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‘Stella, is there anything else you want to tell me? Anything I should know?’
Stella held her solicitor’s gaze. ‘No.’ She felt her cheeks redden. She’d always been a terrible liar, but she didn’t want to share Simon’s secrets, not until she’d had a chance to look him in the eye and ask him about them herself.
‘OK then, I’ll prepare the papers and send them to the email and address you’ve given me.’ She looked at the address Stella had written down. ‘This is a business address in St James’s.’
‘Yes,’ said Stella. ‘I have a feeling if we send the papers there, they’ll get to him.’
‘In that case, I’ll get on to it as soon as I can.’
As Stella stepped out of the office into the bright London light, she looked at her watch. She had an hour before it was time to collect the children from school so she decided to walk some of the way home, crossing the river over her favourite bridge and heading through the park. She found an empty bench and sat for a few moments; the air warm on her face. The meeting had been harder than she’d imagined, but Stella knew the really tough one was yet to come.
She took out her phone and typed a message to the book club group, asking if anyone was free for a chat over a glass of wine at hers later that evening. They all answered immediately. Sarah said she’d bring wine, Lucy said she’d bring snacks. Bridget sent a string of excited face emojis. Stella sent them a message back saying she’d see them later, then turned her face back to the sun.
* * *
‘What’s for tea, Mum?’ said Max, dropping his school bag just inside the front door.
‘Excuse me, that doesn’t live there, does it? Pick it up and hang it where it belongs. Have you got homework?’
‘Didn’t get any today,’ Max called over his shoulder as he took the stairs two at a time.
‘Do not even think about turning the TV on until your room doesn’t look like it’s been burgled, Max!’ Stella called up after him.
‘Mum, where’s my gymnastics stuff?’ Millie looked at Stella, eyebrows raised.
‘Shit! Gymnastics. I totally forgot,’ Stella cried.
‘You said shit.’ Isla loved an excuse to repeat any bad language she heard.
‘I did, Isla. But I didn’t mean it. What time does it start, can you remember?’ Stella looked from Isla to Millie, hoping for an answer. They both stared back. ‘Right, hold on. Let me check.’
Stella went into the kitchen to find Percy asleep in his basket.
‘Hey, why didn’t you come and say hello?’ She walked over to his bed and he looked up at her, not even bothering to raise his head. ‘Oh no, what’s wrong with you?’ She bent down and gave his head a stroke. ‘Please don’t be ill, not now.’
She looked at the fridge, hoping to find the piece of paper with all the gymnastics class timings on it.
‘There are five hundred bits of paper stuck to this fridge, but the one I’m looking for isn’t here. Obviously,’ she said, to no one in particular.
She scrolled through her phone to find the email, only for her phone to ring while looking at it. It was the dog walker, a part-time luxury she’d afforded herself not long after Simon had left.
‘Hey, Jen, I was just about to call actually. Was Percy all right today?’ Stella looked at Percy lying in his basket.
‘Hi Stella, I wasn’t sure if you’d seen my message. Percy got his nose into a discarded bin bag on the common today, it was on the floor by one of the bins so I’ve no idea what he might have eaten. He got there before I could stop him, I’m so sorry.’
‘Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. I’ll keep an eye on him.’ Stella caught Percy’s eye. He looked guilty as charged. ‘I’m sure he’ll be fine but thanks for letting me know. Bye, Jen.’ Stella hung up and went back to riffling through the papers to find out what time she needed to be at the community centre with Millie.
‘Got it! We’ve got half an hour.’ She held a piece of paper above her head triumphantly. Her phone rang again. She reached for it and looked at the screen. It was her sister. She decided to leave it ringing, instead putting her phone down on the side and taking a pot of pasta sauce out of the freezer for later. Picking up the overflowing laundry basket, she riffled through it to find Millie’s leotard and tracksuit. Holding them up, she called out to Millie to let her know she’d found them.
Just then, Max came into the kitchen in his football kit. ‘Mum, can you walk me over the road, I’ve got practice in half an hour.’
‘I thought it was tomorrow?’
‘No, Mum, it’s today.’
Stella could almost hear the plates crash as they stopped spinning one by one, smashing to the floor. She took a deep breath. ‘Go and tell your sisters and we’ll walk over together.’ She stepped over the washing basket, then kicked it into the storage cupboard by the side of the back door so she could pretend it wasn’t there for at least another day.
Just then, the dog got up, made a hideous retching sound and promptly threw up on the kitchen floor.
