‘Do you still want to come with me?’
‘Come where?’
‘To pick up my car?’
‘Oh, shit, yeah.’ Her eyes darted around.
‘Are you… nearly ready?’
‘Give me a minute.’ She disappeared into her bedroom. Maddie looked around while she waited. The place was even messier than the other day. Dirty cups littered every surface and there were empty wine and beer bottles and glasses on the coffee table. Maddie sighed and started to gather up some of the dirty dishes.
She heard the rumble of a man’s voice in the bedroom with Jade, before the door opened and a huge mountain of a man with coffee skin and bulging muscles walked into the kitchen, pulling a T-shirt over his head.
‘Hey,’ he said.
‘Hey,’ she replied. He reached around her to turn on the kettle. He smelled musky and heady, almost overpowering. She stepped away and blushed as he made coffee. ‘Want one?’ he said with a grin of startlingly white teeth.
She felt like giggling coyly. ‘No, thank you.’ She tucked her hair behind her ears self-consciously and started wiping down the counters to give herself something to do other than stare at the masculinity parading in front of her.
Jade returned, now dressed in skinny jeans and a T-shirt with little holes in it where the button on her jeans had snagged. She stopped dead at the sight of Maddie in the kitchen with a dishcloth in her hand. Her male friend was stirring his coffee, the spoon clattering against the mug.
‘What are you doing?’ she said to Maddie.
‘Just wanted to help while I was waiting for you.’
‘I can do it myself.’
‘I know, but sometimes it’s nice to have someone else help too. I thought maybe you’d had a big night.’
The man leant against the counter and sipped at his coffee, watching their exchange like he was at a tennis match.
Jade glared at Maddie, who coughed and said, ‘It can’t be easy being a single mum, doing it all yourself. I’m here to help if I can, you know.’
The man frowned and went to speak, but Jade cut him off with a withering glare. ‘Don’t you have somewhere to be?’
He tutted, muttered something under his breath and left the room.
Jade turned on Maddie. ‘A proper little Samaritan, aren’t you?’ Her words were clipped.
Maddie wasn’t quite sure what was going on. The air in the room was frigid and Jade was standing with clenched fists, as though holding herself back from swinging for Maddie. All because she had washed some mugs and offered her help. ‘I’m sorry, I’ll go.’ Maddie folded the cloth and put it down on the counter.
Behind her she heard Jade exhale slowly. ‘No, sorry. You’re right, it’s not easy. I’m not very good at accepting help. And I am a bit hungover this morning. Deon and me – we drank too much, smoked a bit too, you know.’ Her face had softened again, the tension and anger melting away.
‘It’s fine. I’m sorry if I offended you.’
Jade shrugged.
‘I’m off,’ Deon thundered from around the corner.
The front door slammed loudly and Maddie heard heavy footsteps pound down the stairs. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to chase him off. Is he your boyfriend?’
‘Deon? He’s just… you know… friends with benefits. He’s a lot of fun.’ She grinned lasciviously.
Maddie nodded with a knowing smile. ‘Ben isn’t here then?’
Jade looked away. ‘Yeah… no… um, we should go. Where are my boots?’
She dragged a pair of worn-down Uggs from where they were poking out from under the couch and pulled them on over socks that had pictures of llamas on them. One of her bra straps was dangling from her sleeve and her hair was loose around her shoulders. It hung down her back like a sheet, making her look younger. Her face was free of the make-up of last night and Maddie wanted to tell her how pretty she was without it all, that she didn’t need it. But instead Maddie said nothing, worrying that Jade would take offence. Then Jade was rolling her hair into a bun and tying it in place with a hairband, and the illusion vanished.
‘Right, I’m ready. Let’s go,’ Jade said. She chucked her phone and keys into a slouchy bag and headed for the door.
‘So Ben is getting to see lots of his dad then?’ Maddie asked as she followed her out.
‘Yeah,’ was all Jade said.
They started walking down the street, the air damp on their faces as a fine drizzle fell. Not enough to warrant an umbrella, but enough for Maddie to know her hair would be frizzy by the time she reached the house. Now she was wishing she’d also tied hers up, even though she knew her ears stuck out when her hair was pulled back.
Jade was quiet as they walked, her usual chatter stilled and her mouth gurning as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Maddie hoped she wasn’t still upset at her for cleaning the kitchen. It seemed a petty thing if she was, but some people were funny about stuff like that, as though you were pointing out their failures rather than taking it for what it was – an act of kindness.
‘Is everything ok? You’re quiet today.’
Jade watched a woman cross the road next to them. The woman was pushing a buggy with a very tiny sleeping baby inside. ‘It’s nothing. Just a headache. The hangover, like I said.’
There was silence again, then Jade flicked her eyes at Maddie and said, ‘That woman… in the park. What was that about?’
Maddie was thrown for a moment. She’d forgotten about that, what with going to Greg’s yesterday and seeing Jemima. ‘Oh, er, nothing, a misunderstanding some time ago.’
‘But she said I should keep Ben away from you. That’s a bit weird, don’t you think?’
Maddie stopped and turned to Jade, panic
