فصل 01

CHAPTER ONE

Jess

Jess Thomas and Nathalie Benson slumped in the seats of their van, which was parked far enough away from Nathalies house that they couldnt be seen from inside. Nathalie was smoking. She had given it up for the fourth time six weeks ago.

“Eighty pounds a week, guaranteed. And holiday pay. Nathalie let out a scream. “Bloody hell. I actually want to find the tart who left that earring and thump her for losing us our best job.

“Maybe she didnt know he was married.

“Oh, she knew. Before shed met Dean, Nathalie had spent two years with a man who turned out to have not one but two families on the other side of Southampton. “No single man keeps color-coordinated scatter cushions on his bed.

“Neil Brewster does, Jess said.

“Neil Brewsters music collection is sixty-seven percent Judy Garland, thirty-three percent Pet Shop Boys.

They had cleaned together every weekday for four years, since back when the Beachfront Holiday Park was part paradise, part building site. Back when the developers promised local families access to the swimming pool and assured everyone that a large upmarket development would bring benefits to their little seaside town, instead of sucking out what remained of its life. The faded moniker, BENSON & THOMAS CLEANING, was stenciled on the side of their white van. Nathalie had added underneath A BIT DIRTY? CAN WE HELP? until Jess pointed out that for two whole months half the calls they had received had nothing to do with cleaning.

Nearly all their jobs were in the Beachfront development now. Hardly anybody in town had the money—or the inclination—to hire a cleaner, except for the doctors, the solicitor, and the odd client like Mrs. Humphrey, whose arthritis had stopped her from doing it herself. It was a good job on the one hand. You could work for yourself, organize your own hours, pick and choose your clients for the most part. The downside, weirdly, was not the crappy clients and there always was at least one crappy client or that scrubbing someone elses toilet somehow left you feeling like you were one step lower on a ladder than you had planned to be. Jess didnt mind pulling lumps of hair out of other peoples plugholes or the fact that most people who rented holiday homes seemed to feel obliged to live like pigs for a week.

What she didnt like was that you ended up finding out much more about other peoples lives than you really wanted to.

Jess could have told you about Mrs. Eldridges secret shopping habit the designer shoe receipts she stuffed into the bathroom bin, and the bags of unworn clothes in her wardrobe, the tags still firmly attached. She could tell you that Lena Thompson had been trying for a baby for four years and used two pregnancy tests a month rumor had it she left her tights on. She could tell you that Mr. Mitchell in the big house behind the church earned a six-figure salary he left his pay slips on the hall table Nathalie swore he did it deliberately and that his daughter smoked secretly in the bathroom.

If she was so inclined, Jess could have named the women who went out looking immaculate—hair faultless, nails polished, lightly spritzed with expensive scent—who thought nothing of leaving soiled knickers in full view on the floor. Or the teenage boys whose stiff towels she didnt want to pick up without a pair of tongs. There were the couples who spent every night in separate beds, the wives insisting brightly when they asked her to change the spare-room sheets that theyd had an “awful lot of guests lately, the lavatories that required a gas mask and a HAZCHEM warning.

And then every once in a while you got a nice client like Lisa Ritter and popped over to vacuum her floors and came away with a diamond earring and a whole load of knowledge you could really have done without.

“Its probably my daughters, from when she came home last time, Lisa Ritter had said, her voice quivering slightly with the effort as she held it in her hand. “Shes got a pair just like it.

“Of course, Jess said. “It probably got kicked into your bedroom. Or carried in on someones shoe. We knew it would be something like that. And she knew right then, as Mrs. Ritter turned away from her, that that would be it. Nobody thank you for bringing bad news to their doors.

At the end of the road a padded toddler toppled gently onto the ground like a felled tree and, after a brief silence, started wailing. Its mother, her two armloads of shopping bags perfectly balanced, stood and stared in mute dismay.

“Look, you heard what she said the other week—Lisa Ritter would get rid of her hairdresser before shed get rid of us.

“Before she got rid of the cleaners. Thats different. She wont care whether its us or Speedicleanz or Maids with Mops. Nathalie shook her head. “Nope. To her, from now on, well always be the cleaners who know the truth about her cheating husband. It matters to women like her. Theyre all about appearances, arent they?

