opened the post, including a letter from the chair of governors of Barrack Road Primary School acknowledging his concerns but backing up everything Mrs Watts had already said.
It was lunchtime before he remembered his eating plan and heated soup for all three of them. Maria liked squares of buttered bread sunk amongst the vegetables. She fished them out with a spoon and a finger, saying, ‘Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm,’ and conveyed each messily to her mouth. Josie, like Nico, just dunked the bread before spooning up the remaining soup.
The three of them sat around the breakfast bar, Josie providing a stream of questions. ‘When can we have our Christmas lights up? And you know Mum’s ill again, how long will Maria be staying?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Nico was aware he wasn’t providing the positivity Josie searched for. She was too sensitive and intelligent to be fobbed off, but he added, ‘What would you like to do after lunch?’
‘Make charm bracelets,’ Josie said promptly. She’d received a set as a birthday present. Unfortunately, but foreseeably, Maria loved the charms and the beads and tried to snatch them out of their compartments until Josie snapped at her. Maria began to cry.
‘She’s only acting her age,’ Nico said gently, swinging Maria off her stool.
Josie acted her age, too, glaring red-faced at the glittering mess of charms. ‘She doesn’t have to be so stupid.’
That was when Nico’s boss Anders chose to ring. When Nico saw his name on the screen of his mobile phone he switched it to silent and ignored it. But before he could get the girls into their coats to forget their spat with a walk on the common, Anders rang the home phone and Josie answered it.
‘Yes, he’s here,’ she said. ‘Dad, it’s for you.’
‘We need a meeting first thing Monday, Nico,’ boomed Anders in his half-jovial, half-bossy manner when Nico had smothered a sigh and taken the handset.
‘Yes, I replied to your email. It’s on my calendar.’ For now, Nico ignored the looming childcare issues.
Then Josie tried to help Maria into her coat and Maria protested, ‘Mydad do it!’ at a volume that made Nico realise he’d developed a headache.
‘A new world war is breaking out,’ he said lightly, over Maria’s howls. ‘I’d better go.’
A pause before Anders said, ‘Sure.’ He didn’t sound any more understanding than he ever did as he ended the call but Nico didn’t care. It was Saturday.
‘Hey, hey, who’s crying?’ he exclaimed, wrapping Maria up in her coat and tickling her. ‘The coat monster doesn’t like crying!’
Maria began to laugh instead and as Josie was pouting Nico chased her around with Maria still parcelled in his arms groaning, ‘The coat monster, the coat monster!’ until Josie burst into giggles too.
As they were bundling the buggy into the boot of the car, Vivvi called. Nico answered, opening the car door for the girls to get in.
Vivvi muttered tearfully, ‘Just quickly while Loren’s in the bathroom. She’s a bloody mess. I’m taking her home with me again. Red’s not feeling so good so I’ve got to scoot. I don’t know which way to turn but I’ll call you later.’
He was left saying, ‘Right, hope Red’s OK,’ to a dead phone.
They drove to the common beneath a sky of marching clouds. Exercise was his go-to so he kept Maria in her buggy for the first mile by shouting, ‘Let’s go-go-go!’ and running up and down over frosty ruts and potholes to make her chortle with glee. Then they reached the climbing things and Maria yelled to get out to clamber on wooden animals and follow Josie up a cargo net. As nobody was around, Nico did twenty chin-ups on a horizontal bar, Josie counting aloud for him and Maria shouting, ‘Hooray!’
Then they tramped on, Josie chattering about ice forming at the edges of puddles, Maria drowsing in the buggy. Part of Nico’s mind was still occupied with what would happen on Monday. He tried to think positively. Maybe Vivvi and Loren could cope. If Maria went to join Loren at Vivvi and Red’s, Loren would feel supported by other adults; Vivvi would only have to supervise.
He returned home to roast chicken breasts and root vegetables for dinner, his head clearer.
The girls watched TV, squashed together on the sofa as if it was National Cuddle Day. Nico could supervise them from the kitchen so he made time to call his mum Carina for the first time in weeks.
‘Hej, Mamma, det är jag,’ he said. Hi Mum, it’s me. ‘Any snow