‘I know, darling. I understand.’ She was so relieved that she and Don were back on track. ‘How are you enjoying it in Cambridge? Have you settled in yet?’
‘The job’s great, but I’ll be glad when the house sale has gone through then Laila and the kids can join me permanently. I miss them.’ Laila and the children had been staying with him in the flat but now they’d gone to London to see their other grandparents.
‘I’m sure you do. It won’t be much longer now though. How is the sale going?’
‘We should be exchanging in a couple of weeks. You’ll love the house. There’s a little bungalow for sale nearby too. It would be ideal for you.’
Here he goes again. ‘I must go now, darling, we’re about to have supper on the terrace. Speak to you soon.’
‘Bye, Mum. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’ Then the screen flickered and went blank.
Don had looked tired, and a bit sad, she thought. It must be difficult for him living in the flat, away from his family. They’d been with him for the weekend, but that must have been difficult too, the children sharing a room and no garden to play in. Hopefully they’d soon all be living together again.
Then another video call came in, it was Laila and the children.
‘Nanny, we’re in London!’ Kali shouted.
Rana popped her head in front of Kali’s. ‘We’re staying with our Nani and Nana.’
‘That’s wonderful. Are you having a good time? There’s lots to see in London.’
Kali pushed herself back into view. ‘We saw the palace where the King lives but he wasn’t at home.’
The children talked over each other in their eagerness to tell her what they’d seen and done.
‘And we walked across London Bridge.’
‘And we had a ride in a bus with no roof all around London.’
‘That all sounds marvellous!’ She told them. It was lovely to see them so excited, and Laila’s parents must be enjoying having them to stay.
‘We saw you and your friends in that funny old car on Insta,’ Kali said.
‘It looked good fun,’ Laila called off-screen.
‘It really was,’ Sandra replied.
‘Where are you going tomorrow, Nanny?’ Rana asked.
‘We’re going to watch some people do a special dance called The Flamenco. I’ll put a photo of it on my Instagram.’
Rana’s face popped onto the screen again. ‘When are you coming home, Nanny? We miss you!’
‘A few more days. I miss you all too, but we’ll have lots to talk about when we see each other again,’ she said.
‘Okay, girls, off you go and play and let me speak to your nan for a bit,’ Laila said, coming into view.
The two children obediently said goodbye and ran off.
‘How are you, Sandra. Are you enjoying yourself?’ Laila asked.
‘Yes. I really am. I hear that you should be in your new house soon.’
She nodded. ‘I can’t wait. The house is lovely, just a few minutes’ walk from the children’s school and it has a big back garden.’
‘I can’t wait to see it.’
