Lucy sipped her soup quietly. Personally, she thought it would do Viv no harm to live a little but she understood why Adam was being protective. His mum had been divorced twice and the break up with Adam’s stepfather, Keith, had been particularly nasty, but that didn’t mean all men were bad, or that Viv’s choices would always be poor ones.
‘As long as I have my family looking out for me, I’m sure I’ll be fine,’ Viv said as she pulled at a loose thread on her cardigan. Unaware that the cuff had begun to pucker, she glanced briefly at Lucy, who had a spoonful of soup halfway to her mouth. ‘Are you ready for pudding? I picked up an Arctic roll the other day. Remember how much you used to love them, Adam?’
‘That wasn’t me,’ he said.
Viv’s features twisted again and Lucy couldn’t tell if she were angry at herself for the slip or was preparing to say something else. It turned out to be the latter. ‘I’ve decided to treat myself to a little break for my birthday,’ she announced. ‘All I need to do is sort out my passport.’
‘Ooh, that’s good!’ Lucy said, already impressed. Viv had a sister with an apartment on the Costa del Sol and Lucy was about to ask if she had finally agreed to go away with her when Adam voiced another theory.
‘You need a visa too if you’re going to the States.’
From the way Viv’s eyes brightened, she had been expecting a different response from her son. ‘Yes, I know. Scott’s given me all the instructions.’
Adam stopped fidgeting with his fingers and placed both hands palm down on the table. ‘Yeah, I bet he has.’
‘When are you going, Viv?’ asked Lucy, desperate to keep the conversation on track.
‘Next month, in time for Mother’s Day if I can get everything sorted. I’ve never been to New York before and there’s so much I want to see.’
‘So the son who’s spent half his life forgetting he has a mother wants to see you on Mother’s Day?’ Adam asked quietly. It had taken a moment or two for the news his mum had imparted to sink in, but the reaction Viv had feared was beginning to emerge. ‘Why then? They don’t even celebrate Mother’s Day in the States until later in the year.’
‘I didn’t want to go away too close to Lucy’s due date.’
‘You’ve told him about the baby?’ hissed Adam.
The spidery thread Viv had been pulling from her sleeve came away with a snap and she rolled it into a small ball between her finger and thumb. ‘You didn’t say I had to keep it a secret, love. And Lucy said before it was OK.’
‘I’m not talking about the sex of the baby,’ Adam said. ‘I didn’t want him to know we were having one at all and I’m surprised that needed saying. Since when did you get so pally?’
‘I’m there whenever he needs me, as I am with you,’ Viv said. ‘And Scott’s changed a lot in the year since Keith’s heart attack. I think the scare made him realize how important all his family is to him. That includes you, Adam.’
‘No, it doesn’t. And if you had any sense, you’d keep away. What hurts you, hurts me, Mum. Remember that.’
‘We have to give him a chance, Adam.’
‘I don’t have to do anything,’ Adam said, standing abruptly.
He left the two women staring after him and then at each other. There were tears in Viv’s eyes when she asked, ‘Will you speak to him? Will you tell him I’m sorry?’
Lucy wanted to ask Viv what she had to be sorry about when it was Adam who was behaving unreasonably, but she knew she would be asking the wrong person.
Sitting behind the wheel of his Lexus, Adam’s gaze was fixed on something ahead that no one else could see. He didn’t flinch as Lucy climbed into the car and slammed the door shut, or when she huffed and puffed while fastening her seatbelt.
The pressure around Lucy’s chest tightened as she recalled the anguish on Viv’s face. She would never talk to her mum like that, and she hadn’t expected it of Adam. Now that he had had time to cool down, she was sure he would go back inside to apologize before driving off.
The engine roared into life.
‘No, Adam,’ she said as he put the car in gear. ‘Don’t leave like this.’
Releasing the handbrake, Adam pulled out on to the road. ‘Why? What did she say to you?’
‘Just that she was sorry. Is it so wrong that she wants to spend more time with Scott? She said he’d changed.’
‘And you’re the expert on my brother all of a sudden, are you? Exactly how has he changed, Lucy?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t know what he was like before,’ she stammered.
‘Exactly. Don’t get involved.’
‘How can I not get involved? You’re my husband and Viv’s my mother-in-law, and in case you need reminding, we’re about to have a baby.’
‘Me need reminding?’
‘I know you’re upset but can’t you see how unreasonable you’re being?’ she said. ‘We need our family around us rather than at each other’s throats.’
‘Some things can’t be fixed.’
‘Look, forget about Scott. What about you and your mum?’ Lucy asked as they pulled up at a set of traffic lights. ‘Please, Adam. Family feuds seem like such a wasted effort. It happened with my dad and his brother. One minute they were running a business together and the next, whatever went on between them couldn’t be undone. Uncle Phil didn’t even show up to the funeral and maybe he doesn’t give Dad a passing thought, but what if he has to live with that bitterness and regret for the rest of his life? I’m thinking of you as much as I am your mum.’
The lights changed and they were on the move.
Quickly losing patience, Lucy said, ‘You can’t treat your mum like this!’
Snapping his head towards her, Adam said, ‘So you’re taking her side?’
‘No, I simply think—’
‘That I’m in the wrong,’ Adam finished for her. ‘Not all of us have to agree with what our mums tell us, Luce. Some of us quite like having an opinion of our own.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Adam sniffed and returned his attention to the road, his jaw clenched. Lucy didn’t like this side of Adam. He reminded her of a gerbil she once had. Most of the time he had been the most gentle of creatures, but if he didn’t want to go back into his cage and she had to corner him, he wasn’t averse to the odd nip.
‘Are you suggesting I don’t have a mind of my own?’ she asked.
‘Have you ever gone against your mum?’
‘It’s not about going against her. We talk things through and we reach a decision together.’
Adam continued to stare straight ahead but after a minute of tense silence, his shoulders sagged and he released his anger with a sigh. ‘Is it too much for you to recognize how controlling she can be sometimes? She even picks your friends for you.’
‘She didn’t pick you,’ Lucy said, attempting to make light of the comment now that their argument was on the wane. ‘If this is about Hannah, it was only a suggestion.’
‘Yeah, for you to get parental advice from someone who’s had more kids than she can cope with. You do remember saying that, don’t