In spite of all the changes, this was what made it worthwhile. Stan’s smiles and laughter lifted her heart.
She’d be back at work soon, she told herself, and then things could get back to normal. Her assistant Anna was managing the
shop while she was on maternity leave, but that time was drawing to a close. Monday would be her first day back – while Owen
was minding Stan at home, she’d check over the accounts and have a catch-up with Anna. She was really looking forward to it.
She walked back down the stairs, dropping the towels in the laundry on the way.
‘How’s he doing?’ Maggie asked Owen, as she stepped back into the kitchen.
‘He’s good,’ Owen said.
He beckoned Maggie over for another kiss. As she closed her eyes and his lips met hers, she felt a glimmer of the woman she’d
been when they first started going out – single-minded and focused, sexy even. Last summer, after a fling with an ex left
her broken-hearted, she’d fallen for Owen and hadn’t looked back.
‘That was nice,’ she said, opening her eyes slowly.
Stan started to wail. Maggie took him in her arms and held him close, gently rocking him and cooing. After a few minutes of
pacing up and down, he started to settle again.
‘Maggie,’ Owen said, ‘I’m afraid we need to have a chat about next week.’
‘Sure,’ she said, sitting down in a chair with Stan on her lap. ‘What’s up?’
‘I’ve been offered a garden-landscaping job in Devon – a cottage, friend of a friend. I wouldn’t normally consider work that
far away, you know that, but this is a really good opportunity. They’ve offered me a place to stay for a week, while I get
the job done.’
Maggie furrowed her brow. This wasn’t what they’d planned.
‘What do you think?’ he continued. ‘I know we agreed I’d mind Stan while you started back at the shop, and obviously that’s
important too. I can turn it down if you want – it’s just … well, we need the money at the moment, don’t we?’
He was right, Maggie thought. When Stan was born, they’d splashed out on the best for him without hesitating, and their latest
credit card bill reflected that brutally, in black and white.
‘You should go,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll work something out.’
Alison
Thursday, 5th September
‘Be careful what you wish for, eh?’ Jamie said, leaning over Alison’s shoulder as she worked on the accounts.
She turned to face him. ‘Nothing can burst my bubble right now, Jamie, and you know it. I’ve waited too long for this. Not
even number-crunching could take the smile off my face.’
He pulled up a stool opposite her. It was six o’clock, dark outside, and they’d shut Blitz Spirit for the evening. The room,
filled with vintage furniture and dried flowers in jam jars, was lit by the fairy lights that bordered the fireplace, and
a desk lamp next to Alison. Her neat dark red nails flicked through the café paperwork.
‘Seeing as you’re being so industrious, can I tempt you to a raspberry and almond muffin?’ Jamie said, bringing out a plate
from the glass display case. ‘They’ll only go to waste if we don’t eat them. They got out-sold by the ginger flapjacks today.’
‘Don’t mind if I do,’ Alison said. She took one and peeled off the paper wrapper. ‘Don’t fancy sticking the kettle on too,
do you?’
‘Six months and it feels as if you’ve always been here bossing me around,’ he said, shaking his head, the glints of grey in
his dark hair catching the light. He got out a teapot and two matching cups.
‘Well, in a way, I have been,’ Alison said, thinking back over the year she’d spent running evening craft classes at the shop.
‘But nothing beats being a partner.’
‘It’s brilliant having you on board,’ Jamie said, flicking on the kettle. ‘When the business took off in the spring I was
really struggling. Well, you saw that for yourself. On the one hand it was everything
She’d be back at work soon, she told herself, and then things could get back to normal. Her assistant Anna was managing the
shop while she was on maternity leave, but that time was drawing to a close. Monday would be her first day back – while Owen
was minding Stan at home, she’d check over the accounts and have a catch-up with Anna. She was really looking forward to it.
She walked back down the stairs, dropping the towels in the laundry on the way.
‘How’s he doing?’ Maggie asked Owen, as she stepped back into the kitchen.
‘He’s good,’ Owen said.
He beckoned Maggie over for another kiss. As she closed her eyes and his lips met hers, she felt a glimmer of the woman she’d
been when they first started going out – single-minded and focused, sexy even. Last summer, after a fling with an ex left
her broken-hearted, she’d fallen for Owen and hadn’t looked back.
‘That was nice,’ she said, opening her eyes slowly.
Stan started to wail. Maggie took him in her arms and held him close, gently rocking him and cooing. After a few minutes of
pacing up and down, he started to settle again.
‘Maggie,’ Owen said, ‘I’m afraid we need to have a chat about next week.’
‘Sure,’ she said, sitting down in a chair with Stan on her lap. ‘What’s up?’
‘I’ve been offered a garden-landscaping job in Devon – a cottage, friend of a friend. I wouldn’t normally consider work that
far away, you know that, but this is a really good opportunity. They’ve offered me a place to stay for a week, while I get
the job done.’
Maggie furrowed her brow. This wasn’t what they’d planned.
‘What do you think?’ he continued. ‘I know we agreed I’d mind Stan while you started back at the shop, and obviously that’s
important too. I can turn it down if you want – it’s just … well, we need the money at the moment, don’t we?’
He was right, Maggie thought. When Stan was born, they’d splashed out on the best for him without hesitating, and their latest
credit card bill reflected that brutally, in black and white.
‘You should go,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll work something out.’
Alison
Thursday, 5th September
‘Be careful what you wish for, eh?’ Jamie said, leaning over Alison’s shoulder as she worked on the accounts.
She turned to face him. ‘Nothing can burst my bubble right now, Jamie, and you know it. I’ve waited too long for this. Not
even number-crunching could take the smile off my face.’
He pulled up a stool opposite her. It was six o’clock, dark outside, and they’d shut Blitz Spirit for the evening. The room,
filled with vintage furniture and dried flowers in jam jars, was lit by the fairy lights that bordered the fireplace, and
a desk lamp next to Alison. Her neat dark red nails flicked through the café paperwork.
‘Seeing as you’re being so industrious, can I tempt you to a raspberry and almond muffin?’ Jamie said, bringing out a plate
from the glass display case. ‘They’ll only go to waste if we don’t eat them. They got out-sold by the ginger flapjacks today.’
‘Don’t mind if I do,’ Alison said. She took one and peeled off the paper wrapper. ‘Don’t fancy sticking the kettle on too,
do you?’
‘Six months and it feels as if you’ve always been here bossing me around,’ he said, shaking his head, the glints of grey in
his dark hair catching the light. He got out a teapot and two matching cups.
‘Well, in a way, I have been,’ Alison said, thinking back over the year she’d spent running evening craft classes at the shop.
‘But nothing beats being a partner.’
‘It’s brilliant having you on board,’ Jamie said, flicking on the kettle. ‘When the business took off in the spring I was
really struggling. Well, you saw that for yourself. On the one hand it was everything
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