A Step In Time Read Online Free

somewhere.’
    ‘Sorry to interrupt,’ said Natasha, who’d come to stand in front of me. ‘I couldn’t help overhearing.’
    I narrowed my eyes.
    ‘It was actually a private conversation,’ I said.
    Natasha waved her hand as if there was no such thing, her huge blinging engagement ring catching the light.
    ‘You’re Amy Lavender, right?’ she said.
    I threw Phil a triumphant look. See! She did know who I was.
    ‘Yes,’ I said cautiously. ‘That’s me.’
    ‘So I’m guessing you need somewhere to live that’s cheap and quiet and available right now?’
    ‘Yes,’ I said again, sitting up a bit straighter. ‘Do you know somewhere?’
    ‘I certainly do,’ said Natasha. She sat down in between me and Phil.
    ‘My mother has just had something of a mid-life crisis – for the fourth, or perhaps the fifth time. This time, she’s in the throes of a passionate affair with a yoga instructor and she’s headed off on a sort of old lady gap year,’ she began.
    I blinked at her, impressed at the idea of her mum and the yoga teacher, but not knowing how this had anything to do with me.
    ‘Okaaaaay,’ I said
    ‘So, she convinced me to keep an eye on my grandmother,’ Natasha carried on. ‘Which is no hardship because I adore her, but I’ve got such a lot on, and it’s proving hard to get round to hers every day.’
    She chewed her lip.
    ‘She’s quite sprightly, really, considering she’s almost ninety. She doesn’t need much looking after. Just someone who’s there, you know, if she needs something?’
    ‘Okaaaaay,’ I said again, still not understanding. ‘Oh, god. Do you mean me? I can’t look after an old lady.’
    Natasha gripped my hand.
    ‘You can,’ she said. ‘She’s fine. She can look after herself, honestly. It’s not like you need to cook for her, or bathe her, or anything like that. Her house has a flat, in the basement. It’s really nice – I lived there myself when I was younger. One bedroom, lounge, blah, blah. So you wouldn’t even be living with her, not really. She just needs someone who’s there in case she has a fall.’
    ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m not the right person. I’m too selfish to be an old woman’s companion.’
    Natasha gripped my hand tighter.
    ‘Ow,’ I said. ‘Where is it?’
    ‘Clapham.’
    I screwed my nose up.
    ‘I don’t like South London,’ I said.
    ‘It’s perfect,’ Phil commented. ‘There won’t be any paps down there. You’ll be left alone.’
    He had a point, but that wasn’t enough to change my mind.
    ‘The rent’s cheap.’
    ‘How cheap?’
    Natasha named a tiny figure that I could easily afford even if I didn’t work for the next six months, and Phil widened his eyes.
    ‘So I won’t need to bathe her?’ I said.
    ‘You probably won’t even see her,’ Natasha said. ‘She’s got loads of friends. I just need to know you’re going to be there overnight and that she can call on you if she needs to.’
    ‘I can only stay for a few weeks,’ I said, checking my phone to see if Babs had called back. ‘I’m going into the jungle, and who knows what could happen after that.’
    ‘My mother should be back by the New Year,’ Natasha said. ‘The timing is perfect.’
    I knew when I was beaten.
    ‘Fine,’ I said, throwing my head back against the sofa. ‘Fine. Yes, I’ll move in.’
    ‘Tomorrow?’ Natasha said hopefully. Phil clapped his hands and I glared at him.
    ‘Tomorrow,’ I agreed wearily.
    My phone rang and I snatched it up, hoping it was Babs with good news about the jungle. But it was Josie, a TV presenter who lived in the flat below Matty’s. She was probably calling for the gossip, I thought, cancelling the call. Immediately she rang again. I rejected the call once more. There was a pause, and Josie started calling again. I sighed.
    ‘I should take this,’ I said to Natasha and Phil. ‘Hi Josie.’
    ‘Amy, you need to get here,’ Josie said. ‘Matty’s putting all your stuff outside in the street.