Daisy thought about how much the baskets had cost and gulped. ‘I now have somewhere I can store tins of beans that’s Instagrammable.’
‘Tins of beans and six hundred varieties of herbal tea.’ Annabelle joked. ‘I’ve never seen as much tea before.’
‘It helps with the parenting of twins.’ Daisy surveyed the room and smiled. She’d painted the cupboards in a duck egg blue, which had dried nicely and settled into the wood grain in a way that made the whole place feel warmer, like it had always been meant to be that colour. All of it had come together; the reclaimed shelf with its line of baskets, little brass handles on the cupboards and she’d installed a row of hooks by the stove. The fresh paint and tidy up had done wonders. A little gathered curtain Susannah had made covered an unsightly gap in the base units and a new matching striped linen blind was at the window.
Daisy took a bottle of wine out of the fridge and poured three glasses as Annabelle bobbed down and started to load dishes into the newly painted cupboards. ‘So, something happened at the school gate this week.’
Annabelle looked up. ‘I don’t like the sound of that voice. Go on.’
‘There were a couple of mums. Georgia from Maggie’s year.’
Maggie groaned. ‘Oh no. Please tell me this is not true. If she’s involved, there’s trouble. Remember when she tried to take Xian on at the Skiff Club that year? Ha, that memory will be with me forever.’
‘They didn’t know I was behind them and I overheard them talking. They were discussing having twins in their class and then they went on to talking about me and Miles.’
Annabelle frowned. ‘Really? How nosy! What did they say?’
Daisy gave a glass of wine to each sister and sat against the edge of the table. ‘They said, they’d give it six months. Then, that men like him don’t stick around. That it was a shame for the girls. They called me stupid, basically and not to my face, of course. Always the way.’
Maggie’s jaw tightened. ‘What an absolute cow! She was always like that at school. I am so pleased that I hardly see her. Honestly, she’s never fit in in Pretty Beach.’
Annabelle sipped her wine. ‘She said that in public?’
‘At pick-up. It wasn’t really loud enough for anyone to hear, they were just above whispering and they didn’t see me because I was behind them. You know that bit on the far side if you come up from near the allotments? Hardly anyone stands over that side and they were over there waiting to go in.’
‘And she smiled at you afterwards, I bet.’ Maggie made a face.
‘No, she didn’t see me. I just gave them a wide berth, but I’ve been thinking about it ever since.’
‘Ahh, well, just don’t think about it. What a loser she is to behave like that.’
Daisy nodded. ‘She passed by here earlier and had to stop supposedly to be friendly.’
‘Oh, yeah and what was she like?’
‘Chatting as if we were old friends. She said I looked lovely at the garden party and asked where my dress was from, all syrup and pearls. I didn’t tell her I had overheard anything. She said a few veiled things. Basically, that I was so good with the girls, etcetera. The opposite of everything she said when I overheard her. She’s so two-faced.’
‘Good that you didn’t bite.’ Annabelle nodded. ‘She has no business being anywhere near you if she behaves like that. Steer well clear of her.’
Daisy started to offload. ‘I know it’s daft to let it get to me, but it did and it has. What she said has been stuck in my head. Like her words are hanging on my kitchen wall, right there with the new shelf and the blooming mug hooks. Honestly, I’ve overthought it way too much.’
Maggie stood and paced across to the window. ‘It’s not daft. Grr, she makes me want to vomit. That sort of talk isn’tharmless. She thinks that if it’s said with a smile, it doesn’t hurt, but it does. I remember that pinched lip I’m-so-sweet face she does. She was a real troublemaker at school. Remember what Mum always says, that a leopard never changes its spots. Yeah, Bells is correct, stay well clear.’
Annabelle put her glass down. ‘Cheeky mare. She doesn’t know anything about your life! For sure, she doesn’t know anything about Miles or what it’s taken for you to get where you are now. She’s jealous as the day is long.’
Daisy folded her arms. ‘I know. It’s just that part of me wonders if she is right. What if he doesn’t stick around? What if they’re not being cruel, just accurate? She does have a point. Maybe I am being stupid and reckless?’
Six months.
‘Don’t even go there! You don’t get to do all this, raise the girls, open a business, build a new life and then doubt yourself because Georgia and her buddy whispered something stupid. You’re stronger than that.’
Daisy chuckled. ‘In for the kill, Bells.’
Maggie tutted. ‘You’re allowed to feel rattled, but don’t go unpicking everything just because someone who doesn’t matter made a snide comment in a playground.’
‘I’m trying, but, yeah, she got under my skin. Icannotstop thinking about what she said.’
Maggie shook her head. ‘But let’s be honest, if he does stick around, they’ll have something to say about that, too. It’s never good enough for people like Georgia. She really should not be in Pretty Beach.’
