"No wonder Olivia's so mad," I said, regaling Karen with the highlights of my email, during our facetime session.
"So effectively …… Victoria's offered you a promotion?"
"Well, I don't know about promotion. She said that she liked my 'no bullshit' approach." I made little air quotation marks with my fingers. "She said she's a straight-talking woman herself and that she appreciates it in her employees. She told me that I was quite right about the present situation and that the launch wouldn't be 'cost-effective' at the moment." Again I made the air quotation marks. "She felt that I was obviously really knowledgeable about women's current situation and asked if I'd head up a 'new project' ….." I lifted my hands to do the sign but she cut me off.
"Don't do the quotation marks in the air again please, Daisy. It's really irritating."
" Hmm. As I was saying ….. she asked me to head up a new project which focuses on women's needs in the current climate, whatever that means. That's all I know so far."
"Wow. That's quite a result."
"Like I've told you before, I know how to handle Olivia."
"Come on, Daisy. I think we both know that in this case, you got very, very lucky."
"Huh. Either way, I'm in charge of the next project and it's gonna be fucking amazing. In your face, Olivia!"
"It's a bit of a turnaround on your part isn't it, Dais?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, just the other day, you were telling me how much you hated your job and just how pointless it all was."
"That was when I didn't feel like my potential was being fully appreciated."
"Well done, hun. I'm glad someone's happy. I made a bit of a hash of Dave's haircut yesterday so you can cut the atmosphere here with a knife right now. He looks the spitting image of Kim Jong-Un. Thank God for my good friend, Pinot."
We'd celebrated the night before with our last bottle of wine and frozen pizzas, so it was one of those ropey food days, where we psyched ourselves up for our next trip to the supermarket. "I can't believe how much food we're getting through, John!" I said.
"Yeah. We're gonna have to get some shopping in. Not today though, huh?"
"Ok. Suits me. I'll see what I can knock up for dinner."
No sooner had I opened the kitchen cupboard, than the usual chorus rang out from the garden, "Mum. MUUUUUUM!"
"The bloody ball!"
John's expression seemed to freeze momentarily, his eyes wide. I prepared myself for the usual over-reaction. But ……. he didn't dash towards the patio doors like a raving psycho. Instead, he shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.
"Well ….. can you go, John? I'm looking through the cupboards to see what I can make us."
"I'd prefer it if you went."
"Huh?"
"I'll um ….. I'll …… look through the cupboard."
"MUUUM!"
"Jesus! Do I have to do everything around here?" I said, striding off into the garden. "Where is it this time?"
"In the bush," Marcus informed me. "I didn't know if we were allowed to climb or whether Dad would go mental."
"Gordon! Margaret!" I called across the fence. "Hellooooo!"
Gordon's head popped out from the back door, immediately followed by Margaret's. "Stay here!" she told him. "I'll deal with this."
"Thanks Margaret. It's in your bush. Sorry!" I said.
Margaret barely looked at me as she went over to the bush, retrieved the ball and plopped it over the fence into our garden. Was I imagining it? "There you go," she said. And was that a cold tone that I detected? Could this be about the pasta? The underpants? Perhaps they were just sick of the kids and their bloody ball? Should I ask? There was no time. She turned, went in and closed the door behind her.
"Thanks!" I called after her.
"There's definitely something wrong with Margaret and Gordon," I said, when I got back in.
"Don't be silly!" John said. "You're imagining things. You're way too sensitive. Now, what about hot dog sausages and Supernoodles?"
"Ugh!"
"Yay!" the twins chimed.
"I'll sort it," John said. "Set the table, Molly. Marcus, go up and see if Cleo wants any."
Why was everyone being so weird today? Still, I'd take what I could get. I grabbed a packet of Monster Munch and headed into the lounge for a bit of telly.
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