Page 23 - Book 8 Matty Hedgehog and the Paper Chase

Matty Hedgehog and the Paper Chase 21
finishing their dinner, the girls moved across the room to sit on the sofa. Tilly gave Charlie his mug of tea and sat down. ‘Charlie,’ she began, ‘the girls have a few questions and want to talk to you about your new friend, Velvet.’
Charlie sat up, almost choked and spat out a mouthful of tea. ‘OK,’ he nodded slowly, having gained his composure.
‘Paris, what would you like to ask?’ asked Tilly.
‘These are my questions, Dad. 1. Where did you meet her? 2. Is she coming here, to our house? 3. Are you getting married? 4. Will she be our new mum?’
Charlie raised his eyebrows: he was stunned. ‘Err, we met at the coast and no, I’m not getting married. I haven’t given the matter any thought, and I am confident that Velvet hasn’t either, so she won’t be replacing your mum. We are just friends. And ... to put your minds at rest, Velvet has declined my hasty invitation. Can I ask what’s brought this up?’ he said.
Tilly reminded him of the shouting match last week: the one that he’d walked away from, leaving her to sort it out. Seeing her grandchildren arguing and shouting at each other had upset her.
‘My turn, Paris,’ said Jessica. ‘Dad – you should have been open and honest and told us about her like other grown- ups do. We didn’t have a chance to say anything, because you stormed out of the door.’ She added: ‘And I don’t think we are selfish or unkind animals, like you said.’
‘We feel the same, don’t we Chloe?’ said Isla, pursing her lips. ‘But you still haven’t taken any flowers to mum. Why not?’