She thought about Pete’s comment last week, when he’d casually mentioned that Tony had always been the favourite. It was a shame he wasn’t here to see this exchange. She wouldn’t be surprised if right now Tony made the opposite claim. Since revealing that he’d written a novel, Tony often seemed defensive about the potential comparison between himself and his brothers. Should she have somehow picked up on his interest in writing when he was younger? Had she fostered a love of English in Pete and Darren but completely missed it in Tony?

She was tired of having these constant self-doubts about her sons. She’d thought about Pete’s comment a lot over the past week. Eventually she’d come to a conclusion about why Pete thought she’d favoured Tony. It wasn’t favouritism that he’d picked up on. It was over-protectiveness. As her eldest child, she’d treated him differently, worried about him more. She’d been anxious about letting go of the apron strings.

But she’d had her reasons.

*

Andrea

Tony turned the page, shook out the newspaper, then folded it over and smoothed it out. Andrea knew it was his habit to read the paper at brunch, but she’d still been surprised to see him open it up while Jill was with them. It seemed a little rude. They’d finished eating and Tony had grabbed the paper off the stand by the counter after he’d ordered himself a second long black.

Andrea felt guilty. Clearly Jill had come to see them because she was in need of company. Andrea couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose your life-long partner in such tragic circumstances. She often wondered if they ought to talk about Frank more. Of course, Andrea had only known him for a relatively short time in the scheme of things, but during that time she’d grown to really enjoy his company. He was generous and welcoming. The kind of father-in-law anyone would love to have. The kind of father she would have loved. She wished she’d had more time with him. But she was never sure if bringing him up was the right thing to do or not. Would it upset Jill or Tony if she casually started chatting about him?

Either way, Andrea didn’t feel like they’d been the best company throughout brunch today. Her own mind had kept wandering to her conversation with Kelly last night.

Jill seemed to take Tony reading the paper as her cue to depart, and she started reaching for her handbag. ‘I might leave you two to it. I’ve interrupted enough of your time.’

‘You don’t have to go,’ said Andrea. ‘Are you sure you don’t want a refill of tea?’

‘No, I’m fine. I really should get on with my day anyway.’