Wildflower Park Series. Bella Osborne

savages, or worse still it appeared the children had managed to cover every surface with unidentifiable sticky substances. Anna didn’t have to put up with this; she only had herself to think about and Sophie envied her. She could barely remember a time when she hadn’t been running around after someone else. Sophie meandered through the house surveying the devastation. She’d only been gone for forty-eight hours. Hurricanes did less damage than her children. She retrieved a Peppa Pig sock from the goldfish bowl, pushed the pizza box to the floor and slumped onto the sofa and crumpled into tears. This was her reality – her life – and she didn’t want it any more.

      An hour later her distress had morphed into fury and with the children occupied by the television she was washing the kitchen floor with vigour. She didn’t know what Anna was doing right now but she knew she wouldn’t be washing a kitchen floor that looked like the England rugby team had been wrestling in treacle on it. She reckoned Anna was most likely mulling over all the men she had to choose from. She had Liam virtually begging her to take him back, she had a fake relationship with the most gorgeously sexy man on the planet and a mysterious texting admirer. Life wasn’t fair. A key turned in the door and her hackles rose.

      ‘Hiya, Sophe,’ came Dave’s familiarly jolly call. ‘You won’t believe the day I’ve had …’ he began as he flung his coat on the stairs and Sophie met him in the hall, Marigold-clad hands held aloft like a surgeon.

      ‘There’s a hook for that,’ said Sophie, pointing into the downstairs loo. She cringed at the thought of what she’d found in there earlier.

      Dave twitched before giving her a fleeting kiss on the cheek. ‘You okay?’

      ‘I’m a bit plucked off to be honest. Did you not notice the state of the house before you went to work?’

      Dave threw up his hands. ‘Come on, Sophe. I’ve been a single parent for the past few days. Trying to keep ahead of the devil monkeys is really hard.’ He actually looked serious, like he was telling her something she didn’t already know.

      ‘One night. It was just one night! I have the terror tots twenty-four seven. How do you think I cope?’ She could feel temper bubbling up inside her.

      Dave was pulling a questioning face. ‘They’re at school and nursery most of the day so technically—’

      Sophie’s exasperation level hitched up a notch. ‘Technically when they’re in school and nursery I’m at work, just like you. What do you think I do there? Curl up for a nice sleep?’

      ‘No, but you’re better at all this than I am.’ His expression changed to conciliatory. ‘It goes to show you how much we need you. We’re lost without you.’ He tried to pull her into a hug and she pushed him away, her expression stony. He wasn’t going to get around her that easily.

      ‘Dinner will be ten minutes.’ She could barely say the words for the tightness of her jaw.

      ‘Great, I’m starving. I couldn’t get Petal to eat anything while you were away but I think she may have eaten a sock. I couldn’t find it anywhere.’

      ‘Fish tank,’ said Sophie, and she went to check on the veg.

      Anna had been for a run, done all her washing and ironing, caught up on her work emails and now she was very bored. Everyone else had a life and here she was treading water, waiting for what exactly? She had no idea. She knew she wasn’t making the most of the gloriously bright sunshine streaming through the flat. She could hear families having fun in the park and she wished she was part of it. It gave her an idea.

      ‘Hiya, Sophie. Have you got plans for this afternoon?’

      ‘There’s a football match on, which means Dave is busy.’ She huffed her frustration down the phone. ‘Me and the kids are going to make and ice cupcakes then we’re going on a wildflower hunt.’

      Anna raised an eyebrow. ‘They don’t take much hunting.’

      ‘Ha, ha. We’ve got spotters’ sheets and we’re trying to tick off all the wildflowers, which should keep them out of mischief for a while. Why?’

      ‘Can I come too?’ asked Anna, feeling as pathetic as she sounded.

      ‘Err, of course. I mean it’s not exactly riveting. But I’d love the company.’

      ‘Great. Call for me. I’ll bring a picnic.’

      Anna needed to be kept busy. She was the sort of person who struggled to relax. She liked her mind to be fully occupied. A quick trip to the local shop and she was making healthy snacks and rustling up homemade hummus.

      Sophie knocked as planned and Anna bounded outside with a cool box and a picnic rug. Sophie had the look of the perpetually harassed about her.

      ‘Hiya, kids.’ Petal launched herself at Anna, puckering her lips for a kiss, and Anna obliged. Anna gave Arlo a kiss on his forehead and he rubbed it off quickly. ‘You okay?’ she asked Sophie.

      ‘We made cakes,’ she said by way of explanation.

      ‘Ah. With blue icing.’

      ‘How’d you know …’ began Sophie as Anna fished a lump of blue icing from Sophie’s hair and presented it to her.

      ‘Next time you need your kitchen redecorated invite my kids round to make cakes.’

      Inside the park was a hive of activity with a group of teenagers playing a game of Frisbee up by the oak trees, a number of families picnicking on the benches and a variety of people and dogs all out enjoying the sunshine. But the park was so large everyone had plenty of space. They walked past the pond where a fisherman was packing up his tackle and a gang of small children were feeding a family of ducks.

      They decided on a spot near the children’s swings, under the dappled shelter of a large tree, and set out their wares.

      ‘Cupcake!’ shouted Arlo.

      ‘Carrot stick,’ offered Anna and Arlo screwed up his nose.

      Sophie gave him a bottle of bubble mixture and he and Petal began happily making and chasing the bubbles.

      ‘What’s up?’ asked Sophie, scooping up a dollop of hummus with a celery stick.

      Anna took a deep breath, letting the tranquillity of their corner of the park engulf her. She watched Arlo and Petal chasing after bubbles before being distracted by trying to catch the tiny pink blossoms as a breeze tickled the trees. ‘I’m off plan and I don’t like it.’

      She could see this had grabbed Sophie’s attention. ‘Off plan? I’d love to be free as a bird like you.’

      Anna had seized her independence and was settling into life on her own terms but she was still very much outside her comfort zone. ‘I don’t want to moan but where am I going in life?’

      ‘Wherever the hell you want to. Anna, you need to stop moping and give yourself a shake.’ Anna was taken aback. ‘I don’t mean to be unkind but lots of people would kill to be in your situation with no ties or responsibilities. You could literally do anything you want to.’ She pointed a celery stick at Anna. ‘Yes, you’ve had a shock with Liam messing everything up but much better to find out now than eight years and three kids down the road.’

      ‘You’re right.’ There was possibly a gentler way of saying it but whilst Sophie was blunt she was honest too. Anna narrowed her eyes. Was there another message in there somewhere? ‘Are you okay?’