Spread Your Wings

Chapter 9

I was quiet at dinner tonight at home and Mum suspected something was up but she pretended that she didn't know anything. John hardly said two words to me when I got home but he was content for once which was good to see.

"So Katherine, enjoy shopping with Phoebe then?" Mum asked me.

"Yeah, it was good." I murmured.

She looked at me, not entirely convinced. After she placed down the bread we were having with the spaghetti bolognaise, she sat beside John and kissed his cheek.

"What was that for?" He flirted with her which put me off my food.

"Just because, you're happy for the first time in a long time. It's great." She smiled at him.

We all ate our dinner pretty quickly before I was asked to do the dishes. Mum dried them as John sat at the breakfast bar. Both of them were having their usual conversation about every day things.

"John, did you get in touch with the bank today?" She asked him.

"Yes, they said it was no problem."

"That's good. It's been a lot of hard work recently at the Times. It'll be good to get a day off soon to spend with the family."

"Don't worry about us, sweetheart. Think about yourself for a change."

"Aren't you sweet? Sorry, honey but it's in the job description of long suffering wife and mother." She messed up my hair.

"Well, you're doing a great job as always." I heard a rustling as John picked up a piece of paper, suddenly my heart was in my mouth. "Katie Kat, what's this?"

I stopped and stared at the soapy water in the sink.

"Katherine, answer him please." Mum said sternly.

"Publishing Agreement for Sony Music Entertainment." He read out. "Looks like a record contract to me, if I'm not mistaken."

"Katie!" Mum yelled, concerned. "Where the hell did you get this? This isn't real is it?"

I was silent for while but I knew I would have to say something sooner or later, it was my time to convince them.

"I was playing at the bandstand a few days ago..." I began to say before Mum interrupted me.

"Playing at the bandstand? You're not part of a band are you?" She asked.

I then realised that I didn't even tell them about my recent performances at the bandstand. I haven't even told them that Brian and I had been writing songs for the past 3 weeks.

"I was playing guitar at the bandstand..."

"You weren't by yourself were you?" John looked worried.

"No, Felix was with me." I lied before I carrying on telling them what happened. "I was playing, I was singing actually..."

"Wait, you a singer?" Mum shouted in disbelief. "Since when? Katherine, when on earth where you going to tell us that you had been secretly playing gigs behind our back?!"

"Actually, I remember Brian telling me this a while back." John declared and then realised what he had just said.

Mum's face became bright red as she was getting really angry. "So you knew and you didn't even tell me?!" She roared.

"I thought he was kidding!" John raised his arms, looking petrified. "He mentioned something about songwriting, I just didn't expect that she would be performing for the public right now."

Mum groaned before she turned back to me. "Continue." She simply said.

"I was at the bandstand when the secretary for Sony came over to talk to me about the record deal..."