Hubble Bubble Read Online Free Page B

And before we go in there and start feeding the fivethousand, are you okay? Really?’
    Mitzi looked at Doll, neat in her dental nurse’s uniform, her blonde hair in short no-nonsense layers – two years older and as far removed from Lulu’s second-hand grungy look as it was possible to get – and nodded. ‘I’m fine, love. I had a wobbly moment when I first came home, but it seems as though everyone in the village has found me something to do with my golden years. If I do all of it I won’t have a minute to myself to wallow in self-pity or resentment. No, seriously, I’m perfectly okay. We both know I’ve survived worse.’
    Their eyes met. The silver-wedding-party revelations would remain as one of the all-time awfuls in the annals of the Blessings’ family history.
    ‘And on that happy note,’ Doll grinned, ‘has Dad rung to see what retirement is like?’
    ‘Not yet. But no doubt he will when he gets a private moment away from The Harpy. Now, let’s feed the starving hordes …’
    The fish and chips were greeted by squeals of hysterical delight from the Bandings, gruff thanks from Clyde and Flo, and total silence from Lulu who had slid from the sofa and was curled on the floor, fast asleep.
    By the time the paper had been scrunched into balls, Lulu had woken up, the bottles of wine emptied, and the neighbours despatched, it was half-past ten.
    Mitzi stretched luxuriously in front of the fire, trying hard not to disturb Richard and Judy who had wandered in for the leftovers and settled on her lap. There really was something rather pleasant about the fact that she didn’t have to rush off to bed, and tomorrow morning wouldn’t have to be getting up at 7 for another day at the bank. She might even set the alarm as usual, then have the exquisite luxury of turning it off and cuddling down beneath the duvet for another hour or so.
    She looked across the hearthrug at Doll. ‘Won’t Brett be wondering where you are?’
    ‘Doubt it. He’ll have fallen asleep in front of the telly, woken up about an hour ago and gone to bed. Sometimes I think he wouldn’t notice if I never came home for a week.’
    Mitzi raised her eyebrows. ‘Well, he does work the most awful hours …’
    ‘True,’ Doll nodded. ‘And I’m used to his routine as he’s used to mine. We’re used to each other. There’s no aggro.’
    ‘I think me and Niall have got your share,’ Lulu mumbled from the depths of the sofa. ‘We’re aggro personified.’
    ‘That’s because he’s a poseur and a prat and you’re a messy grunge babe,’ Doll said cheerfully. ‘And it’s your fault for forgetting your station and abandoning your principles and going for a status-seeker rather than settling for a normal, horny-handed son of the soil.’
    ‘Don’t go all Socialist Worker on me,’ Lulu glared at her sister. ‘Just because I set my romantic sights a little higher than Postman Brett.’
    Doll poked out her tongue and Lulu retaliated by flinging a shocking pink fun-fur cushion across the room. Mitzi smiled happily. It was lovely having them back together. Just like old times.
    ‘Actually, I always thought that you’d both chosen the wrong men. It seemed to me that if you’d swapped partners you’d fare better—’
    ‘Mum!’ Doll and Lulu howled in harmony. ‘Pul-ease! No way!’
    Laughing, Mitzi shifted Richard and Judy on to separate knees and looked at Lulu. ‘So what was this particular row about, then? I mean you don’t have to tell us if you really don’t want to—’
    ‘Yes she does,’ Doll interrupted. ‘We’ve missed EastEnders – Lu and Niall are the next best thing. Have you set fire to his designer arrangement of minimalist twisted willow with your joss sticks again?’
    ‘He said I had to give up work.’
    ‘What?’ Doll exploded. ‘Oh, God – not the giving upwork and becoming a mother routine?’
    Lulu shook her head in a castanets clack of beads and braids. ‘No, of course not. He just wants me to