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day. A chance to talk and enjoy the outdoors together. Or a chance to be talked at, at least, while she rather brutally picked the heads off dandelions.
    ‘Will I get an iPad when I’m sixteen?’ Matilda asked, as she swung her book bag in the air.
    ‘I don’t know. They’ll probably have something new out by then, iPads will be a thing of the past.’
    ‘How old were you when you had one?’
    I laughed. ‘Er, I still haven’t got one, actually. Hadn’t you noticed?’
    Matilda looked at me aghast. ‘Shall I get you one for Christmas? I can start saving up my pocket money.’
    ‘Thank you, love, but there’s no need.’
    ‘Oh. Is it because you’re old?’ asked Matilda.
    ‘Charming.’ I laughed. ‘Daddy’s older than me, and he’s got one.’
    ‘So you just don’t want one?’
    ‘I can think of things I’d rather have.’
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘Oh, I don’t know. There are lots of books I’d like, for a start.’
    ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’ll get you a book instead.’ And with that she skipped off ahead of me, picking up two yellow leaves which had fallen and immediately turning them into hand puppets.
    Life was good for Matilda. Life was straightforward. The way it should be when you are eight years old.
    * * *
    ‘So did Josh have a good birthday?’ asked Debbie when the playground melee had finally dispersed and I found myself standing next to her among the other mums at the school gates.
    ‘Sort of.’
    ‘You don’t sound too sure.’
    ‘It wasn’t quite as we’d planned,’ I said.
    ‘Why?’ asked Debbie.
    I beckoned to her to start walking back with me. I’d never been one to discuss the ins and outs of my private life at the school gates. That was one thing I’d learntquickly about living in a village. Debbie was different from the rest of the mums, though. I’d known her since Matilda and Debbie’s daughter Sophie had been tiny. I knew I could trust her.
    ‘Chris’s ex turned up,’ I said. ‘Josh’s mum.’
    Debbie stared at me. ‘I thought she was long gone.’
    ‘She was. Until Saturday, at least.’
    ‘So did she see him?’
    ‘No, fortunately he was at his friend’s when she called. She left a letter and a present for him. An electric guitar.’
    ‘But isn’t that what you were getting him?’
    I nodded. ‘Yeah. Only this one was better.’
    ‘Jesus. I bet Chris was happy.’
    ‘He’s been very quiet since.’
    ‘I’m not surprised. Must have been a hell of a shock. What did she look like? Is she older than you?’
    ‘Yeah, a few years, I think. Not that you could tell. She’s stunning, to be honest.’
    Debbie stopped and looked at me. ‘You don’t think she wants to get back with him?’
    I laughed.
    ‘What’s so funny?’
    ‘Well, even if she does, Chris hates her. I mean, really hates her. He didn’t even want us to give Josh the present.’
    ‘But you did?’
    ‘Yeah. Of course.’
    ‘And does Josh want to see her?’
    ‘I don’t know. He’s pretty mixed up about it, but I think the guitar swung it.’
    ‘I wouldn’t let her anywhere near him.’
    I looked across at Debbie. ‘Why do you say that?’
    ‘She’s your husband’s ex, she’s Josh’s mum and she’s stunning. It’s a no-brainer.’
    ‘And what about Josh,’ I asked. ‘Hasn’t he got a right to see her?’
    She looked straight at me. ‘You’re his mum,’ she said. ‘Maybe not biologically but in every way that matters. He doesn’t need her. He’s done pretty well for sixteen years without her, and that’s down to Chris and you.’
    ‘But doesn’t she have the right to see him?’
    ‘She lost that right the day she walked out on him. Get shot of her, Ali. Or get Chris to do it, if you’re too bloody nice to.’
    * * *
    The new couple walked into my room. Awkward didn’t begin to go anywhere near. Sometimes it was actually painful to watch people. They wore their anguish on their faces, in the tortured movement of their limbs. Some would seemingly rather