Best of Friends. Cathy Kelly

Читать онлайн.
Название Best of Friends
Автор произведения Cathy Kelly
Жанр Современная зарубежная литература
Серия
Издательство Современная зарубежная литература
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9780007389315



Скачать книгу

Childish and lazy.

      Abby flung the used teaspoon in the sink to join Tom’s dirty cup and plate. If he couldn’t be bothered to put things in the dishwasher, then neither would she. And when the house was a slum with no clean dishes and no clean clothes, perhaps then he’d cop on to how hard she worked.

      Coming up Briar Lane, Jess realised that she hadn’t thought about the exams for at least an hour. Which was good, because when she did think about them, she got this weird ache in the back of her neck that crept up into her head and sort of bounced against her skull. Nothing made it go away except lying in the bath, and you couldn’t very well do that four times a day. But thinking about the animal refuge meant she hadn’t time to worry about the exams. Tonight would help too. She was helping Sally Richardson with the boys later, so that Sally could get ready for the party. Jess loved the relaxed atmosphere in the Richardsons’ house: there was always an air of laughter and good humour, not like at home.

      A plastic bag of garden rubbish and a big gardening fork were sitting inside the gate when she got home but there was no sign of either Mum or Dad. Jess hoped she wouldn’t be roped into picking up leaves or anything. She hated gardening, apart from that time in science class, when they’d all grown shoots from a bean.

      Her mother was standing in the kitchen, dressed in old clothes and reading a newspaper laid out on the counter top.

      ‘Oh, Mum, I met this amazing woman today who runs the animal rescue centre,’ Jess began enthusiastically. ‘She had this gorgeous puppy, Twiglet. Imagine, people dumped him and his brother in a refuse bag on a building site, but he’s fine now.’

      Her mother didn’t respond, so Jess continued. ‘They’re trying to save the animal refuge because they don’t have enough money, and this woman said if I wanted to, I could volunteer to help out. They always need people to feed puppies and kittens, and to clean up.’ Jess felt a fresh surge of pride at the thought that this total stranger had trusted her enough to offer her a volunteer job. ‘I can do weekends.’

      ‘What about your exams?’ said Abby, unnecessarily sharp. As soon as she’d spoken, she regretted it. What did exams matter when this animal refuge had brought a smile to her daughter’s face for the first time in months.

      But the shutters had already come down and Jess assumed the blank mantle of teenage indifference.

      ‘Whatever,’ she said, turning towards the door. ‘Forget it.’

      ‘I didn’t mean it to sound like that,’ Abby said but Jess was gone. Within seconds, she heard the thump of Jess’s boots on the stairs and then the slamming of her door.

      Abby gave up on the notion that if she read the papers standing up then she wouldn’t get too comfortable to return to the wilderness that was the garden. She pulled out a chair and slumped down on it. She felt she was a failure – a failure at motherhood. If she was a failure at being a wife, then Tom had to shoulder a large percentage of the blame. But failing at being a good mother was all her own work.

