LITMIR.BIZ

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Go on the two of you, get in the car,’ Tom chided them good-naturedly, as he helped Madeleine on with her coat, a sand-coloured cashmere Ralph Lauren number she adored.

      Another major benefit to earning her own money again; she could once more afford the beautiful things she’d had to forgo when they were just a single-earner family. She wrapped a colourful silk scarf around her neck and pulled on her leather gloves. She’d picked out a gorgeous DVF top for her TV stint tomorrow, something patterned to try to compensate for the fact that the camera added ten pounds. Which reminded Madeleine to see about maybe arranging weekly group running sessions with some of her friends. Now pushing forty, she knew she needed to try harder to keep herself in tip-top shape.

      The couple followed their children out to Tom’s BMW, which sat parked in the driveway of their five-bed faux-Georgian house, about half a mile from Knockroe village. Both kids were now loaded in and sitting dutifully in the back seat, already enraptured with the DVD screens on the back of the front seats. She and Tom did attempt to keep in check the amount of screen time they seemed to default to, but there was no denying that the darned things kept them quiet.

      Might write a piece about that soon, she thought wickedly, her mind racing. Something irreverent and completely contrary, sure to send the do-gooders into convulsions.

      Tom started the engine and backed out of the long pebbled driveway, just as Cara began a heavy fit of sneezing. He made a face. ‘Here we go. Did you see that note from school today? About the girl in Clara’s class sent home earlier.’

      Madeleine was checking her reflection in the mirror and reapplying her lipstick. ‘No, I haven’t had a chance to go through their bags.’ She sighed inwardly. ‘Why – is something going round?’

      He shrugged. ‘Nothing serious. Chicken pox apparently.’ He threw an eye back at their sniffling daughter who did look pretty miserable. ‘But Clara hasn’t had that yet.’

      Madeleine knew. ‘Well, I suppose we’ll just have to cross our fingers,’ she said optimistically, for Clara’s benefit. Little ears heard everything and she didn’t want her daughter worrying unnecessarily. While the pox wasn’t too serious, it was uncomfortable all the same, and her heart broke at the notion of her little girl coming out in those nasty sores and, depending on the severity of the dose, perhaps even being bedridden for a few days, poor thing.

      Of course, one of the great benefits of working from home was that Madeleine didn’t have to call in sick to take care of the children if needs be. It was one of the reasons she’d taken the redundancy package in the first place; Jake been a poorly toddler and she had been exhausted from making excuses for missed meetings and freaking out over work absences for the first two years of his life. The logistics became even more of an issue when Clara was born, so while Madeleine had been dubious as to whether full-time motherhood was really for her, a much-needed respite from all the haring around (as well as the financial package her firm was offering) was ultimately too difficult to ignore.

      Still, to her mind, time away from the workplace was always going to be a temporary arrangement – at least until the kids were old enough and she found something else to sustain her creatively and professionally. Thankfully Mad Mum filled that role on both counts.

      But she worried the family had become a little too comfortable with these domestic arrangements and now her thoughts came full circle and again returned to Tom’s argument for homeschooling. Once again, she’d be the one having to make the sacrifice and, work commitments aside, why would she want to take on the responsibility of that along with everything else?

      She was already overcommitted to not only her business, but also volunteering for various school fundraisers, her book club, Knockroe Tidy Towns and other community endeavours, not to mention that she could be called for a guest slot to any TV or radio station at a moment’s notice.

      In order to grow her business to the level that Madeleine aspired, profile was important – it made a huge difference, as any marketeer worth their salt would tell you.

      Not that her kids’ education wasn’t important of course – it was just nice to be able to pack them both off to school each day and have someone else deal with them for a while.

      Madeleine sighed again as she wondered if she was a bad mother for thinking that way, but then chided herself. She knew from day one that she wasn’t going to be perfect. It was a bit late now for stressing about it.

      She was only vaguely aware that the car had gone silent and that her family’s attention was on her. ‘I’m sorry? What was that?’ she asked, turning to face her husband. She noticed that Tom was frowning.

      ‘Is it true, Mum?’ Clara asked, her nose streaming and Madeleine gulped. Damn, the poor dote really was coming down with something. Hopefully it would be a day or two before the worst of it kicked in.

       At least until the TV thing is over and done with…

      Yep, she was indeed a bad mother. Terrible.

      ‘Is what true, sweetheart?’ she replied.

      ‘What Kevin Campbell said; that he’s never had chicken pox, and when people get sick at school that it’s our fault,’ her five-and-a-half-year-old said indignantly.

      Madeleine gritted her teeth. Number one, Kevin Campbell was a known brat who liked to start trouble, and number two, the kid had no idea what he was talking about. But number three – and more to the point – Kevin Campbell’s mother was obviously gossiping about their family within hearing distance of her child.

      Now she understood why Tom looked so annoyed. He couldn’t stand Christine Campbell – not only was she always in everyone’s business in Knockroe, trying to tell them how to live their lives and thinking she was so smart with her ‘supposed’ Diploma in Sociology from UCD, but she was also a notorious shit-stirrer.

      And Madeleine knew that Christine especially hated how, with the increased popularity of her blog and subsequent TV appearances, Madeleine’s profile and thus her community standing had grown and threatened to supersede Christine’s own self-imposed Queen Bee status. Not that she had the slightest iota of interest in celebrity or overthrowing Christine’s ‘reign’ – she was all about expanding Mad Mum’s reach.

      But it was completely out of order for the woman to make such comments, especially in earshot of her son. Jake and Clara shouldn’t be singled out like that. And moreover, her and Tom’s parenting decisions didn’t need to be questioned – by anyone. It was nobody else’s business.

      ‘Ah, don’t listen to what Kevin says. He has no idea what he’s talking about. Just ignore him.’

      ‘But is it true, Mum?’ Jake piped up, interested. ‘Would it be our fault if other kids got sick? Because we don’t get injections like everyone else?’

      ‘No, it wouldn’t be your fault,’ Tom said, through gritted teeth. He turned to look at his wife. ‘I’m going to phone that Campbell woman and—’

      Madeleine quickly laid a calming hand on his arm. ‘Don’t give her the pleasure,’ she interjected wisely. ‘You know Christine relishes getting a rise out of people, and she would love nothing more than to debate with us, again, on the vaccination thing. Just ignore her.’ Christine Campbell and her ilk never failed to get her husband – who was fiercely protective of not only his family, but also his principles – riled up.

      She turned round to face her kids. ‘Guys, your classmates getting chicken pox is not your fault and never will be. OK?’

      To say nothing of the fact that you didn’t usually vaccinate for chicken pox anyway. So at least they didn’t need to worry on that front, and hand-wringers like Christine Campbell could go stuff it.

      Clara and Jake nodded solemnly.

      ‘We’re here.’ Madeleine smiled, as Tom pulled into the entrance of his mother’s home on the other side of the town, and she unsnapped her seat belt, mentally crossing her fingers that Clara’s sniffles were just your typical

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