Lek and Soom enjoyed working together again. Craig could hear them laughing and joking as they emulsioned the walls, calling him out of his office from time to time to help move a stick of furniture. He hadn’t seen either of them so happy for a long time. Their relationship was one of close friendship rather than the typical mother-daughter association that he remembered from other examples in his past.
“I forgot to tell you, Mum, that The Old Lady told me not to worry, that Seashell would arrive on time, so a fortnight today, this room will be occupied,” she said rolling emulsion onto the wall of the spare room and splashing her mother, who was cutting in around the edges the skirting beneath her roller.
“Hey! Watch that, you’re splashing me again. They won’t let you out the same day, t
