room floor while she shot upstairs and got herself washed and dressed in record time, despite tiptoeing around the still-sleeping Seb.
The patch was quiet and most bedroom curtains were still drawn as Maddy wheeled Rose along the road and Nathan skipped along happily beside her, chattering incessantly in the way that almost all three-year-olds do. Maddy tried to sound engaged and interested but the reality was that she wanted to die. When they reached the park she stared longingly at the bench there but knew she wouldn’t get a chance to sit down and bask in the early morning sun and instead she pushed Nathan on the swing and then provided the counter-balance at the other end of the see-saw.
‘More, Mummy, faster,’ demanded Nathan as Maddy pushed the see-saw down, time and time again.
She swallowed as bile rose briefly in her throat. God, she mustn’t be sick, not in front of the kids.
‘Go and sit down.’
Maddy spun round. ‘Rollo!’
‘Sweetie, you look terrible.’
‘I don’t feel too bright,’ Maddy admitted. ‘The mother of all hangovers.’ She gazed at Rollo who looked disgustingly chipper and bouncy. She relinquished her see-saw duty to him and tottered off to the bench. ‘Anyway, what are you doing up so early? I brought the kids out so you and Seb could have a lie-in, in peace and quiet.’
‘Very noble,’ said Rollo. ‘We didn’t drink that much last night.’
‘Three bottles,’ said Maddy, wishing her head would stop throbbing.
‘Is that all?’
‘ All?! ’ Maddy regretted her outburst instantly. She shut her eyes as her head reeled.
‘Lightweight,’ said Rollo.
She opened her eyes to see him grinning at her. ‘Wait till you have kids,’ she grumbled. ‘ Then call me a lightweight. And you still haven’t answered my question, why are you up so early?’
‘I heard movement and I saw you going out for a walk. I thought I’d join you.’
‘Sorry, I tried to be as quiet as possible.’
‘You were. You didn’t wake me, I was already awake, looking at property websites.’
‘Find anything?’
‘Lots.’
‘I would imagine the world’s your oyster when you’ve got your sort of cash to chuck at a place.’
‘I’m very lucky.’
‘You are.’
Rollo stared at her. ‘That was said with feeling.’
‘Sorry. It’s just I’ve got a friend who is house-hunting right now and her budget is much more limiting. The amount of choice she’s got is almost zero.’
‘I’m sorry.’
Maddy shrugged. ‘Don’t be, it’s not your fault.’
Rollo carried on amusing Nathan with the see-saw and then the swings again until Rose began to get restless.
‘I think it’s time we returned and woke Sleeping Beauty,’ said Maddy. ‘And I expect you’d like some breakfast.’
‘Sounds good to me.’
‘Full fry?’
‘You sure? I mean if you’re not feeling well...’
‘I’m feeling a lot better. The painkillers have kicked in and the fresh air has worked wonders.’ But she was still looking forward to the moment when Rollo and Seb took themselves off to go and see the estate agents in town and then go off on some viewings that Rollo had already arranged. A quiet day, cooking canapés and finger-food, and looking after the kids, was exactly what she needed.
*
It was nearly four when Seb and Rollo got back from their day out, trawling Wiltshire for the more desirable properties available and which might suit Rollo’s requirements, and Maddy was at the end of her tether. Far from having a lovely, quiet and peaceful day looking after the kids and rustling up tasty nibbles, Nathan had decided that being difficult, truculent and throwing himself on the floor, screaming and crying at hourly intervals, was the only way to behave. Nathan, usually good and relatively placid for a just-three-year-old, seemed to have decided that he was about to miss out on his quota of toddler tantrums and he needed to bank a few before he was deemed too old to get away with it. And what
The patch was quiet and most bedroom curtains were still drawn as Maddy wheeled Rose along the road and Nathan skipped along happily beside her, chattering incessantly in the way that almost all three-year-olds do. Maddy tried to sound engaged and interested but the reality was that she wanted to die. When they reached the park she stared longingly at the bench there but knew she wouldn’t get a chance to sit down and bask in the early morning sun and instead she pushed Nathan on the swing and then provided the counter-balance at the other end of the see-saw.
‘More, Mummy, faster,’ demanded Nathan as Maddy pushed the see-saw down, time and time again.
She swallowed as bile rose briefly in her throat. God, she mustn’t be sick, not in front of the kids.
‘Go and sit down.’
Maddy spun round. ‘Rollo!’
‘Sweetie, you look terrible.’
‘I don’t feel too bright,’ Maddy admitted. ‘The mother of all hangovers.’ She gazed at Rollo who looked disgustingly chipper and bouncy. She relinquished her see-saw duty to him and tottered off to the bench. ‘Anyway, what are you doing up so early? I brought the kids out so you and Seb could have a lie-in, in peace and quiet.’
‘Very noble,’ said Rollo. ‘We didn’t drink that much last night.’
‘Three bottles,’ said Maddy, wishing her head would stop throbbing.
‘Is that all?’
‘ All?! ’ Maddy regretted her outburst instantly. She shut her eyes as her head reeled.
‘Lightweight,’ said Rollo.
She opened her eyes to see him grinning at her. ‘Wait till you have kids,’ she grumbled. ‘ Then call me a lightweight. And you still haven’t answered my question, why are you up so early?’
‘I heard movement and I saw you going out for a walk. I thought I’d join you.’
‘Sorry, I tried to be as quiet as possible.’
‘You were. You didn’t wake me, I was already awake, looking at property websites.’
‘Find anything?’
‘Lots.’
‘I would imagine the world’s your oyster when you’ve got your sort of cash to chuck at a place.’
‘I’m very lucky.’
‘You are.’
Rollo stared at her. ‘That was said with feeling.’
‘Sorry. It’s just I’ve got a friend who is house-hunting right now and her budget is much more limiting. The amount of choice she’s got is almost zero.’
‘I’m sorry.’
Maddy shrugged. ‘Don’t be, it’s not your fault.’
Rollo carried on amusing Nathan with the see-saw and then the swings again until Rose began to get restless.
‘I think it’s time we returned and woke Sleeping Beauty,’ said Maddy. ‘And I expect you’d like some breakfast.’
‘Sounds good to me.’
‘Full fry?’
‘You sure? I mean if you’re not feeling well...’
‘I’m feeling a lot better. The painkillers have kicked in and the fresh air has worked wonders.’ But she was still looking forward to the moment when Rollo and Seb took themselves off to go and see the estate agents in town and then go off on some viewings that Rollo had already arranged. A quiet day, cooking canapés and finger-food, and looking after the kids, was exactly what she needed.
*
It was nearly four when Seb and Rollo got back from their day out, trawling Wiltshire for the more desirable properties available and which might suit Rollo’s requirements, and Maddy was at the end of her tether. Far from having a lovely, quiet and peaceful day looking after the kids and rustling up tasty nibbles, Nathan had decided that being difficult, truculent and throwing himself on the floor, screaming and crying at hourly intervals, was the only way to behave. Nathan, usually good and relatively placid for a just-three-year-old, seemed to have decided that he was about to miss out on his quota of toddler tantrums and he needed to bank a few before he was deemed too old to get away with it. And what
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