Wildflower Park Series. Bella Osborne

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       Chapter Thirteen

      Sophie came back to find her home ransacked by marauding 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 СКАЧАТЬ