“Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
“Your husband is such a lovely man. He’s always making us laugh. My little boy, Gary, is in the same class as Florence. They’re really good friends. She’s probably mentioned him to you.”
“Err, yeah, Gary. Of course.” Had Florence mentioned his name? I couldn’t be sure.
Another woman came to join us.
“Are you Jill Maxwell?”
“That’s me.”
“Jack is always talking about you. I’m Carol by the way. Kylie’s my little girl. Florence must have mentioned her to you. The two of them are as thick as thieves.”
“Kylie? Err, yes, of course. Nice to meet you.”
“Jack’s not ill, is he?”
“No, he’s had to stay in for the boiler repairman.”
“Jack is such a lovely man. You’re so very lucky.”
“I am.”
A bell rang inside the building and a few moments later, there was a clicking sound as the iron gates opened. We all made our way along the path to the reception building where the kids were waiting with their teachers. As each child spotted their mum or dad, they rushed across the room to join them. I couldn’t see Florence at first, but then she appeared, carrying something weird looking.
“Mummy, look what I’ve made.”
“That’s lovely, darling. It’s a fantastic—err—spider?”
“It’s not a spider, Mummy. It’s an octopus.”
“Oh yes, of course it is.”
The legs of the spider/octopus had clearly been made from the ribbons that Aunt Lucy had given me that morning.
“Do you really like it, Mummy?”
“I do. It’s amazing.”
“Where’s Daddy? Why didn’t he come to get me?”
“He had to stay at home because the heating has broken.”
“Is it cold in the house?”
“I haven’t actually been home yet, but I wouldn’t think so. Anyway, the repairman will be coming soon.”
I was so busy chatting to Florence that I didn’t notice the approach of a young woman until she was standing beside us.
“Hi, I’m Florence’s teacher.” She was wearing a sensible cardigan and skirt, and very sensible shoes. Even her hair, which was taken up into a bun, was sensible.
“Miss Soap?”
“It’s Miss Hope, actually.”
“Sorry, that’s what I meant. Florence was just showing me her spider—err—octopus.”
“All of the children have made different animals using ribbon. Florence’s octopus is very good, isn’t it?”
“It’s fabulous. She’s very clever.”
“Is Jack poorly?”
“No, he’s fine. He had to stay in because the boiler is on the blink.”
“Right, I’d better get going. It was nice to meet you.”
On the walk back through the village, Florence talked nonstop, telling me about the different animals that everyone else in her class had made.
“No one had as many different colours of ribbon as I had, Mummy.”
“Your octopus is brilliant. Just wait until Daddy sees it.”
When we arrived at the house, the boiler repairman’s van was parked behind my car. As soon as we were inside, Florence went running over to Jack.
“Look what I’ve made, Daddy.”
“That’s a lovely octopus, darling.” He gave her a hug.
How on Earth had he known it was an octopus? It definitely looked more like a spider.
“Good news, Jill. The man says it won’t be a big job to mend the boiler.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Where’s Buddy, Daddy?” Florence pulled on Jack’s trouser leg.
“He’s out in the garden.”
“I’m going to play ball with him.” She ran outside.
“Did everything go alright at the school, Jill?” Jack said.
“Fine. I’ve just spent the last ten minutes talking to your fan club.”
“What do you mean?” He laughed.
“I was only standing outside the school gates for a few minutes, and two mums came over to ask where you were, and if you were okay. Then, when I got inside the school, Miss Soap, Hope, or whatever her name is, also seemed very concerned about you.”
“What can I tell you?” He grinned. “I’m a popular guy.”
“Apparently. Did the man say how much the repair would be?”
“He reckons it shouldn’t cost much more than fifty quid.”
“That’s good.”
“Mummy!” Florence came running back into the house, clearly upset about something.
“What’s the matter, darling?”
“Buddy won’t fetch the ball.”
“Are you sure? Have you thrown it for him a few times?”
“Yes, but he just stands there. I think he forgot how to do it.”
“Okay. You stay here with Daddy, and I’ll go and have a word with Buddy.”
The Chihuahua was sitting on the path, giving me the evil eye.
“Hey, Buddy, I thought we’d agreed that you were going to play ball with Florence.”
“Yes, but if you remember, part of that agreement was that you were going to provide me with the food I’d requested. And yet, today, all I’ve had to eat is that same old slop.”
“We’ve not had a chance to go to the supermarket yet.”
“And that’s my problem, why?”
“Come on. If you play with her today, we’ll make sure you get the new food tomorrow.”
“No way. I played with her yesterday as a gesture of goodwill, but if you want me to do it again today, you’ll have to come up with the goods.”
It was clear there would be no persuading him, so I went back into the house.
“Where’s Florence gone?” I said.
“She’s just nipped upstairs to the loo.”
“Buddy is refusing to play with her until he gets the new dog food. Why don’t you pop to the supermarket to get it? I’ll stay here with Florence, and I’ll see to the boiler man.”
“Okay.” He grabbed his car keys. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
A few minutes later, Florence came running down the stairs. “Mummy, Auntie Kathy is here with Lizzie.”
“Are you sure?”
“I saw them through the window.”
Sure enough, moments later, there was a knock at
