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‘Neither are you, pumpkin. Now get in your seat, arms up.’
‘It’s fine,’ laughed Elsie, smiling and shaking her head in amusement as she opened the passenger door. ‘This is very kind of you.’
‘It’s a pleasure,’ she said, smiling. ‘Honestly.’
With her eldest child secure, Anna stepped carefully through the snow and round to the far side where she opened the door and lowered her youngest into the second seat, clipping her in quickly and planting a cold kiss on her nose.
Elsie clambered up into the tall Land Rover, using her hands to pull her up and into the seat whilst keeping the weight off her foot. The inside was spacious and still warm from the journey out, and the cream leather seat felt welcoming as she settled down into it, marvelling at the bizarre turn of events.
‘Will your husband be okay walking back with my two?’
‘He’ll be fine, he makes friends as easily as he breathes. He’s one of those people that knows everyone. We can’t go shopping without breaking into a friendly chat with at least three different people. We stayed at a hotel in the south of France two years ago and he knew the bloody porter.’
‘You can’t say bloody either,’ said Anna’s eldest from the back as her mother smiled and feigned guilty eyes.
‘He seems like a great dad,’ said Elsie as Anna pulled away. On the other side of the carpark she could see Alice, Tom and Cole stepping over the stile that led away from the lake. Alice was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
‘He’s brilliant,’ said Anna, as the four-by-four made swift progress over the mushy carpark. ‘Isn’t he girls?’
‘YES!’ they both shouted, the eldest one practically screaming whilst the youngest copied and giggled, rocking backwards and forwards excitedly in her seat.
‘How old are they?’
Anna looked up into the rear view mirror. ‘How old are you, Marlie?’
‘SIX.’
‘And Amabella is two.’
‘Such lovely names.’
‘They’re pretty good girls too, when they’re not being tiny terrorists.’
‘Do you have treats at your house?’ said Marlie, leaning forward as she kicked the back of Elsie’s chair.
‘Marlie,’ admonished Anna from the front, shooting her a look in the rear view mirror.
‘I might have some chocolate somewhere,’ smiled Elsie, turning back and winking.
‘You’re such a cheek,’ said her mother, shaking her head.
‘How long have you been married?’ asked Elsie.
‘Eight years,’ she said, turning to glance and smile at the stranger in her front seat whilst tucking a loose strand of her blonde bob behind her ear. ‘Hold tight for a second.’
The road ahead was bumpy and Anna did her best to navigate the potholes and mounds of snow in an effort to keep Elsie’s ankle as still as possible.
‘What about you and your husband?’ she said, relaxing as the road smoothed out. ‘I never caught his name amongst all the chaos.’
‘Cole, and we’ve been married almost four years now, it’s our anniversary next week.’
‘Congratulations. Where did you guys meet?’
Elsie laughed, shaking her head. ‘I would love to tell you, but perhaps when there’s a few less curious little ears around.’
‘Ooh, interesting,’ laughed Anna, turning to meet Elsie’s gaze with wide eyes and a curious frown.
‘What’s interesting?’ said Marlie from the back.
