According to YES by Dawn French Read Free Book Online Page B

doesn’t matter, Glenn! My boys are supposed to be
spending time with their father. They aren’t just pawns in your little game.’ She turns to Rosie, ‘Are you the nanny?’
    Glenn ignores the question to Rosie, and squares up to Natalie, ‘They are here with us for a time, and what we do with them is our business.’
    Thomas interjects, ‘Come on now, surely we can settle this …?’
    Alerted by Iva, Kemble appears at the door. ‘Nat, what’s going on?’
    ‘Natalie was just leaving, Kemble, it’s fine, go back to your room,’ says Glenn.
    There is a pregnant pause as the study reverberates with the realization of how Glenn has just spoken to Kemble. Is this really going to be allowed to pass?
    Rosie audibly sucks in her breath, ‘Excuse me, I’m going to check on the chaps …’ and she leaves.
    Natalie is the one to name it, ‘Really, Kemble? “Go back to your room?” Really?’
    Kemble responds, ‘It’s not … like that …’
    ‘It’s exactly like that. That’s the whole damn problem. When are you going to …’
    Glenn interrupts, ‘Allow me to remind you where you are, Natalie.
Our
family home. Perhaps right now would be the perfect time to re-acquaint you with the front door?’
    ‘For Christsakes, Kemble, find your spine, before it’s too late,’ says the furious Natalie as she is swept from the room, ‘and please spend some time with the boys …’
    ‘
Thank you. Goodnight,’ Glenn firmly closes the door behind Natalie. Kemble hangs his head. Thomas takes a long slurp of his whisky, and Glenn turns to them both, for all the world as if nothing has happened. ‘So, what are tomorrow’s plans …?’
    Rosie has returned to the TV room to watch the end of the movie with the twins, who are blissfully unaware that their mother has just been and gone. They are so gripped by the film, they’re frozen in time and sit on the sofa like statues, absolutely still and hardly breathing. Red even has a nub of popcorn in his hand held still, two inches from his mouth, exactly as he did when Rosie slipped out of the room twenty minutes before. Guns are firing, robots are exploding, baddies are annihilated, the planet is ending. This stuff requires concentration and commitment. Rosie looks at their lovely little faces in the glow of the Friday night TV light. Their utter naivety moves her. Suddenly, the film finishes, and they both jump in unison and bounce about on the furniture to celebrate the triumph of the Transformers, the saving of the world as we know it, and the general fabness of the movie. In amongst their unbridled excitement, and without thinking, Red even jumps into Rosie’s clutches with his arms about her neck. They all shriek and scream until they collapse on the
floor, exhausted, the small chests of the eight-year-olds panting, and the very much larger chest of Rosie heaving for breath.
    Rosie gasps, ‘Mercy! Save me, guys, save me from the Decepticons. Honestly. I’m terrified. Megatron could get in here any day …’
    ‘OK, wait’ says Three, jumping up, ‘Red, get those cushions. We gotta build a repeller round her, quick, quick, quick!’
    ‘OK, OK, OK,’ agrees Red, racing round and gathering the big cushions from the sofa and all the small ones from everywhere else. Together, they construct a shelter around her. Somewhere in them they know this is play, but somehow it’s also very urgent and important, so they take real care about how they do it. It must be safe and secure. Built properly.
    When it is complete, and Rosie is utterly protected inside the hot fuggy cushion fortress, Three calls to her ‘OK, Rosie! You’re safe now!’
    ‘Yeah,’ says Red, ‘we’re gonna guard you from out here, OK?’
    ‘Yeah,’ says Three, ‘eyes peeled for Megatron, Devastator, and Starscream.’
    ‘Yeah, we got guns,’ Red decides, and immediately they both carry invisible machine guns and patrol up and down. When they stand together, they are a serious multi-headed junior