Page 66 of Love at First Sight

‘It’s so nice to see, isn’t it?’ one of the mums says to me as a group of four of the kids commandeer the top of the slide and the bridge over to the climbing wall, treating it like their very own pirate ship. They’re shouting instructions at each other, banding together in the face of a common, invented enemy.

‘Lovely,’ I agree. ‘This weather helps. So easy to keep kids happy when it’s nice out.’

‘Absolutely,’ she says. ‘We’re waiting for that new thing to open at the park this summer. Have you read about it? Ican’t think of the name. Where the kids get unsupervised play in the park. Jackson can’t wait. He says I’m always interfering, telling him not to do stuff. He loves the idea of being able to do what he wants! I mean, it’s obviously not totally unsupervised – there are adults there if they need them or they’re going to do something dangerous. Volunteers, people from within the community. DBS checked, of course. Oh god, what’s it called? The name is on the tip of my tongue …’

I almost daren’t say it. Is this woman telling me about my very own project? Excitedly, no less?

‘Strays!’ she says. ‘I think. Something like that.’

‘Stray Kids?’ I offer, bracing to be wrong.

‘Yes!’ the woman says. ‘The school were talking about it at the PTA meeting this week, too. It’s such a fantastic idea. We’ve been crying out for something like that, without even knowing we needed it!’

‘This makes me so happy to hear,’ I say, and the woman looks at me like:Oh? Why?

‘Stray Kids is mine,’ I say, hardly believing those words get to come out of my mouth. ‘I’m the founder.’

‘Oh really!’ the woman says. ‘Oh my gosh, that’s fantastic! What’s your name? I’m Ramona.’

‘Jessie.’

‘Jessie,’ Ramona says. ‘Let me give you my number. If you need anything, you just let me know. I probably won’t be much help myself, personally, but I do know people. I can be on the school WhatsApp like that,’ she says, clicking her fingers. ‘What you’re doing is so needed and so clever! Where did you get the idea?’

She hands me her phone to input my number, and once I’ve done it I say, ‘I got my degree in childhood development. And as a career nanny I’ve always kept up on my reading and learning. I just love kids, really. And working with Henry and living in London, I suppose I saw a gap in that “kids in the wild” part of his week. I read something online about something similar in New York for kids, and thought, Stoke Newington needs that too!’

‘Amazing,’ Ramona says. ‘And the date is to be confirmed? We’re all hoping it’s, like, a week on Saturday, so we have you all summer, for the rest of the holidays …’

‘Really?’ I say. ‘That’s good to know. We just have the last bits of Health and Safety paperwork outstanding, and then we’ll be off. So it should be pretty close to a week on Saturday, as long as the council don’t drag their heels.’

‘There’s a dad at school who works at the council,’ Ramona says. ‘I’ll text him right now and ask him to keep an eye out for you. We have to go now, but it’s been great to meet you, Jessie. I’ll text you so you have my number too, okay? We’ll see you at the park!’

Ramona calls her kids – it turns out the three Henry was playing with all belong to her, so now he’s friendless.

‘Can I have my ice lolly now?’ he says, coming over to me. He sticks out his tongue and pretends to pant. ‘I’m boiling.’ To be fair, he’s gone ruddy-cheeked and damp around the hairline.

‘Sure,’ I say.

The whole time in the queue at the café hut in the park, and then sat beside Henry as he tries to stop his orangeCalippo dripping down his chin and hands, I think about Ramona. What are the chances of talking to someone about Stray Kids? I mean, I suppose mums at the local park are my exact target market, but still … After how disempowering Ali was this afternoon, it feels like a sign from the universe, especially now I have Ramona’s number and access to her whole school WhatsApp group. How dare Ali try to hold me back? She can’t – and I have to stop letting her! I’m going to get that bloody piece of bloody paper from the bloody council, and launch, and make it as fantastic as Ramona and all the other parents need it to be. I want this, and I’m ready! I could almost forgive Ali for getting in the way of me and Cal, if she wasn’t also so unreasonable about Stray Kids.

Well, I’m going to tell her. When we get back to the house, I’m laying it out there. Stray Kids is happening, even if Cal and I are not.

I prepare Henry’s tea and go through his reading homework with him, with Ali upstairs in her office on the phone. Bringing it up again makes me feel sweaty-palmed and clammy-faced, but I owe it to myself. By the time Henry is ready to put his pyjamas on, I’m cleaning up from dinner, and Ali appears in the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine.

‘Want one?’ she asks, though I can tell she doesn’t mean it. For all her ability to push aside whatever has happened, it’s obvious she wants me gone for the day.

‘No thanks,’ I say. ‘I have to get off.’

She nods, and gulps her Sauvignon Blanc greedily.

‘Before I go, though, I just want to revisit the Stray Kids issue. I hear your objections, but I am going through with it. I hope we can find a way forward together where we agree to disagree, or even that you might come and visit and get an understanding of what I’m doing there. But regardless, even if you aren’t interested, you’ll see no difference with my engagement here, and that’s a promise.’

‘No,’ Ali says.

‘Pardon?’

‘I said no,’ she repeats. ‘I need you available, and flexible, and focused. I’m not being unreasonable here, Jessie. Any employer would be well within their rights to preclude you from other employment. I do not enjoy disagreeing with you, but this is going to have to be discussion over, okay? We can’t keep rehashing this. No means no.’

‘No means no?’ I say. ‘I’m not seven. You can’t bat me away like this, Ali. It’s happening! And if you’re really not going to be okay with that …’

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