Annie forced a smile and went out and paid the driver. Then she returned to find Rosa, their housekeeper, gabbling happily in Spanish and enfolding Layla in a welcome-home hug. She knew she didn’t dare do the same. Layla would only push her away.
Rosa hurried off to the kitchen and silence settled between mother and daughter.
‘All spent out then?’ said Annie.
Layla shrugged. ‘Just a few Barbadian dollars and a couple of cents left,’ she said.
‘So! How’s your dad?’ asked Annie, although it hurt.
‘He’s fine,’ said Layla, her face a blank mask as she stared at Annie.
‘You had a good time?’ Annie was still smiling, smiling so hard her cheeks were starting to ache. Layla looked tanned and fit. Her hair was scrunched back in a ponytail, and she was wearing old frayed jeans and a white T-shirt. She looked pretty – and totally hostile.
‘Yeah. It’s fabulous out there.’ Layla gazed around at the marbled hall, the chandeliers, as if this, her mother’s home, was a dosshouse by comparison.
‘Great tan,’ said Annie, longing to hug her.
‘Mm.’ Layla glanced towards the stairs. ‘Well, think I’ll go on up…’
‘Sure! Of course.’ Annie stood there, still smiling that brilliant artificial smile, as Layla grabbed her bag and trudged up the stairs.
Annie turned and walked across to the study. She went inside and shut the door, the smile dropping from her face. She closed her eyes and groaned. Then she went over to the desk, picked up the phone and dialled a number she knew off by heart.
‘Hello,’ said the female voice at the other end. Bowie was singing ‘Let’s Dance’ very loudly in the background. ‘Hold on, let me just put the wood in the hole…’
‘Doll?’ There was a pause while Dolly shut the door.
‘OK, right.’ Bowie was muted now. ‘That’s better. Annie? How’s it going?’
‘Layla’s home.’
‘How is she?’
‘Fine.’
‘How’s her dad?’
‘Also fine, I suppose.’ Annie drew in a shuddering breath. ‘It’s no good, is it, Doll. This is how it’s going to be, from here until eternity. She hates me.’
‘I told you. She don’t hate you, not really. She’s pissed off with you, that’s all.’
‘She’s seventeen. She’s not a child any more. She ought to be able to understand things a bit better now, but she sodding well refuses to. It’s not bloody fair. He was the one who acted like an idiot, and I get all the grief.’
‘Tea at the Ritz on Thursday, don’t forget. Our usual. Ellie’s tagging along.’
Dolly and Ellie had become her personal team of cheerleaders since the divorce. Every time she’d stumbled, they picked her up again. She loved them both, very much.