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of dolls carefully and glanced up at my mother who was just staring dolefully at my father’s retreating back.

    Her shoulders slumped despondently as she gave a sigh at the thought of how much had to be done with only a seven-year-old to help. All the animation and expectation drained from her face, leaving her looking worn out and defeated.
    ‘God,’ she said to me, ‘where do we start?’ while I, having no answer, just stared helplessly around the room. ‘I’ll help, Mum,’ I said without much idea how I was going to achieve that.
    No sooner had those words left my mouth then I heard a crunch of gravel and saw a smile forming on my mother’s face. A voice called out ‘Hallo there’ and I looked up to see a tall blonde woman with hair swept up in a fancy hairstyle and her feet strangely, considering we were two miles from the village, wedged into fashionable high-heeled shoes.
    She bent down to my height so that our eyes met and smiled. ‘Hallo,’ she said. ‘I’m Dora. I live next door,’ she added unnecessary, as ours were the only two cottages in that part of the lane. ‘You must be Marianne,’ and I smiled back at her and nodded furiously.
    ‘I know what it’s like on a day like this,’ she said to my mother, making no reference to the fact that we had been left without any help. She just gave her a small pat on her shoulder and said lightly, ‘Expect you could do with a break before you start. Come round to mine – the stove’s lit and I’ve got a brew all ready.’
    My mother, giving a rueful look at the boxes and bags strewn around the floor, accepted gratefully. I wheeled the pram and followed them over the short distance to the other front door that, like ours, led straight into the living room.
    A large wooden playpen dominated nearly two-thirds of her space. Inside it her two toddlers were playing contentedly with brightly coloured wooden building bricks. More toys were scattered within throwing distance on the floor outside it.
    ‘My most useful bit of furniture!’ she remarked laughingly.
    ‘Come here, little man,’ she said to my baby brother, who had woken and looked ready to let out a shriek. She quickly scooped him up and, before he was able to voice his protest, swung him in the air, making him giggle loudly. Then she swiftly plopped him down in the pen beside her two. A wooden car was passed to him and tears were forgotten as his plump little hands stretched out and grasped it. We were all rewarded by a wide gummy smile before he turned his rapt attention to his new toy.
    ‘There, that will keep him quiet,’ she said matter-of-factly and gestured to my mother to take a seat.
    A plate piled high with individually iced cakes suddenly appeared and was placed on the table in front of me.
    ‘Help yourself,’ the neighbour’s wife said with some amusement when she noticed I could hardly tear my eyes away from it. Needing no more encouragement, I stretched my arm out and chose a pale-pink iced one, which was decorated with tiny silver balls. Biscuits and juice were given to the three little ones and cups of hot sweet tea were poured for my mother and me.

    For the first time that day I saw my mother relax. An hour passed quickly while the two women chatted to each other. The three younger children, bribed with further biscuits, played happily and I amused myself by surreptitiously helping myself to more cakes and looking at the pictures in a women’s magazine. Treats such as these seldom appeared in our house.
    ‘Leave the baby with me,’ Dora said as we reluctantly started to take our leave. ‘It will be a lot easier to tackle that unpacking if you haven’t got him under your feet.’
    This was an offer my mother readily agreed to.
    Already the bond of a new and longed-for friendship was forming.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    A week after we had moved in my mother invited Dora to tea.
    ‘Don’t know what you women find to talk about,’ my father said grumpily, ‘especially as