain. You think there’s some big drama, or some big secret or something, but it’s all much more subtle than that. Your mum spent her whole adult life raising you three, and part of what she feels is that there’s nothing else for her now that she’s done that – apart from waiting around for Bridget to ask her to babysit or whatever. She loves