      Abby felt a huge desire to go upstairs, climb into bed and pull the covers over her head. But she couldn’t. She had to finish the garden and go to the party. Sally had asked Jess to keep an eye on the boys, so the whole Barton clan would be there trying to pretend that they were playing happy families. Abby wistfully remembered when they had been a happy family for real.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4Rj4RXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAOAAABAwABAAAAaQMAAAEBAwAB AAAAMwUAAAIBAwADAAAAtgAAAAMBAwABAAAABQAAAAYBAwABAAAAAgAAABIBAwABAAAAAQAAABUB AwABAAAAAwAAABoBBQABAAAAvAAAABsBBQABAAAAxAAAABwBAwABAAAAAQAAACgBAwABAAAAAgAA ADEBAgAcAAAAzAAAADIBAgAUAAAA6AAAAGmHBAABAAAA/AAAADQBAAAIAAgACADAxi0AECcAAMDG LQAQJwAAQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMyBXaW5kb3dzADIwMTc6MTA6MjggMDY6NTQ6MzQABAAA kAcABAAAADAyMjEBoAMAAQAAAAEAAAACoAQAAQAAACADAAADoAQAAQAAAMQEAAAAAAAAAAAGAAMB AwABAAAABgAAABoBBQABAAAAggEAABsBBQABAAAAigEAACgBAwABAAAAAgAAAAECBAABAAAAkgEA AAICBAABAAAAXhcAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAABAAAA/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgAASABIAAD/7QAM QWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwPFRgTExUT ExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQODg4UFA4O Dg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEIAKAAaQMB IgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAf/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEFAQEBAQEB AAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMicYEyBhSR obFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj80YnlKSF tJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcGBTUBAAIR AyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kSTVKMXZEVV NnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/2gAMAwEA AhEDEQA/ANnOzMpudkhmRa1gteABY4AQe0FDZn9SbJZk2naJdL5AH9uVHMAOdkka/prP+qcgztkD 87Q/BbcMUDjgOCJ9MfmiD0eSyZsgyzPuTHql8siP0mzZl9V1L77m7YB95bEyB9H+qp19Q6swQL7d Yd7iHaGNRv3fvKqX2OkOeSHcgnmJP/fk4fZGrzEbYnse34JezEijjxHw4NEDPISuOXMPHj9TYdl9 VILvXu0BcSHECNPd/V9zVF2V1VoO++5rWmHHedDG7bP9VCFlpBl7iA3bE/mn83+qnL3kltji5pIc 4ToT4oDFH/N4/pFJzSN/rM1nvP8A6TY9fqm3+fvAAkneTA+9Ctv6swloyby5rS4jedGj3F/P7qmL C7h5JIgidY/dSc98l247nCCe5HEJvAP3Mf8AiswlY0yZP8foiGT1kFpbkX7pAALzEuEs+kdvuak3 I6rG45OQQBuJ9Q8Ts3fS/f8AanJt53GZBHxb9D/MQDbdW3YCdsRHkTPH9ZH2wf0MfT9H7VcZjvPL Wv6XX9H/ANCbrM7q2lbci3lzYJaTLP5wbnAu9ig/M6k2JybhuG5svOoP5yEH3ySXmZLp05I2u/zm