in, she found an agreeable amount of chaos.
‘I’m Chloe,’ said the woman.
‘Anna.’
‘And these are Bruno, Tom and Harry. Two, four and six, only in reverse order.’
‘Hello,’ said Anna, suddenly shy in front of three pairs of inquisitive eyes. ‘I’ve got my gadget, if you’d like to show me upstairs.’
They all went up the steep and very winding staircase to the second floor, where the bathroom and the boys’ bedroom was. The boys grabbed hold of her and towed her towards it.
‘We haven’t had a bath for two days!’ said the eldest, who was probably Bruno, but might have been Harry.
‘My husband’s away,’ said his mother. ‘He would be, just when there’s an emergency.’
Anna didn’t think a blocked bath plug quite qualified as an emergency, but accepted that Chloe obviously did. She rolled up her sleeve as far as it would go, which was not far enough.
‘I don’t suppose you’d all like to go downstairs while I do this?’ she suggested. ‘I want to take my jumpers off.’
‘We want to watch,’ announced one of the boys.
‘Yes, we do,’ said another.
Anna sighed. ‘OK.’ She undid her bib and peeled off the two jumpers that covered a long-sleeved T-shirt. Fortunately that sleeve rolled up obligingly high. She plunged her arm into the cold, scummy water. ‘Right, pass me my plunger, would you?’
‘This is so cool,’ murmured Bruno.
‘You’re right there,’ said Anna, shivering. ‘Very cool indeed.’
Chapter Two
WHEN THE BATH was both empty and clean, Chloe filled it again and then went downstairs to make supper while Anna sat on the floor of the bathroom and read stories to the little boys. She was accustomed to small boys, having nephews, and enjoyed their choice of reading matter hugely. Eventually, when the littlest one showed signs of becoming drowsy, she whipped them out, one by one, and enveloped them in towelling. Then, as instructed, she sent them downstairs to sit by the fire.
By the time she had cleaned out the bath, collected the bath toys, done her best to dry the floor, and gone downstairs again, the boys were sitting at the table in their pyjamas eating spaghetti and meatballs.
‘We get a bit casual when my husband’s away,’ Chloe explained. ‘It’s better to feed them then bath them, but what with one thing and another, it just didn’t happen. It was very kind of you to read to them in the bath. I’d never thought of that.’
‘I have a couple of nephews and when I had them on my own one weekend, I discovered reading to them in the bath was a really good idea. And then we played dentists.’
‘What?’ Chloe handed Anna a glass of wine.
‘They take turns to lie on my sister’s bed, with the reading light on, and I say, “Open wide, E to E sound,” while I brush their teeth.’
Chloe regarded her sons, one of whom was sucking up a strand of spaghetti, the end of which had just flicked his nose. ‘That sounds a brilliant idea!’
Anna laughed. ‘I don’t think my sister was that impressed when she found toothpaste on her duvet cover, but she was so thrilled to find us all alive and well, she overlooked it.’
‘I think I’m really going to like having you as a neighbour, Anna.’
While Chloe tried out this new tactic in the tooth-cleaning battle upstairs, Anna stacked the dishwasher, wiped all traces of spaghetti and meatballs off the table, and then set it again, for their meal. She wouldn’t have told her sister unless given a truth drug, but she was as thrilled as Chloe to have such a jolly, friendly family living next door. It would make being on her own, on a building site, much more bearable.
Chloe came down and collapsed on the sofa. ‘Putting them to bed is so exhausting. Mike does it, when he’s home. He’s my husband,’ she added.
‘And he’s away?’ Anna asked.
‘Yup. He’s a consultant engineer and works abroad quite a bit. He’s due back quite soon, but you can never be sure how long a job will
‘I’m Chloe,’ said the woman.
‘Anna.’
‘And these are Bruno, Tom and Harry. Two, four and six, only in reverse order.’
‘Hello,’ said Anna, suddenly shy in front of three pairs of inquisitive eyes. ‘I’ve got my gadget, if you’d like to show me upstairs.’
They all went up the steep and very winding staircase to the second floor, where the bathroom and the boys’ bedroom was. The boys grabbed hold of her and towed her towards it.
‘We haven’t had a bath for two days!’ said the eldest, who was probably Bruno, but might have been Harry.
‘My husband’s away,’ said his mother. ‘He would be, just when there’s an emergency.’
Anna didn’t think a blocked bath plug quite qualified as an emergency, but accepted that Chloe obviously did. She rolled up her sleeve as far as it would go, which was not far enough.
‘I don’t suppose you’d all like to go downstairs while I do this?’ she suggested. ‘I want to take my jumpers off.’
‘We want to watch,’ announced one of the boys.
‘Yes, we do,’ said another.
Anna sighed. ‘OK.’ She undid her bib and peeled off the two jumpers that covered a long-sleeved T-shirt. Fortunately that sleeve rolled up obligingly high. She plunged her arm into the cold, scummy water. ‘Right, pass me my plunger, would you?’
‘This is so cool,’ murmured Bruno.
‘You’re right there,’ said Anna, shivering. ‘Very cool indeed.’
Chapter Two
WHEN THE BATH was both empty and clean, Chloe filled it again and then went downstairs to make supper while Anna sat on the floor of the bathroom and read stories to the little boys. She was accustomed to small boys, having nephews, and enjoyed their choice of reading matter hugely. Eventually, when the littlest one showed signs of becoming drowsy, she whipped them out, one by one, and enveloped them in towelling. Then, as instructed, she sent them downstairs to sit by the fire.
By the time she had cleaned out the bath, collected the bath toys, done her best to dry the floor, and gone downstairs again, the boys were sitting at the table in their pyjamas eating spaghetti and meatballs.
‘We get a bit casual when my husband’s away,’ Chloe explained. ‘It’s better to feed them then bath them, but what with one thing and another, it just didn’t happen. It was very kind of you to read to them in the bath. I’d never thought of that.’
‘I have a couple of nephews and when I had them on my own one weekend, I discovered reading to them in the bath was a really good idea. And then we played dentists.’
‘What?’ Chloe handed Anna a glass of wine.
‘They take turns to lie on my sister’s bed, with the reading light on, and I say, “Open wide, E to E sound,” while I brush their teeth.’
Chloe regarded her sons, one of whom was sucking up a strand of spaghetti, the end of which had just flicked his nose. ‘That sounds a brilliant idea!’
Anna laughed. ‘I don’t think my sister was that impressed when she found toothpaste on her duvet cover, but she was so thrilled to find us all alive and well, she overlooked it.’
‘I think I’m really going to like having you as a neighbour, Anna.’
While Chloe tried out this new tactic in the tooth-cleaning battle upstairs, Anna stacked the dishwasher, wiped all traces of spaghetti and meatballs off the table, and then set it again, for their meal. She wouldn’t have told her sister unless given a truth drug, but she was as thrilled as Chloe to have such a jolly, friendly family living next door. It would make being on her own, on a building site, much more bearable.
Chloe came down and collapsed on the sofa. ‘Putting them to bed is so exhausting. Mike does it, when he’s home. He’s my husband,’ she added.
‘And he’s away?’ Anna asked.
‘Yup. He’s a consultant engineer and works abroad quite a bit. He’s due back quite soon, but you can never be sure how long a job will
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