‘So, we have a very special day in the Devine house, don’t we, pumpkin? How old are you today?’
‘Four.’ Georgie grinned into the camera, holding up her fingers. Under her other arm was a wrapped gift. ‘Can I open it, Mama?’
‘Of course, you can, sweetie.’ Shelly stood back to give Amy a better angle on the child and mouthed a grateful ‘thank you’ in her direction.
Amy’s brow furrowed but she kept the camera steady on Georgie.
‘Ahhhh, yaya the Share Bear.’ Georgie was jumping up and down, hugging the white furry teddy, and then she flung herself into Shelly’s arms. ‘Thank you, Mama.’
‘Oh, happy birthday, my best pumpkin, now sit up and I’ll make you your favourite: Kanavan oats with banana and melty chocolate chips.’
Amy kept the camera on her as she went over to the kitchen to get the porridge on.
‘So, Shell-Belles, I’ve got a couple of minutes for questions while I stir the porridge. You can speed up the cooking process by pre-soaking overnight and for more top tips on top toppings, go to www.Kanavans.ie.’
Amy read the first question from behind the camera.
‘@MummyLovesABargain asks: How do you make it all look so easy, Shelly?’
Oh, this stuff made Shelly’s skin crawl. She could hear herself giving these saccharine beige answers and always pictured the people who hate-followed her laughing their asses off.
‘Well, I think the biggest thing that I use to keep calm and focused and not let myself get overwhelmed is gratitude. If I’m ever feeling the pressure from my hectic, always-on for my job, always-on for my baby girl lifestyle, I just take a minute to breathe and count three things I’m grateful for.’
‘@LizzieGG says: Your skin’s amazing, what’s your biggest skincare tip?’
‘Well, eating right, so starting my day with a big bowl of Kanavan’s porridge! Then lots of water and smoothies – oats are a great addition to any smoothie, plus I often make an old-fashioned face mask by mixing soaked oats with honey and an egg white. So, oats, oats and more oats! OK, last question because my lil monkey is getting hungry!’
‘@ShinyHappySinead asks: Do you ever get tired of being so fake all the time?’
Shelly’s stomach dropped and she gripped the counter to steady herself for a moment.
‘Wha … What?’
Amy looked irritated and repeated in a bored voice, ‘@ShinyHappySinead wants to know if you ever get tired of being so fab all the time?’
‘Oh, ha. Right.’ Shelly scrambled after her thoughts and tried to calm her jangling nerves. ‘Fab. Well, no, I mean, not no. I mean, I don’t really think of myself as fab. At all. But thank you for saying that, eh, ShinyHappySinead. On that lovely note, I’m going to give my birthday girl her brekkie, so thanks for joining me for my Morning Routine and thank you so much, Kanavan Oats, for supporting hard-working mamas. Happy Wednesday, everyone!’
Shelly waved and concentrated on tipping the porridge out into bowls and then, as soon as the camera was off, into the bin. Georgie wouldn’t touch the stuff. She quickly got the cereal out from the cupboard and turned the coffee machine on.
Amy plonked herself on a stool on the other side of the island. ‘Well, that is one thing off this never-ending list. How are you?’
‘I’m fine now. Obviously, I was freaking last night! God, what am I like to forget?!’ Shelly dropped the Coco Pops to Georgie along with her iPad to keep her entertained.
‘Oh yeah,’ Amy murmured, head in phone. ‘So, you got sorted anyway. Sorry I didn’t grab anything. I was up against it timewise.’
‘What? You mean you didn’t do this?’ Shelly swayed as if the floor were tipping and grabbed the empty chair beside Georgie to regain her balance but accidentally tipped it over in her unsteadiness.
‘Jesus.’ Amy sprang up. ‘What’s the matter?’ She righted the chair and steered Shelly to a stool at the peninsula away from Georgie.
‘You …’ Shelly was struggling, groping in darkness to make sense of what this meant. ‘You didn’t do this?’ She waved a hand to take in the room full of balloons and birthday paraphernalia.
‘No.’ Amy looked questioning.
Shelly dashed to the sliding doors. They were locked. She began to run from window to window. All locked. Just as they had been the night before. She flew out to the hallway calling for Amanda, who appeared at the top of the stairs, evidently startled by the note of panic in Shelly’s voice. Shelly tried to calm herself.
‘Amanda, did you put out balloons and stuff for Georgie’s birthday?’
Why are you bothering? You know the answer, she thought grimly.
‘No, luv, sure I was in the door and straight up to you. I didn’t even go into the kitchen.’
By this point Amy had joined her in the hall.
‘What is going on?’
Shelly ignored her.
‘Was the alarm on when you came in, Mandy?’
‘Yes, hun.’ Amanda came down and stood by Amy. Shelly could feel their concerned looks as she hurtled into the living room and continued her frantic check of all the entry points. The windows in there were all secured. She rushed back to Amy and Amanda in the hall and tried to compose herself.
‘I think we need to call the guards. Someone came in here last night. There’s no doubt. They disabled the alarms and they set up the party stuff.’
‘Shelly, calm down.’ Amy was using her ‘take charge’ voice, which usually comforted Shelly, but Shelly could see her assistant glancing around the hall nervously. Even she’s freaked out.
‘What about Dan? Could he have come in?’ Amanda suggested.
Shelly pulled out her phone. Dan was the last person in the world who would think of laying out a birthday surprise but still Shelly dashed off a quick WhatsApp.
Did you come back to the house last night? And leave out birthday bits for Georgie? Balloons and stuff?
She knew it wasn’t him. Men didn’t think like that. In the four years since Georgie’s birth, Dan had never once so much as cut his daughter’s nails, for God’s sake. What does he think? That the child has some magical self-trimming nails? No, it wasn’t Dan. She just knew it.
She saw him typing and a message appeared seconds later.
Nope. Tell Georgie I’m bringing her prezzie on Saturday, K?
The Direct Message icon flickered as always over the Insta app. Shelly tapped it. The latest message was from @__________. Surprise, sur-fucking-prise.
‘What is it, Shell? Is it Dan?’ Amy’s tense voice sounded far away, as if she were in the next room and not right beside Shelly. Anxiety was strange like that. It could turn down the volume of any room and dial up the roaring terror inside in seconds.
‘It’s a message from @__________,’ she heard herself say.
Good thing I’m Always Watching and listening, right? I have your back, hun.
Amy peered at the message over Shelly’s shoulder. ‘Fuck,’ she breathed. ‘Right, I’m calling the guards. And your mum. You can’t stay here until the locks are changed and the alarm is reset.’