The Little Cottage in the Country - Lottie Phillips

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She was sterner now. ‘I’ve only just arrived at a house that needs a serious dose of TLC, I’m trying to settle the twins and, other than meeting a couple of locals and receiving a letter from my aunt, nothing’s happened.’

      ‘Well, thing is, I really need this.’ He suddenly sounded desperate. ‘The Post is going under unless I can come up with something that makes us stand out.’ He paused. ‘Now, I’m not saying your move to the country is going to chime with all our readers, but if you were prepared to give it a bit of welly…’ He stopped, barking out a laugh. ‘Welly? Get it?’

      ‘Yes,’ Anna said, through gritted teeth.

      ‘Well, basically, I’m sure Diane has told you she’s lost her job with the magazines and that she’s having to give up her rented flat in London?’

      Anna took a sharp intake of breath. ‘Yes, of course she has,’ she lied, glancing up the stairs.

      ‘Right, well, we all need each other right now.’ He stopped, drew breath. ‘I’m out of a job if I don’t make this newspaper sing and you two clearly need the money. Can we do this?’

      Anna heard Diane stirring on the stairs. ‘Barry, let me call you back in the morning, OK?’

      A couple of minutes later, Diane trooped down the stairs. ‘I love your children. They’re like the perfect audience.’

      Anna handed her a glass of wine and headed over to the sofa. ‘Look what I found on the mat.’

      They sat, side by side, on the sofa, legs tucked underneath them.

      ‘What is it?’ Diane flipped the small orange pamphlet over and over in her hand. ‘It’s just some local business advertiser.’

      ‘Yes, but look on the first page.’

      Diane opened it and read: SPEED DATING AT THE ROSE AND CROWN. She broke into a grin. ‘Are you kidding me?’

      Anna shrugged. ‘You wanted to have fun. There you go.’

      ‘I’m sensing the singular here. What about, we want to have fun, and why don’t we go?’

      Anna smiled. ‘Maybe I’m getting old or maybe because I’m a mum.’

      Diane rolled her eyes. ‘Jesus, someone play me the violins already. You’re thirty-two with fantastic children and now you own your own house, albeit a bit of a dump.’

      ‘Thanks.’

      ‘But you’ve got everything going for you.’

      ‘Except a man.’

      Diane nodded. ‘Exactly, my friend. Except a man.’ She got up and fetched the box of wine off the side. ‘See, told you, you can refill your glasses and no one is any the wiser.’ She squirted the wine into the glasses, spraying Anna liberally in the process. ‘OK, so that’s it, we’re both going.’ She read quickly. ‘It says “to book, ring this number”. Are you going to do it or am I?’

      ‘You go by yourself.’

      Diane flicked her hair. ‘Where’s the fun in that?’

      ‘Well, it’s not like we’re going to be speed dating each other,’ Anna pointed out. ‘If you want a drink with me in a pub, then we just go to the pub.’

      Diane stood and put her glass on the coffee table. ‘Whatever.’ She grabbed the pamphlet, fled from the room, up the stairs, to Anna’s room. Anna could hear Diane’s voice, muffled, and then laughter. Minutes later, she padded back down.

      ‘All done. He just said get there a bit early to register and I told him we would because we’d need to sink a couple for Dutch courage.’

      ‘Classy.’

      ‘You’ll love me for it when you find the love of your life.’

      ‘I’m past it. Look at me. I can’t even remember what goes where.’

      Diane wiggled her eyebrows. ‘Darling, it’s not rocket science. I’d imagine even you would figure it out.’

      Anna grew serious. ‘I’m just not ready. I don’t trust them.’

      ‘Men?’

      ‘Hmmm.’ She sipped at her wine. ‘I mean, Simon ruined my appetite for any of them.’

      ‘Simon? Simon?’ Diane slapped her thigh. ‘Now, you can’t judge all men by Simon. He’s a commitment-phobe twerp. End of. But he did one thing for you…’

      ‘Gave me two gorgeous children.’

      ‘Exactly.’ Diane punched her playfully. ‘So, it’s time to unhook the chastity belt…

      ‘Again.’

      ‘Yes, again, and we can all be happy.’

      ‘All of us?’ Anna arched a brow. ‘When were you going to tell me you’d lost your stints at the magazines and were having to give up your flat?’

      Diane’s head dropped. ‘I was going to tell you. Well, obviously, I had to tell you, but I knew you were going through your own hard time.’ She choked back a sob and looked at Anna, her eyes glistening. ‘Yeah, they let me go from both titles a couple of weeks ago and then I tried to get in contact with Tracey about working on the film set, and she’s been ignoring my calls.’

      ‘Then Barry phones you?’

      Diane nodded quickly. ‘Yeah, he did.’

      Anna sat up straight. ‘Why weren’t you honest with me? Why didn’t you tell me all this?’

      ‘Because you were so happy about moving to the country and… and… I felt stupid.’

      ‘Why did you pay for the food earlier then? I mean you can hardly afford it.’

      She dipped her head. ‘It’s the least I can do.’ Sniffing, she added, ‘Sorry.’

      ‘And how much money do you have now?’

      ‘One hundred-odd.’

      Anna sighed, held out her hand and took Diane’s, squeezing it. ‘Well, looks like we’re broke and in this together.’ She moved her head slowly from side to side. ‘I don’t think Barry’s idea is going to work. I mean who wants to read about someone moving to the sticks?’

      ‘He thinks you’re the next Bridget Jones.’

      Anna snorted. ‘Well, he’s got some bits right… The big knickers for a start.’ Anna tried to make Diane smile but it wasn’t working. ‘Listen, I’ll text Barry now. Tell him we’re going speed dating and that I’ll get his first column over to him for the weekend run.’

      The twins hadn’t stirred and Anna could still hear Diane snoring next door. She looked out of the master-bedroom window at the distant hills and startling pink and purple sky as the sun made its way up. She was revelling in how calm the world appeared in contrast to the twenty-four-hour bustle of London when she heard an almighty scream from above.

      Anna ran up the stairs, two at a time, to find that Freddie and Antonia were, in fact, awake and now pinned up against their bedroom wall, their eyes round as saucers, fixed on the something in the centre of the room. Anna’s eyes darted across the floor and she, too, froze.

      A mouse stood stock-still on the rug. These were the moments she desperately wished she wasn’t a single mother. Wasn’t this a job for men? Diane’s reprimanding voice filled her thoughts. ‘There’s no such thing as jobs for men and jobs for women. We can all do everything, only women can do more.’

      Diane snored on and Anna refused to call out in distress. But, Anna thought, this woman couldn’t catch

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