‘Oh, right.’ Laura hesitated. ‘Yes, okay. I’m good with that. I think Steve will be relieved for Ollie’s sake if he knows the two of us are getting on.’
‘Brilliant. Tonight, possibly? I could pop round to you if you like?’ Sarah offered, thinking it might give her an opportunity to see Ollie’s new home from home for herself. She couldn’t help but worry about what kind of place Laura had, though she didn’t dare say that to Steve, which rankled. Wouldn’t Steve want to know what kind of place Joe lived in if Ollie were to spend any time there? As it happened, Joe was living in a rented room until he’d got his affairs sorted out, so Ollie wouldn’t be going there, but still it seemed as if she had to be on the defensive. She wasn’t quite sure how that had happened.
‘Sure. No problem.’ Laura seemed keen. ‘Steve’s working late. It will be nice to have company.’
‘Fab. How about six thirty?’
‘Perfect. I’ll pop some wine in the fridge. See you then.’
As Sarah finished the call, her fears about Laura were allayed somewhat. She couldn’t ignore a new sense of apprehension creeping through her, though. Where had the stutter gone? she wondered.
At bang on 6.30, having left Ollie with Joe, Sarah pulled up in front of Laura’s terraced house on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon. It was only a small property, but still, she wondered how Laura had afforded it. She’d googled the address in her lunch hour, also how much similar properties in the area were selling for. They weren’t cheap. Laura would be on a fair income as a palliative nurse, though, she supposed. Steve presumably helped out now too, so …
She pulled herself up. It was none of her business. She’d already caused enough upset, and then compounded it this morning by overreacting to Ollie supposedly keeping secrets from her. She hadn’t come here this evening to make things worse. She’d come to smooth things over. Ollie would have ongoing contact with his father, and she wanted things to be as amicable between them all as it could be.
Grabbing her bag, she climbed determinedly out of her car and headed for the front door. She was poised to ring the bell when Laura swung the door open. ‘Hi.’ She smiled nervously. ‘Come on in.’
Noting her obvious apprehension, Sarah felt awful. She really hadn’t meant to upset her by asking to meet her on her own. She’d just wanted to get to know her. She’d thought Laura might be more open with her if it was just the two of them. Yes, she’d been testing the waters, wondering whether she would like her. More importantly, whether Ollie would. She actually had liked her, which was why she herself had been so upset by what Steve had said.
‘You’ll have to excuse the mess.’ Laura indicated several boxes and bags in the hall as Sarah stepped inside. ‘Steve’s still moving his things in and they tend to get stored in the hall en route to wherever they’re going.’
That was Steve. Sarah couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t lazy, far from it; he’d never been workshy – he wouldn’t be running his own building company if he was – but when it came to household chores, he simply didn’t see jobs that needed doing unless he was pointed in the right direction. ‘You might have to give him a few subtle hints,’ she said indulgently. ‘He tends to get sidetracked.’
‘I have, don’t worry.’ Laura rolled her eyes knowingly. ‘I’ve warned him I’m not going to move his stuff for him when Ollie wants to ride his Wheelybug down the hall. I’ve ordered him the Wheelybug tiger. I hope that’s okay?’
‘You’ve ordered it?’ Sarah eyed her quizzically. ‘But didn’t Steve mention I was going to get him one?’
‘Oh no. You weren’t, were you? I’m so sorry.’ Laura looked mortified. ‘Typical Steve, he forgot, obviously.’
Had he? Sarah scanned her eyes guardedly.
‘I can always cancel it,’ Laura offered quickly. ‘I can do it now if you—’
‘No, don’t do that.’ Sarah reprimanded herself. Her suspicion was going into overdrive. Knowing Steve, he probably had forgotten to mention it. Presumably he wasn’t aware that Laura had decided to get one. She was trying to buy Ollie’s affections, that was what this was. Sarah couldn’t blame her for that, but she would have to have a word with her at some point about what toys she did buy Ollie. He would end up being spoilt otherwise, which wouldn’t endear him to other children. Perhaps today wouldn’t be the best time to mention it, though. ‘I can always get him something else,’ she assured her. ‘I’ll let you know what,’ she added, trying not to sound as if she were making a point.
‘I probably should have asked you first, shouldn’t I?’ Laura’s expression was a mixture of apologetic and guilty, telling Sarah she’d got the point nevertheless. ‘I’ll make sure to next time.’
‘That might be an idea. He could end up with two of everything otherwise.’ Sarah relaxed a little, then, noting Laura’s downcast eyes, felt even more guilty. After their conversation earlier, Laura probably thought she was here to give her a list of do’s and don’ts. ‘He really enjoyed his visit,’ she said, attempting to put her at her ease.
‘Good.’ Laura brightened. ‘I want him to be happy here, obviously, but I’d hate it if I’d done anything that might have upset you.’
‘You haven’t.’ Sarah couldn’t help but feel for her. She was plainly trying hard to get things right, possibly trying too hard, bearing in mind her abundant purchase of toys, but her heart was clearly in the right place. ‘Although …’ She hesitated, reluctant now to bring it up. On the other hand, it was something she felt strongly about. ‘I was a bit perturbed when I heard you’d swapped his bedtime bunny for a new snuggle toy.’
Laura’s face fell.
‘But when I saw how thrilled he was with Mr Whale, I realised it didn’t really matter that much,’ Sarah backtracked, though quietly she despaired of herself. If she really did have an issue she needed to tackle with Laura or Steve, she would have to be a bit more assertive.
‘He loves it, insisted on taking it to bed with him.’ Laura looked pleased as she turned to lead the way down the hall.
‘I can see he does. It looks like Bunny will have to bow out gracefully.’
In the kitchen, Sarah glanced around, taking in the decor. There was a high-tech coffee machine, and a breadmaker, a freshly baked loaf filling the air with mouth-watering aromas on a cooling rack next to it. The kitchen itself was light and airy, with patio doors onto a small terrace, white cupboards with apple-green splashbacks. It was bold, bright and cheerful. Was this who Laura was under the anxiety? Someone she was striving to be maybe? It was likely the kitchen had come with the house, but still, it was definitely warm and homey, which was reassuring. ‘Where is he?’ she asked.
Laura knitted her brow. ‘At work,’ she said, clearly misinterpreting Sarah’s distracted question. ‘He has to finish a plumbing job on the Redwood estate. The carpenters are going in tomorrow, so—’
‘No, sorry. I didn’t mean Steve. I meant Bunny,’ Sarah clarified. ‘It’s just that Ollie’s had him since he was six months old, and … Well, he means a lot to me and I’d like to keep him.’