Spencer slumped into the chair behind the till. He was already fed up hearing birthday greetings, and it wasn’t even midday.
‘And to let you know we have Anchorage Park on the second Saturday in April. Our kindness awareness festival is officially on the map.’
That perked him up. He went out the back to finish his flower arrangement. With more good news to tell the boys, noword from Beth, which he was taking as a good sign, and a free feed at the pub later, courtesy of Lottie, there wasn’t really that much to grumble about. In fact, he mentally patted himself on the back for making it to another year.
Still, a smidge of negativity knocked on his brain, out of habit, as he wasn’t used to this glowing malarkey, which was annoying. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had a good life once Rebecca took him on.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to ignore the fact his childhood, pre-aunt, still had the ability to rattle him. It had taught him from an early age to expect doom and gloom. Rebecca had taught him life was what you make it. And even after so many years, the two mindsets fought.
Quietly sighing, he carried on making a guitar out of flowers because that was easy and relaxing.
Chapter 18
Beth
Beth had never felt so nervous before. She kept telling herself off for being ridiculous. All she was doing was mixing with other parents. Nothing new considering her job. So why on earth was she feeling so worried? It wasn’t as if they knew about her doorstep incident. At least, she hoped not.
A young woman greeted her at the doorway to the church hall, not giving her the time to turn on her heels and run away. Oh well, she was there now. Might as well check it out. Besides, she really wanted to talk baby banks with anyone who would listen.
The hall held a light scent of Archie’s baby lotion, which had Beth raise her nose to the high ceiling for a second sniff.
‘Just park your pram over there, please,’ said the woman who seemed to be the host.
Beth turned to the small windows lining one wall and pressed on the brake. Archie was staring up at her, eyes wide and alert. She picked him up, letting his blanket slide down to the mattress.
‘Morning,’ said a man around her age. ‘Lovely day today.’
‘Yes, nice and mild.’ She watched him lift a baby dressed in a blue tracksuit from his own pram.
‘I’m Edward.’ He turned his child to face her. ‘And this little chap is Lester. First day?’
Beth nodded as she smiled at his baby. ‘Yes. I’m Beth, and this is my son, Archie.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Archie,’ said Edward, waggling a teething ring in his face.
‘So what exactly do we do here?’ she asked quietly.
‘Different things each week.’ He gestured to the host laying colourful soft playmats over the hard floor. ‘Shelby has us sing songs, do baby yoga, talk about how we’re coping, baby troubleshooting.’ He snorted as he laughed.
‘Hey, guys,’ said a woman around Beth’s age. ‘I hope we’re not doing stretching today. My back’s gone again.’
Edward introduced Lola to Beth, then two more mums who came along.
Soon enough, Beth found herself sitting in a circle, introducing herself and Archie, as they were the only newbies in the group.
The parents were friendly and quite pleased she was a teacher, thinking she should know more than them, even after she told them she normally worked with six-year-olds.
Shelby was quick to warm up her group, having them sing something upbeat while clapping their babies’ hands.
Archie appeared to be the youngest, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He broke out his smile a few times, burped twice during the song, and stretched an arm, which made Beth laugh, as it looked as though he was about to dance.
‘As Lola’s back is hurting,’ said Shelby, ‘why don’t we spend some time talking about how we can adjust our posture to reduce injury.’
Lola chuckled. ‘All I need adjusting is the lift in my block of flats. If I didn’t have to lug that big thing up and down ten flights, I might not have a bad back.’ She motioned towards her pram.
Beth listened as another mum spoke of sleeping a lot in a rocking chair, as it was the only time her baby got a good sleep. Someone else said their baby would sleep well if it wasn’t for her other two kids screaming the house down every night because they refused to go to bed.
The stories continued, and it was surprising to hear so many complaints. Edward said he felt lonely on the days he didn’t havethe energy to get out, which gained him lots of sympathy smiles. Beth wondered where his partner was but didn’t like to ask. No one had asked her, so she figured it wasn’t a topic unless the person brought it up.
