Moon Pie (24 page)

She turned to point it out to Tug, but he was busy talking to the cook, who was describing the day’s specials to them.

‘I like mince and onion,’ he was saying, ‘but my
favourite
is steak and kidney.’

‘Well, would you believe it?’ the cook said. ‘Steak and kidney is today’s special.’ She was a large lady with bright eyes. ‘And we’ve more than a dozen portions left.’

‘What’s dozen?’ Tug asked.

‘Twelve.’

He turned in his seat and bellowed happily across the table, ‘At last, Martha! Someone who understands me.’

Everyone was busy talking, Martha noticed. It was like a birthday party.

Marcus was talking to the director about costumes. ‘Do you agree,’ he was saying, ‘that sometimes it really has to knock your eye out, and sometimes it just hasn’t?’

And the director was saying, ‘You’re a very astute young man. What was the name of your company again?’

Grandma was talking to Dad about Mum. ‘I have all her old outfits in the attic,’ she was saying. ‘Stored very neatly. I wonder if Martha would like to have them.’

And Laura was telling Grandpa and Alison how the Sony HDW-750P worked.

Martha sat back in her seat, and let all the talk wash over her. She had the strangest feeling, a sort of melty feeling in her tummy, and a ticklish feeling around her mouth. After a while she realized what it was. She was happy.

She caught Dad’s eye, and they looked at each other. Grandma was still talking to him, but he’d stopped listening. For a moment he looked as if he was going to say something to Martha, and then he looked as if he wasn’t. And for a moment she looked as if she was about to take a deep breath, the way she used to, and then she didn’t.

They both smiled instead.

Heartfelt thanks to my editor, Bella Pearson, who made this book better. And love to Eluned, Gwilym and Eleri, who make everything else better.