Alice smiles fondly down at Mum. ‘Sure, the bed was fine. I guess the jet lag is starting to catch up on me.’
Mum pulls out the chair beside her. ‘Here, sit down. What would you like for breakfast? There’s toast, cereal, some pastries. Clare, be a love and make Alice a cup of coffee. It is coffee you want, isn’t it?’
Alice smiles and nods. ‘That would be awesome. Thanks, Clare. It’s really kind of you.’
‘No problem,’ I say, ignoring the rueful smile on Luke’s face as I put down my toast.
‘Could I have some toast as well, please?’ says Alice. ‘I don’t suppose you have any peanut butter and jelly,’
‘I think there’s some jam.’ I rummage in the cupboard. ‘Here you go.’
Alice picks up the jar and, opening the lid, examines the contents. She screws her nose up. ‘I’ll take a raincheck.’ She looks up at me. ‘It’s got bits in it.’
It strikes me that Alice is being ever-so-slightly fussy, but I let it go. ‘There’s always Marmite,’ I say, as I go about making a coffee for her. .
‘Marmite?’ says Alice.
‘Don’t even go there,’ says Luke. ‘We’ve got jam or marmalade. They’re a much safer bet.’
‘Maybe, Luke, you could have a look online to see whether we can get the peanut butter and jelly for Alice,’ says Mum as I come back with my sister’s drink.
‘I’m sure we’ve got something Alice will like,’ I say. Luke really doesn’t need to go off on a wild-goose chase for Alice’s American tastes. He’s very obliging towards Mum, but sometimes I think she takes it for granted. I return to the cupboard and start pulling out various jars, the clonk of the glass on the granite work surface representing my irritation. ‘Marmalade. Nutella. Honey.’ I turn to look at Alice.
‘Er, honey will be great,’ she says, flicking a glance towards Luke.
‘Local honey,’ he says, passing the jar over to her. Then, turning, he gives me the eyes, which I return with a shrug and then feel rather embarrassed that my little display of frustration hasn’t gone unnoticed by all the adults in the room.
Fortunately, Mum recovers the situation and starts chatting about the day ahead and what we’re going to do. I brush my little display of petulance away with the toast crumbs and join in the conversation.
Alice seems happy with the plan and is pleased that we are all going out together. ‘Oh, it will be like a proper family outing. Our first real one. One that I can remember, anyway.’
Mum smiles warmly. ‘I can’t tell you how I’ve longed for a day like this.’
‘Me too,’ says Alice.
It’s an unusually warm day for mid-October and just a gentle sea breeze behind us as we stroll along Brighton seafront later. Luke is pushing Chloe in her buggy and Hannah is skipping along beside him. I’m walking alongside Mum, with Alice on the other side. The three of us have linked arms.
‘Do you remember coming here at all?’ Mum asks.
Alice grimaces. ‘Not really,’ she says.
‘What about the pier?’ I ask as we get closer. ‘We used to go there all the time. We’d get ice cream and run up and down looking through the slats of the pier at the water below.’
‘I used to take you down to the amusements at the end of the pier,’ says Mum. ‘You were a bit small for most of the rides, but Clare used to go on some of them. We’d sit there and watch her.’
‘Sorry,’ says Alice. ‘I guess I was too young to remember.’
We carry on walking towards the pier, taking in the scenery. The pebble beach is empty of the summer holiday-makers and the cool autumnal sun shimmers faintly across the grey incoming tide as it laps gently back and forth.
Hannah comes skipping back to us, while Luke waits for us to catch up. ‘Mummy! Mummy! Daddy’s going to take me on the big eye,’ she says excitedly.
Along from the pier is the Brighton i360. A glass pod, which glides up and down a four-hundred-and-fifty-foot pole, offering a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view over the city and along the coast. Or so I’m told. I’m not great with heights. I’ve been on it once with Luke when it first opened, but hated it so much I spent most of the time with my eyes closed.
‘Oh, wow! Can I come with you?’ says Alice. Hannah looks at me, checking to see what the right answer is.
‘That would be nice, wouldn’t it? If Alice comes on with you and Daddy?’ I say. We’ve caught up with Luke and, letting go of Mum’s arm, I take the buggy from him. ‘Did you want to go, Mum?’ I ask.