‘Dave and the kids?’
Sophie did some gurning followed by a long drawn-out sigh. ‘If I call I’ll hear chaos and get stressed out and I’ll have to go home and shout. It’s best if I don’t know.’ She gave a wistful glance in her house’s general direction.
‘Dave’s not that bad.’
‘Don’t get me wrong, I love him to bits. He’s just totally useless with the kids … And the house. And the garden.’ Sophie rubbed her middle and sighed.
‘You any nearer to agreeing names for number three?’ asked Anna, keen to cheer up the plunging mood.
Sophie put her phone in her pocket. ‘No, it’s the usual battle. Dave wants something traditional and I want something distinctive. And now we have the added pressure of getting something that works with Arlo and Petal. You know when you send cards and it says “Love from Dave, Sophie, Arlo, Petal and Moby.”’
‘Moby? As in Dick?’
Sophie rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t say that. Moby’s my favourite but I also like Enoch and Thaddeus.’
Anna failed to hide her flinch. ‘So, you’re counting on a boy this time?’
‘No, we’ve already agreed what she’ll be called if it’s a girl – Darby.’
‘As in Derby County Football Club?’
‘No, with an “a”, you muppet.’
Anna nodded her understanding. ‘Still, Dave won’t be happy when he goes to work on a Monday and someone says, “I see Derby got stuffed at the weekend.”’
Sophie took her hand out of her pocket to give Anna a swipe. They walked past the pond with the tall swaying reeds at its edge and headed up towards the largest of a series of oak trees. Anna decided to change the subject completely.
‘I’ve met Mrs Nowakowski,’ she said, with a raise of her eyebrows.
‘Did she ask you millions of questions?’
‘It was like completing a questionnaire.’
‘At least we don’t need surveillance cameras with Mrs Nowakowski about. She’s got more nose than Pinocchio – she doesn’t miss a thing,’ said Sophie.
‘She was disappointed I was single but thrilled I didn’t have a dog or a parrot. She seemed all right though.’
‘She’s not a fan of animals. She’s always reporting dog walkers who don’t pick up their poo.’ Anna gave her a quizzical glance. ‘Not their own poo, the dogs’.’
‘Oh dear. I’m thinking of getting a kitten.’ Anna bit the inside of her mouth.
‘Is this the start of your mad cat lady phase?’
‘No. I’ve always wanted one and Liam was never keen, so this is my opportunity. At least talking to a kitten instead of to myself won’t make me look quite so bonkers and it’ll be company.’ The thought of coming back to the empty flat bothered her. This was the first time she’d lived alone. At university she’d shared with friends, but her time there had been cut short and she’d moved back in with her parents. From there she’d rented places with her first fiancé and subsequent boyfriend with brief stints back home in between. After that she’d bought the cosy two-up two-down she’d shared with Liam for the last two years.
‘Kittens are manic and there’s the cost of stuff like vet’s fees and injections. It’ll wreck your curtains and scratch your furniture,’ said Sophie, with a knowing look. ‘But then the kids cost us a small fortune and they pretty much wrecked all our furniture. I’ve never been able to fix the bathroom blinds after Arlo used them as a parachute. On the plus side, I guess you don’t have to potty train a cat.’ Sophie looked thoughtful. ‘Maybe we would have been better off with kittens instead of kids …’
‘No, way. Your kids are gorgeous,’ said Anna and Sophie tilted her head questioningly. ‘Okay, they’re both proper bonkers but they’re still gorgeous.’
‘I know, but I feel like I’m doing a rubbish job in the office and a rubbish job at home. I can’t win.’
‘I don’t know how you do it all,’ said Anna. She was knackered when she got in from work and some nights was barely capable of heating a ready meal; how Sophie turned around and took care of three other people amazed her.
Sophie shrugged. ‘Anyway, how are you feeling about tomorrow?’
Anna gave a pout worthy of a sulky teen. ‘It’s not ideal, but I guess it’ll be okay.’ Anna and Sophie worked for the same insurance company who had recently taken over another company and Anna had banked on getting the job of managing the integration. However, the other company had negotiated hard and she now found herself in the odd situation of having to jointly manage the project with whomever the other company appointed. ‘To be honest, as they’re integrating into our processes I’ll be leading it by default.’
‘As long as they see it like that,’ said Sophie.
Anna badly wanted a big project on her CV, and she was willing to ruffle a few feathers to get it. ‘Yeah, let’s hope they’re a reasonable sort of person. But before that I’ve got Liam coming round to collect his stuff.’
Sophie pulled a face. ‘You know it’s times like this you really should give alcohol another go.’ Anna chuckled but there were too many demons guarding the reasons why she would never touch a drop again.
They followed the path silently until they reached the furthest oak and then turned around. From here they had a great view of all of Wildflower Park. There were a few dog walkers crisscrossing the large expanse of green in the middle and a jogger in a bright orange top circling the pond, but other than that it was just them. The sky was the palest blue edged with pearly grey clouds – like a scene escaping from an open book. It was the prettiest place and a stone’s throw from Birmingham, making it an oasis of colour on the edge of the Black Country. Anna felt a sense of calm wash over her and she knew moving here had been a good decision.
Liam was never going to be her first choice for a fun evening but he needed to pick up his stuff and she would be as amicable as she possibly could. She plonked the box marked Arsehole’s Stuff onto the sofa and noticed the velvet ring box perched on the top. She gave it a hard stare before picking it up; it had promised so much and then let her down so badly. She thought of the moment when Liam had unimaginatively pushed it across the breakfast table to her. At the time she’d hoped it would be a story she would tell her children and grandchildren – how she’d asked what it was but secretly had guessed, and how she told him he needed to be on one knee and he’d laughed at her because that was what they did in the schmaltzy films she watched but he’d done it anyway. She now remembered the begrudging look in his eyes as he did so and the lack of any romantic precursor to his offer of ‘Let’s get married.’
She realised now it hadn’t even been a question. He hadn’t asked her as such, just merely suggested it as he would a casual trip to the cinema. Yes, this box had a lot to answer for. Anna didn’t open it; she knew the ring inside. It was the classic claw setting – the ring she had always wanted, the one she had dropped into conversation with Liam many times. Seeing it again was not going to help.
Seven o’clock came and Anna checked her mobile. She wanted this to be over. She wanted Liam to come in, take his things and go with as little small talk as possible. She was moving on with her life and this was a key milestone along her journey. The knock on the door made her jump and she shook her head at her own silliness.
‘Hi,’ she said, opening the door. Liam appeared relaxed and casual, the polar opposite of how she was feeling. ‘Come in.’