Katie knew that her mother was already well aware of the arrangements and just wanted to chat but she said patiently, ‘You’re picking me up on Saturday, about midday.’

‘And that works for you?’

‘Yes, Mum.’

‘Great, oh I’m so excited to have you and Tom back for the Christmas holidays. I’ve got your stockings out ready.’

Katie smiled to herself. ‘Let me guess, the light-up reindeer is out the front too?’

‘Of course.’

She thought of her parents, diligently putting up their Christmas decorations together, going shopping to get all of Tom and Katie’s favourite foods, making up their beds with their childhood festive duvets and she suddenly yearned for home. ‘I love you, Mum,’ she blurted out.

‘I love you too. Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine, I’m just looking forward to coming home.’

‘Me too, love.’

After they had hung up, Katie sat down on a bench to gather her thoughts. But she already knew what she had to do. She was going to come clean to her parents over the holidays. Freddy might be able to live with this secret but she couldn’t do it anymore.

24

Indie propped her elbows on the balcony railings and looked out at the sun setting over the ocean. She reached for her packet of cigarettes and lit one, inhaling deeply and watching little boats in the distance, fishermen heading out to work now the afternoon heat had passed. She looked down at the pool area of the hotel below her. The crew had finally finished packing away the cameras and lights and were having a drink at the bar. She wondered if she should join them. One of them had been quite good-looking. She stubbed out her cigarette and was about to make her way back inside her room to change when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen to see who it was and then, smiling, answered it.

‘Hey there, squirt.’

‘Hey yourself, big sis,’ Freddy said. ‘And where are we at the moment?’

‘Canary Islands,’ Indie said. ‘Shooting a summer collection. Good job it’s still warm here in December otherwise they’d have to photoshop my nips out of all the photos.’

‘Delightful, thanks for that image, sis.’

‘Any time.’ Indie was still looking down at the crew, hoping that they didn’t leave before she had a chance to join them. Perhaps they could all go out for dinner this evening, she thought, she’d had enough of bland hotel food and would kill for some patatas bravas.

‘Mum says you’re not coming home for Christmas?’

‘No,’ Indie said. ‘I’m going to Singapore, then Thailand for New Year.’

‘Sounds awful.’

‘It really will be.’

‘Well I just wanted to bend your ear about something, if you don’t mind.’

‘Bend away.’

‘I’ve met someone and I’m thinking of telling everyone about it at Christmas. I wasn’t going to, but I think it’s important to her that I do.’

‘Okay, and why is this a big deal?’ Indie was confused. None of them had ever had any issue bringing new boyfriends or girlfriends back to meet their parents. Even when Ellie had turned up with her first girlfriend when she was seventeen, despite not having told anyone she was gay yet, Angie and Jack hadn’t batted an eyelid.