Page 32 of The 3am Shattered Mums' Club

She had already thanked him for the crispy pancakes in the freezer and they had laughed about how Jeff had clearly not shared the crispy-pancake love.

Niall popped his head into the kitchen as usual and called good morning. Then he said to his boys, ‘Say morning to the lady of the house, lads.’ And the two builders mumbled an awkward hello.

‘Not as outgoing as you?’ Sophy said to Niall as the boys went outside and started up the concrete mixer. It was a sound Sophy had begun to get used to hearing every morning now.

‘Ahh, they’re good lads. What’s on the menu this morning?’ Niall motioned to the bowl in front of Sophy.

‘Oh, just boring old muesli.’

‘A good Irish fry-up is what you want.’

‘Is that what you’ve had already then?’ Sophy asked.

‘Oh yeah, every morning.’

‘And do you make that for yourself?’ Sophy asked hoping that Niall wouldn’t be perceptive enough to understand her line of questioning.

‘Oh yeah. Eggs don’t fry themselves.’

Sophy stayed quiet. She could see no ring on his finger. It was possible he could live alone.

‘Just me and the cat. See.’

‘Oh, you have a cat!’ Sophy exclaimed so loudly, Niall stepped back in astonishment. For some reason, Sophy found she was glad Niall lived alone with just a cat for company.

‘Woah. Someone loves cats, do they?’

In fact, Sophy had no preference for cats or dogs or any furry friends. She had surprised herself with how much energy she had used to expel her last sentence. The thought of Niall home alone with no other human contact had somehow titillated her.

‘Jeff hates animals. Well, all animals. Except elephants.’

‘I don’t think this extension will be big enough to accommodate one of those.’

‘No,’ Sophy scoffed.

‘Well, I’d better be off to work.’ Niall stood and looked at Sophy for a moment, then he stood up straight, gave Sophy a quick salute and went to join his colleagues outside.

Sophy finished her muesli, and with a growing image in her head of Niall sat in his home all alone with just a cat for company, she found she was smiling.

16

MEL

‘I do bathroom. Make taps very shiny, make loo no shit on it, I get dust off light shade, use long brush – no ladders. I only work alone or with woman in house. No alone with men.’ Ksenia stood in the lounge in a blue boiler suit and white plimsoles. Her hair was tied back, making her features look particularly pointy.

Mel wondered if it was appropriate to ask exactly how much hassle her new cleaner had had from men. She was interested in this woman’s past – Mel worked in an industry where she would get the occasional jeer from a man, but only once in over twenty years of performing had she found herself in a situation where she had feared for her own safety and that of her unborn child. There was something fabulous about Ksenia, and Mel liked her more with every minute.

‘Great, Ksenia, it all sounds fabulous. And you can come every week?’

‘Yes, this time every week. I very prompt. I take cash, no cheques.’

‘Fantastic. I’ll have the cash ready for you. My husband is always at work at this time, so it will usually be me here or I’ll leave you a key.’ Ksenia nodded. ‘And your accent? Where are you from?’

‘Russia. I live here three years. I clean all that time. I clean in Russia before. My name, in Russian it mean “hospitable and welcoming”.’

Bess who had been bounding around Ksenia, sniffing her feet and panting wildly, nudged her wet nose into Ksenia’s crotch.

‘NO!’ Ksenia hollered down at her, and Bess retreated backwards and sat down about two feet away from Ksenia.

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