The mother put down her bags and stooped to pick up the toddler. Jess put her bare feet up on the dashboard and let her face fall into her hands. “Bugger it. How are we going to make up that money, Nat?

“That house was immaculate. It was basically a twice-a-week polishing job. Nathalie stared out the window.

“And she always paid on time.

Jess kept seeing that diamond earring. Why hadnt they just ignored it? It would have actually been better if one of them had simply stolen it. “Okay, so shes going to cancel us. Lets change the subject, Nat. I cant afford to cry before my pub shift.

“So, did Marty ring this week?

“I didnt mean change the subject to that.

“Well, did he?

Jess sighed. “Yup.

“Did he say why he didnt ring the week before? Nathalie shoved Jesss feet off the dashboard.

“Nope. Jess could feel her staring. “And no, he didnt send any money.

“Oh, come on. Youve got to get the Child Support Agency onto him. You cant carry on like this. He should send money for his own kids.

It was an old argument. “Hes . . . hes still not right, Jess said. “I cant put more pressure on him. He hasnt got a job yet.

“Well, youre going to need that money now. Until we get another job like Lisa Ritters. Hows Nicky?

“I went round to Jason Fishers house to talk to his mum.

“Youre joking. She scares the pants off me. Did she say shed get him to leave Nicky alone?

“Something like that.

Nathalie kept her eyes on Jess and dropped her chin two inches.

“She told me if I set foot on her doorstep once more shed batter me halfway to next Wednesday. Me and my . . . what was it? . . . me and my freakazoid kids. Jess pulled down the passenger mirror and checked her hair, pulling it back into a ponytail. “Oh, and then she told me her Jason wouldnt hurt a fly.

“Typical.

“Its fine. I had Norman with me. And, bless him, he took an enormous dump next to their Toyota and somehow I forgot I had a plastic bag in my pocket.

Jess put her feet back up.

Nathalie pushed them down again and mopped the dashboard with a wet wipe. “Seriously, though, Jess. How long has Marty been gone? Two years? You’ve got to get back on the horse. Youre young. You cant wait around for him to sort himself out. She said with a grimace.

“Get back on the horse. Nice.

“Liam Stubbs fancies you. You could totally ride that.

“Any certified pair of X chromosomes could ride Liam Stubbs. Jess closed the window. “Im better off reading a book. Besides, I think the kids have had enough upheaval in their lives without playing Meet Your New Uncle. Right? She looked up, wrinkled her nose at the sky. “Ive got to get the tea on, and then Ive got to get ready for the pub. Ill do a quick ring-round before I go, see if any of the clients want any extras doing. And you never know, she might not cancel us.

Nathalie lowered her window and blew out a long trail of smoke. “Sure, Dorothy. And our next job is going to be cleaning the Emerald City at the end of the Yellow Brick Road.

—

Number 14 Seacole Avenue was filled with the sound of distant explosions. Tanzie had calculated recently that, since hed turned sixteen, Nicky had spent 88 percent of his spare time in his bedroom. Jess could hardly blame him.

Jess dropped her cleaning crate in the hall, hung up her jacket, made her way upstairs, feeling the familiar faint dismay at the threadbare state of the carpet, and pushed at his door. He was wearing a set of headphones and shooting somebody the smell of weed was strong enough to make her reel.

“Nicky, she said, and someone exploded in a hail of bullets. “Nicky. She walked over to him and pulled his headphones off, so that he turned, his expression briefly bemused, like someone hauled from sleep. “Hard at work, then?

“Study break.

She picked up an ashtray and held it toward him. “I thought I told you.

“Its from last night. Couldnt sleep.

“Not in the house, Nicky. There was no point telling him not at all. They all did it around here. She told herself she was lucky he had only started at fifteen.

“Is Tanzie back yet? She stooped to pick up stray socks and mugs from the floor.

“No. Oh. The school rang after lunch.

“What?

He typed something into the computer, then turned to face her. “I dont know. Something about school.

She lifted a lock of that dyed black hair, and there it was a fresh mark on his cheekbone. He ducked away. “Are you okay?

He shrugged, looked away from her.

“Did they come after you again?

“Im fine.

“Why didnt you call me?

