Page 58 of Love, Accidentally

‘Fine. I just had some woman come up to me and tell me what a great dad I was. She said she’d been chatting to you earlier. Do you know anything about that?’

I can feel the blush spreading across my cheeks. ‘She made an assumption and I, umm, couldn’t be bothered to correct her,’ I explain. ‘What did you say?’

He smiles. ‘If I’m really honest, I couldn’t be bothered to correct her either. I just said you were such a great mum that I felt I needed to step up.’

‘God, we’re the very definition of smug parents, aren’t we?’ I tell him with a laugh. ‘We’d better get out of here before we dazzle them any more with our brilliance.’

* * *

We may be brilliant fake parents but, by the time we get back to Tash and Greg’s late that afternoon, Isaac is definitely flagging and so are we. As well as lunch in McDonald’s, we’ve pushed him on the swings, taught him to play Poohsticks on one of the bridges over the river, and debated the merits of pretty much every character inThomas the Tank Enginewhile walking round the park.

‘Hello, darling,’ Tash says as she opens the door and he folds himself into her. ‘Have you had a nice day?’

‘The best,’ Isaac tells her excitedly, somehow finding a second lease of life. ‘I went on the big slide with Will and I had a Big Mac for lunch. Why didn’t you tell me I liked Big Macs, Mummy?’

‘He didn’t eat it all,’ I clarify as Tash looks at me questioningly. ‘But he made a really good effort.’

‘What made you try a Big Mac?’ she asks him. ‘You’ve never wanted anything except nuggets before.’

‘Will was having it,’ Isaac tells her matter-of-factly, as if that explains everything.

‘Isaac’s formed a bit of a bond with Will,’ I add quietly. ‘I think there might be a tiny bit of hero worship going on there.’

‘Can I watchThomaswith Will?’ Isaac asks as soon as we’re indoors and he’s said hello to Greg, who’s sprawled on the sofa.

‘Only if he doesn’t mind,’ Greg tells him firmly. ‘He might be tired after running around after you all day.’

‘It’s fine.’ Will settles cross-legged on the carpet and I can see Tash’s eyebrows shoot up as Isaac promptly plonks himself in his lap.

‘How has your day been?’ I ask her once we’re out of earshot in the kitchen, ostensibly making tea, although she hasn’t switched on the kettle.

‘Intense. I don’t think we’d realised how far apart we’d drifted.’

‘That doesn’t sound very encouraging.’

‘No, it is. The truth is that, without realising it, we’d kind of stopped communicating. I mean, we talk, obviously, but always either about Isaac or mundane stuff to do with work or the house. I think we’d lost sight of each other as the people we’d fallen in love with in the first place. As Greg put it, it’s sometimes hard to equate the harassed-looking woman holding a pile of dirty laundry with the girl you couldn’t get enough of when you were going out.’

‘I’d tell him to do his own bloody laundry. Cheeky bastard.’

‘I know what you mean, but it’s not about the laundry, and he does do some stuff. It’s about the bigger picture, remembering who we are and why we love each other. Today gave us the opportunity to do that.’

‘I’m glad. And the sex?’

‘We’ve, umm, decided to give the whole baby thing a rest for a while,’ she tells me softly.

‘Oh? Why?’

‘We realised there’s no rush. I’m still reasonably young, no matter what Mum says, and we decided it might be better to use this time while Isaac’s being nice to reconnect with each other rather than instantly bring another baby into the mix. I’m not going to go back on the pill, but I’ve binned the ovulation charts. We’re going to enjoy sex as and when the mood takes us, and if that leads to another baby then great. If not, well, we’ve got Isaac, haven’t we? Anyway, how did you get on?’

‘Will’s been a total star, although I’m not sure we can go to the soft-play centre again.’

‘Why not?’

‘He was causing a certain amount of jealousy among the other parents. I didn’t notice it until the woman at the next table told me what a brilliant dad she thought he was.’

‘You set her straight, right?’

I smile. ‘I didn’t, I’m afraid. She wanted to believe it, and I didn’t see the harm. Who knows, maybe she’ll go home, tell her husband about this amazing dad she saw, and he’ll up his game.’

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