Soldiers' Wives by Fiona; Field

Ims – you’re so shameless!’
    â€˜I know. Good, isn’t it?’
    â€˜I think I need to learn from you.’
    â€˜Then you’ve come to the right place.’
    The next morning, Maddy, with Nate in his buggy and loaded up with his nappy bag and emergency supplies, wandered along Omdurman Avenue towards Susie’s quarter. Caro had cried off the babysitting circle meeting, citing an imminent visit from her mother-in-law and the need to do a massive shop for supplies – ‘Mainly gin, to get me through it.’
    Maddy still felt she hardly knew anyone on the patch and was a little apprehensive about rocking up on her own, but Seb had told her to man up and so here she was. Tentatively she rang the bell and was assaulted by a shattering wave of noise as the door opened.
    â€˜Sorry, it’s bedlam,’ said Susie, looking flustered as she ushered Maddy in.
    Susie might have
looked
flustered but everything else about her was immaculate, from her blond hair tucked into a natty French pleat, to her beautifully manicured nails, to her crease-free linen shirt over her pressed jeans. Mrs Middleton couldn’t have looked neater or tidier. Maddy was instantly conscious that, in contrast, her appearance left a lot to be desired. Maybe she should have changed into a clean top after all, but she hadn’t bothered because she knew Nate would only dribble onto it the instant she picked him up again.
    It certainly was bedlam, though, as Susie’s sitting room was far too small for the ten or so toddlers. Surrounding them, sitting on a mix of chairs, were mothers off the patch, some of whom Maddy vaguely recognised, most of whom she didn’t.
    â€˜Coffee?’ offered Susie.
    â€˜Think I’ll give it a miss,’ said Maddy, wondering about the wisdom of juggling a baby and a hot drink.
    â€˜It’ll calm down in half an hour. Lots of the mums have to fetch kids from the playgroup at about eleven thirty and those that don’t, go home to get lunch ready.’
    Susie clapped her hands and got some sort of order in the room, so she could introduce Maddy. The other wives greeted her with smiles and waves and some words of welcome, as Susie reeled off their names.
    â€˜Don’t worry,’ said one of the wives, who Maddy thought might be called Jenny – or was it Penny? ‘You’ve got ages and ages to get to know us. That’s the thing with regiments: our husbands may get posted out now and again to staff jobs but they always end up back here.’
    Back here? Constantly? Oh joy, thought Maddy, but she smiled brightly. She knew she was being unfair; there was nothing wrong with her neighbours – shit, she hardly knew them – but did she really want to spend the rest of her life surrounded by the same people, people who would judge her on her ability to throw a dinner party or chair a committee? She suddenly had a vision of lab rats scurrying round, their behaviour monitored by Mrs Notley and Susie, and suppressed a slightly hysterical giggle. She sat on a vacant chair and jiggled Nathan, who was grizzling softly on her lap, as she listened to the conversation which now resumed around her. As far as she could tell they were discussing the best way to get mud and cam cream out of combat kit.
    Shoot me now, thought Maddy, is this what life holds for me? Is this to be the highlight of my days, gathering laundry tips? She thought back to her time at Oxford and conversations she’d had with fellow students. Never once could she remember anyone swapping household management advice. The smile on her face became more forced. This wasn’t what she’d envisaged when she’d agreed to marry Seb. When they’d been dating, it had seemed to be all summer balls, dinner nights and glamorous men in uniform. Not this. Not for the first time in recent weeks she wondered if she’d made a dreadful mistake.
    Then, as Susie had predicted, the mothers