“No credit on my phone. He leaned back and fired a virtual grenade. The screen exploded into a ball of flame. He replaced his headphones and went back to the screen.

—

Nicky had come to live with Jess full-time eight years previously. He was Martys son by Della, a woman hed dated briefly in his teens. Nicky had arrived silent and wary, his limbs thin and elongated, his appetite raging. His mother had fallen in with a new crowd, finally disappearing somewhere in the Midlands with a man called Big Al, who never looked anyone in the eye and clutched an ever-present can of Tennents Extra in his oversized fist. Nicky had been found sleeping in the locker rooms at school, and when the social workers called again, Jess had said he could come to them. “Just what you need, Nathalie had said. “Another mouth to feed.

“Hes my stepson.

“Youve met him twice in four years. And youre not even twenty.

“Well, thats how families are these days.

Afterward, she sometimes wondered whether that had been the final straw the thing that had caused Marty to abdicate responsibility for his family altogether. But Nicky was a good kid, under all the raven hair and eyeliner. He was sweet to Tanzie, and on his good days he talked and laughed and allowed Jess the occasional awkward hug, and she was glad of him, even if it sometimes felt as if she had basically acquired one more person to feel anxious about.

She stepped out into the garden with the phone and took a deep breath. Her stomach are nut of anxiety. “Um . . . hello? Its Jessica Thomas here. I had a message to call.

A pause.

“Is Tanzie . . . ? Is . . . is everything all right?

“Sorry. I should have said. Its Mr. Tsvangarai here, Tanzies maths teacher.

“Oh. She pictured him a tall man in a gray suit. Face like a funeral director.

“I wanted to talk to you because a few weeks ago I had a very interesting discussion with a former colleague of mine who works for St Annes.

“St Annes? Jess frowned. “The private school?

“Yes. They have a scholarship program for children who are exceptionally gifted in maths. And as you know, we had already earmarked Tanzie as gifted and talented.

“Because shes good at maths.

“Better than good. Well, we gave her the qualifying exam paper to sit last week. I dont know if she mentioned it? I sent a letter home, but I wasnt sure you saw it.

Jess squinted at the sky. Seagull weal and swiped against the gray. A few gardens along, Terry Blackstone had started singing along to a radio. He had been known to do the full Rod Stewart if he thought nobody was looking.

“We got the results back this morning. And she has done well. Extremely well. Mrs. Thomas, if youre agreeable, they would like to interview her for a subsidized place.

She found herself parroting him. “A subsidized place?

“For certain children of exceptional ability St. Annes will forgo a significant proportion of the school fees. It means that Tanzie would get a top-class education. She has an extraordinary numerical ability, Mrs. Thomas. I do think this could be a great opportunity for her.

“St Annes? But . . . shed need to get a bus across town. Shed need all the uniforms and kits. She—she wouldnt know anyone.

“Shed make friends. But these are just details, Mrs. Thomas. Lets wait and see what the school comes up with. Tanzie is a talented girl. He paused. When she didnt say anything, he lowered his voice “I have been teaching maths for almost twenty-two years, Mrs. Thomas. And I have never met a child who grasped mathematical concepts as well as she does. I believe she is actually exceeding the point where I have anything to teach her. Algorithms, probability, prime numbers—

“Okay. This is where you lose me, Mr. Tsvangarai. I’ll just go with gifted and talented.

He chuckled. “Ill be in touch.

She put down the phone and sat heavily on the white plastic garden chair that had grown a fine sheen of emerald moss. She stared at nothing, in through the window at the curtains that Marty had always thought were too bright, at the red plastic tricycle she had never got round to getting rid of, at next doors cigarette butts sprinkled like confetti on her path, at the rotten boards in the fence the dog insisted on sticking his head through. And despite what Nathalie referred to as her frankly misguided optimism, Jess found her eyes had filled unexpectedly with tears.

There were lots of awful things about the father of your children leaving the money issues, the suppressed anger on behalf of your children, the way most of your coupled-up friends now treated you as if you were some kind of potential husband stealer. But worse than that, worse than the endless, bloody exhausting financial and energy-sapping struggle, was that being a parent on your own when you were totally out of your depth was actually the loneliest place on earth.