the children’s achievements of the term so far. Karen shoved it on to the TV cabinet without reading the rest.
She was used to the still silence that came with too much time home alone, but today it unsettled her, and she switched the TV on to fill the void where a bustling after-school routine might have been. It flickered into life and she left it on the channel it was already tuned to, ignoring the predictable fodder of the retired and unemployed that came on and heading upstairs to fix her make-up before Michael arrived. She wanted his mental picture of her to be a good one, to last him the few days he’d be away. In the couple of years they’d been together, they had made sure never to let themselves go, become comfortable in the way they might have done had things been different. Their time together was always cherished, knowing that he might have to leave at any minute if a family emergency arose.
As she refreshed her lipstick and mascara and applied more blusher to her cheekbones, she thought of poor exhausted Eleanor and the way she never had a second to spend on herself any more, and of Bea and the fact that all she had was time. And her job, which didn’t exactly seem to be going swimmingly at the moment. She should offer to do more for both of them, she decided: take the boys off Eleanor’s hands for the day so she could get some well-deserved rest, spend some more time with Bea and try and find her someone who made her happy. Not that that had exactly gone well last time she’d tried – a fact Bea didn’t hesitate to remind her of. In retrospect it had probably been a silly idea to set her friend up with someone she worked with, though Bea could have shown a bit more gratitude and at least waited until Sean had left before calling him a total wanker under her breath.
The fact was, Karen only ever wanted the best for her friends.
When her face began to feel heavy from the make-up she would remove in a few hours’ time, she flicked the screen of her phone, dreading a message telling her that Michael had had to leave while she was still at work. There was nothing, just a couple of emails that could wait until later, and a text from Bea.
E looking harassed. Do all mums look like that? Thank God we r happily sprogless!!! Xx
Karen smiled at Bea’s way of telling her she was worried about Eleanor while trying not to look interfering. She fired off two text messages, one replying to Bea – Sure she’s fine but texting her now. Maybe we should offer to take boys this wkend? – and one to Eleanor: Love our lunches. Miss u as always. Anything I can do to help with the little men? Xx
Bea replied almost instantly.
Sounds good. Let me know when. Xx
Karen was just about to tap out another message, her thumb hovering above the screen, when she heard Michael’s key in the door.
6
Eleanor
As Eleanor left the café, she felt the calm and freedom seep away from her like a physical drain on her body. She had to go and pick Noah up from her mum’s, then it would be back to school for Toby, followed by tea and bathtime. When Adam arrived home, he was usually too knackered to put the boys to bed, so she’d end up doing that too. It would be 8.30 before she could sit down, and then she’d be listening for the monitor all evening, eventually crawling into bed for her three hours’ sleep before Noah woke again.
As she drove, she thought of Bea and Karen and what they would be doing with their evenings. With Michael away, Karen would probably work, typing up notes, making referrals and sorting invoices, all done from the comfort of her own sofa with a glass of wine in her hand and a trashy movie on TV. Bea would spend her evening at the gym, popping to Eleanor’s long enough to disturb the kids – no matter what she promised – then getting changed to head out with the girls from work, no doubt. She’d drink and laugh until late and then climb into bed safe in the knowledge that tomorrow was Saturday and she could sleep in before lunch out with Karen or one of her other friends.