Change of Life Read Online Free

the phone and closed the kitchen door behind me to muffle Max’s protestations about the fairness of my request. I went through to the living room to take the call.
    It was Tom. “Hi, I’m in the car – nearly home. What’s for dinner? I’m famished.”
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake, is that all you lot think about?”
    “What?”
    “What’s for dinner? Adam’s the only one not to have asked me that in the last ten minutes and that’s only because I haven’t seen him. It’s spag-bol – nothing exciting.”
    “Are the kids giving you a hard time?” Tom asked.
    “No, not really. I’m merely wondering what you’d all do if I didn’t produce a meal one night. What if I wasn’t here or wasn’t able? It’s taken for granted isn’t it? Good old Mum keeping it all going!”
    “So get them to help more. I don’t know about you, but I’m shattered. I’ve been in theatre all day. It’ll be good to get home and relax. I’ll see you shortly.”
    Dismissive, self-absorbed, complacent, these were some of the words that came to mind as I listened to my husband. I knew I shouldn’t ignore how I was feeling. I should talk to Tom about the state of our relationship. But he was unaware there was anything wrong and would make me feel I was being over-dramatic. It also felt like such an effort to confront him and I was so bloody tired.
    Before going back to the kitchen, I paused to look out of the living room window. Our house sat high up at the top of a steeply sloping front garden so, even on the ground floor, it was possible to look straight out across the promenade and the top of the dunes over the Firth of Forth to Fife. A ferry was ploughing along the estuary, on its journey to Bruges. I always thought there was something very romantic about the ferry. I spent a minute speculating about the people on board, who they might be and why they were making the crossing to the continent on this particular May evening. I envied them, setting off on their adventure, free from routine. And then I heard my mother’s voice saying be careful what you wish for.
     

Chapter Four
     
    Max sat at the table, knife and fork in hand, as I put the finishing touches to the bolognaise . He looked angelic with his thick, blond curls and blue eyes. I asked him to tell the others that dinner was ready.
    “I do everything round here!” he said, but he was smiling as he left the kitchen. “Hi, Dad!” he shouted, on his way up the hall. Toby barked as the front door clattered shut and Tom appeared in the kitchen.
    He held out a bottle of red wine. “It was on special offer at the off-licence – that South African red you like - a treat to cheer you up.”
    “I don’t need cheering up.” I said, thinking of Tom’s, not insubstantial, wine collection in the cupboard under the stairs. This was clearly not an occasion worthy of wine from his cellar. I also thought that what I needed was for Tom to notice me, not patronise me.
    “I’ll open it now,” he said, rummaging in the drawer for the corkscrew. “We can have a glass with dinner and the rest while we watch one of these DVDs we haven’t got around to yet. I can leave the paperwork for one night.”
    “I can’t have a drink now. I promised to run Sam into town. Then I’ve got preparation to do for school tomorrow.”
    “Why does Sam need a lift? There’s a bus and she has a driving licence come to that.”
    “She hasn’t got time to get the bus apparently,” I replied. Jenny started to say something and I threw her a warning glance to be quiet. I knew she wanted to get her tuppence worth in on the selfishness of her sister. “And there’s nowhere to park in town,” I added. “You know what it’s like in the centre of Edinburgh. I know there’s the multi-storey, but it’s not safe for her to be walking back to it alone.”
    “She’s unlikely to be alone,” Tom said. “The usual gang will be there presumably. You’re not her chauffeur. I’ll talk to