Page 5 of All Yours

‘I’m sorry to say that my mother had a fall in the night. She’s broken her hip and is going to need care for the foreseeable future. It means unfortunately I won’t be able to start work with you this morning.’

Oh God, it was worse than he’d thought. He’d thought – hoped even – that Fiona might just have a fever, maybe. Even a friendly dose of diarrhoea. But broken bones and an elderly mother. Shit. Terrible combination.

‘I’m very sorry to let you down. I’ve been looking forward to starting work on your boys. I mean, with your boys. I’ve worked out a daily routine for them which would be easy and effective for them as well as environmentally less impactful.’

Fox wondered briefly if it had included them harnessing George’s fart power.

‘You understand, I’m sure,’ she continued. ‘As I said, I’m sorry to let your family down. But I need to put my family first.’

Fox sighed.

‘Of course, Fiona,’ he said, rubbing his free hand through his silver quiff. ‘So without seeming insensitive, when do you think you might—’

‘I’m hoping to be able to take up my position in eight weeks,’ she cut in. ‘I’ll be in touch about the date.’

The line went dead and Fox looked at his phone blankly.

Eight weeks! It had taken him months to advertise, interview and recruit and now it was all for nothing.

‘Fuck, shit, bollocks,’ he said to his phone.

‘Fuck, shit, bollocks,’ the boys chimed behind him.

He turned slowly and took in the scene. Two semi-naked boys late for school. One dog that needed a wee. Him, in just his jeans, late for work. A kitchen that looked like a bomb had gone off. And a project the size of a continent that was meant to be getting his full attention.

Then he did the only thing he could do. Called in for reinforcements on the Guys and Gals WhatsApp group chat. They’d never let him down yet.

Chapter Three

Robyn

Honeybridge was beautiful. Robyn had walked it end to end along the river path, pointing out horse chestnuts and oaks holding on to their last leaves, and letting Willow feel the shiny brown conkers on the ground. She stamped in puddles to make her daughter gurgle with laughter and imitated the ducks that quacked along beside them on the water. She admired the pretty architecture in town, and the cobbled square surrounded by shops and restaurants. By the time she reached the Lit Lounge bookshop, she could feel the flush on her cheeks from her walk and some of her long auburn hair stuck to the back of her neck. She’d forgotten the damp warmth of autumn in England. Seasons didn’t really change all that much elsewhere.

The bell jingled as Robyn opened the door and felt the heat of the shop inside. A few customers browsed the shelves, others read curled in chairs with a coffee beside them. She spotted Rosie and Wren at the counter, heads close together as they looked at something on Rosie’s phone.

‘Hi,’ she called. Wren lifted her head as Robyn approached, a smile lighting up her face.

‘You’re here! Just the person we were talking about!’ Wren said in delight.

Robyn freed Willow from her sling and laid her on the counter between the women. The baby grinned a gummy smile to be the centre of attention.

‘We think we might have an opportunity for you!’

Robyn clasped her hands together and waited for the details.

‘It’s our friend, Fox,’ Rosie said, pushing her tortoiseshell glasses further up her nose out of reach of Willow’s grabbing hands. ‘He’s been let down at the last minute by his nanny.’

‘And you said you’d been an au pair,’ Wren added.

‘And it’s a position for approximately eight weeks, which would fit with you perfectly.’

‘And it’s live-in. He was planning for the nanny to stay in the pool house.’

‘Pool house?’ Robyn gasped.

The two women glanced at each other and groaned in envy. ‘His new house is to die for,’ Rosie sighed.

‘And it means you’d be close by for a while, so selfishly, to me, it sounds perfect!’ Wren blew her a kiss.