qXvcAHkkNENnsPAIDFAH+bx+NRXyyzIrjy+Fy0/6TYxeo9SOTQ12Q94dYxpaSIILgCOF1ei5HGrd 9op2fS9RkfHcF12ihOPF95iOCFe1PThjvx4+jIJ5vuk/1k792GvHLb28np4n/9DW6jXGbcRw6x/3 7iq8BW+oVkZuQe/qO57CSVXhbuI/q4f3R+TyGeP67JpXql+bGJ+Sstorrx2ZGQ0v9bd6FIdtkNO1 91rxL217/axjPfYgbVoZNQuwcPJAlmPX9nyG/uOB9jn/AMm395DJKjEbCRo/4u3+Euw47EzQMox4 gD/ejGUiP0uCLWY7HcHiygVkNJY+tz9Hfm722vta5iG+omsWsY705g2Qds+G/wCjuRNvqNcyobyG Oe7byGtG571eZ6nr5zLnzaMW0W01iKa9rB6dfP8Ag/6n/XLE2U+H86JJZI4+MUa7CUYxiL9Ut/Tx OaKr2VNyRW70zu2PLZB2fTMfuNn872K5nt3ZdnpVHa1lTnCpntburY4zsG1iV9r2dJw2+o4Nd9oa RuIBALIYYO1zdv5qtm61vVsdrbXNYDjjY1xDYc2trpaPa7co5TlfFQ0GUf8Ahc4xZceOIHBxHU4Z HTrlxymf+k5bmvDdxadvO6DH+d9FCsreSA+tw/d3At/8itRtb8mnK6fUfcyx12M0mG+1xqur1/N9 N2/aql9nrXbg5zq2AV07iT+jYNjOf39vqf20+E7JFbfl+j/jIyY6iDeh/wCl+n/i/wDdwRNbprz3 UvaEtAdVAkk69uE6rWGVNnEIOXR/xrP+qC6lcrhT9sx5P+Ebr811Krkf0uI/1Uv/AEpBsCR+5yP+ uh/6Tm//0d3qVcdQyRxL5+8Ncq4qeZLWuLRyQCR+Cu9S9/ULz/KA+5rQjdEL29Tpa1xDXbtzQSAf Y76TfzlrQyGPLQluY4oyr+7B5ueGM+anDYSzSiD/AHsnCHObW8HaWuDv3IMnw9qnUcqoh1Pq1vII BYHAkDUjj3olbf8AtTeXOBJNbdx32EH/AEn02Us/wl3/AFqpNkZOXa519lzzZqQ4OI2/8WAf0f8A ZUlkmqBGxv8Ae7MQiIjiuQO8a34f3v6v9VRdmXMcx3qem76bWsLGu/rNqYzepnIzzaJtu3AbRM7i Pzo09/8AaVzrVtzc922yxoDGaNc4DjwaVTybMr2svc71KWw1xJ3gPHqjc+d35yjgeOMTwxHELrtb Pkj7cpjjmTCXDxfvcJ/vf35RYttyq6zW11ldJMlsEDcfNw+k5TF+U97X+o99rZ2u5cP6se5WOsPs fZjBznOBxq3EEkjcd0vj95UtzmtJaS1wBggkEf2gjCpxEuEAyRMHHMw4pGMa61/W0inlza35Njy6 +wGtoIdI3ey22x5DWfzW5tf/ABm9VzW8wBW7ifonj7lodae92TWHOJHoVmCTEnfLoS6fkl7X9Pvs cKMgba3yZrf+Zt1/m3/uJkZkY/cAu9SP3Yf1f7i+eOJynEZVXpEq+bJ/X9Xp4/3nODHO+i0uI10B On9lM6tzTBBB5ggg/wDSVypluHc+20FjsZ20N1Afb9KuuRt/Rbf09n/Bf8Yq73WPcXWONjzqXOMk qUTs6UY1uwyxgDWxKzp5KxRGXj+Hqs/6oLqlzGKB9ro0n9IzT5hdOoif6VH/AGUv/SkGUR/ocv8A bQ/9J5H/0ulz2/r1/wDW/wC+tRejj/KdH9v/AKhyFmn9cv8A65/gmxsl+NZ6tTWGwfRc4EkaQdvu b9JacQTy4iNziEfthwuESI80ZnaOUz/xcnE2anN6lWMa7azLrn7LaAGhzR/2me1v7v8Ag/8AX1M+ 1rmh7HtLXtkOaeQR2U3v3P3hrazyAyWgEGdzZc73I12bZe5r766rHtgFxYQXAdrNr2tenRBifSPQ deH9yX9X+rJZIxnH1H1jTj/zkf6/9eLZ6vkZLM5zK7rGM2M9rXuaNR4NKz73vuc+1+riAHO8w3br /Lds3KxdnW3uFt1NNjo2h5YQYH5vtsbu27kOzKttZW30qxUxxIrYwtaXECd4a7c72IYomEYjhFgc MivzSE5TPEakeKMaT9VH6TF/8LV/9+VFwOx0Dga+Uqzb1C27b61NLtg2sljhDf3fa9vtUXZT7KxW KahW0+o5jGFodALf0vu3Pa3f+8jj4oxiCNt9VuUQnOUhLfbRsdXH61V/xFf/AH9USCWu0MDnynhW rs+27a++ml5A2scWEaD832vb7WqDspz2Nr9KptbXbvTawhrjGz9J79z/AKSWPijGMSNvFWXgnOUh L5thXdsdWe99mMXOLv1djtfF073f2tqowj35dmQGixlYLAGscxpBDR+YPd9FBRxAxgIkVSMxEshk Dd90mG0fbKJEj1AujXO4ZIy6I53hdEoif6UP9if/AEpFkA/oZ/20f/SUn//T6XPMZt+ke7+AVfci Zzj9sv8A+Md+CjT