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Beth grumbled. ‘She still does our washing sometimes.’

      ‘Don’t worry,’ I said, thinking that it was nice of Marianne to do their washing. ‘I’ll buy you another costume.’ Although where I’d find one in the middle of winter, I’d no idea.

      The klaxon sounded for the start of school and Beth said goodbye and joined her class. Adrian, who’d been playing with his friends, ran over, kissed Paula and me goodbye and then joined his class. Paula and I returned home. I intended to have a coffee before setting off for the shops, but fifteen minutes after arriving home the telephone rang, and when I answered a female voice I didn’t recognize said: ‘Hello. Is that Cathy?’

      ‘Speaking,’ I said.

      ‘Hi, my name is Marianne. I’m Derek’s friend.’

      ‘Hello,’ I said, surprised, and wondering how Marianne had my telephone number.

      ‘Jessie gave me your number,’ Marianne clarified. ‘I have Beth’s swimming costume and she’ll need it tomorrow. I thought I could drop it off to you in my lunch hour. The offices where I work are not far from you.’

      ‘Thank you very much indeed,’ I said. ‘That’s great. I was about to go into town and try to buy Beth a new costume.’

      ‘No need,’ she said. ‘It’s washed and ready. I can be with you at twelve-thirty, if that’s OK?’

      ‘Perfect,’ I said, grateful. ‘I hope it’s not too much trouble.’

      ‘Not at all.’

      ‘Thank you so much.’

      ‘I just need your house number. I have the name of your road.’

      I told Marianne the number of my house and, thanking her again, said goodbye and hung up. What a lovely lady, I thought. How very kind and considerate. I would, of course, invite her in for a coffee if she had the time. I wondered why Beth didn’t like Marianne; she seemed very pleasant to me. With no need to dash into town, I now played with Paula and then, while she had her nap, I tidied the living room and made a sandwich lunch ready for when she woke at twelve.

      We had just finished eating when the doorbell rang. ‘That’ll be Marianne,’ I said to Paula as she clambered down from her chair. Always a bit cautious of strangers, she held my hand as we went to answer the door.

      ‘Hello, Marianne?’ I smiled at the lady.

      ‘Yes. Nice to meet you.’ She handed me a carrier bag. ‘Beth’s swimming costume and also a doll she’s fond of, and a few of her favourite fairy-tale stories. I wasn’t sure what you had here.’

      ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘That’s nice of you. Would you like to come in?’

      Marianne glanced at her watch and hesitated but didn’t immediately say no.

      ‘I could make you a quick coffee?’ I offered.

      ‘I’m not intruding, am I?’

      ‘No.’ I smiled. ‘There’s just Paula and me at home. Do come in.’

      ‘And Beth’s at school?’ Marianne hesitated again. ‘She wouldn’t want to see me.’

      ‘Yes, she’s at school,’ I confirmed.

      Marianne came in and said hello to Paula, who hid in my skirt.

      ‘She’s a bit shy with anyone new,’ I said. ‘Come through and have a seat in the living room. Would you like a tea or coffee?’

      ‘A coffee would be lovely, thank you.’

      ‘Milk and sugar?’

      ‘Just milk, please. Thank you.’

      I showed Marianne into the living room and Paula came with me to make the coffee. Marianne was an attractive woman who I guessed was a few years younger than Derek – in her mid-forties. She was smartly dressed for the office in a black pencil skirt and light-grey jumper. She clearly looked after herself; her hair was cut in a stylish bob and her lacquered nails were without a chip. I glanced at my own nails as I made the coffee and thought that I should really make an effort to lacquer them, but somehow I never had the time, unless I was going out for a special occasion. I set the two cups of coffee on the tray, added a few biscuits on a plate and carried the tray into the living room with Paula beside me. I placed the tray on the coffee table and handed Marianne a cup and saucer and offered her the plate of biscuits.

      ‘Thank you so much,’ she said appreciatively.

      ‘Thank you,’ Paula said, helping herself.

      Marianne smiled. ‘How old is she?’

      ‘She’ll be three in April.’

      ‘I’m guessing your son is about Beth’s age?’ Marianne asked, glancing at Adrian’s most recent school photograph on the wall.

      ‘Yes, he’s a year younger than Beth,’ I said. ‘Coincidentally, they both go to the same school.’

      ‘That explains it,’ Marianne said. ‘I thought you looked familiar when you answered the door. I drop Beth off at school sometimes on my way into work, when Derek is on an early shift. I’ve probably seen you in the playground.’

      ‘Very likely. I’m there every day. What does Derek do?’

      ‘He works in the warehouse at –’ and she named a large electrical store on the edge of town.

      ‘And you work locally?’ I asked, making conversation.

      ‘Yes, at Gilford Accountants on the high street. I’m a book-keeper. Not very exciting, but it pays the bills. I’ve been doing the job a long while.’

      ‘Thank you so much for bringing Beth’s swimming costume,’ I said as we sipped our coffee. ‘Beth did very well in remembering to pack most of what she needed.’

      ‘Yes, she would,’ Marianne said. ‘She’s very self-sufficient.’ Her comment should have sounded like a compliment, but it didn’t. ‘So how is Beth?’ Marianne now asked, setting her cup in her saucer and looking at me. ‘I visited Derek at the hospital yesterday evening and he said she’d phoned.’

      ‘Beth’s fine,’ I said. ‘She’s obviously missing her dad a lot, but I think it helped speaking to him on the phone. We’re ringing him again tonight. Derek has asked us to telephone every evening.’

      ‘He would,’ Marianne said bluntly.

      I looked at her as the words hung heavily in the air, but Marianne didn’t elaborate, so I took a chance and shifted the conversation to a slightly more personal level. ‘Have you known Derek long?’ I asked.

      ‘Over ten years,’ Marianne said. ‘I was friends with him and his wife when she was there.’

      I nodded and looked at Paula, who had quietly helped herself to another biscuit. ‘Two is enough,’ I said. Paula grinned sheepishly.

      ‘When his wife left,’ Marianne said, ‘Beth was only small. I stepped in and helped Derek when I could, juggling it around my work. Everything seemed fine when Beth was little and while I was just a friend of Derek’s, although it’s true that she was always a daddy’s girl. But when our friendship grew into a relationship and I began staying some nights, Beth turned on me. The situation became intolerable, until Derek finally ended our relationship. He didn’t have any choice really, with the way Beth was behaving.’

      ‘But Beth’s only a child,’ I said. ‘How could she be responsible?’

      Marianne held my gaze. ‘Beth can be very manipulative, especially when it comes to her father. But I blame him as much as her. It was the two of them against me. Their relationship really isn’t healthy. Not at all.’

Chapter Six

       My

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