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of a sudden she turned to Alana and grabbed her wrist.
    ‘I’m so very fucking sorry for being such a bloody useless excuse of a mother.’ Isobel exhaled deeply as if her whole soul had flowed out with the words. ‘There, I’ve said it. Shit – I missed out the word “shallow”.’
    She let go of Alana and raised both her palms outwards, like a preacher. ‘I am so very fucking sorry for being such a bloody useless shallow excuse of a mother.’
    ‘It will take more than a blue apology to wipe away six years of you ignoring us,’ Alana replied calmly.
    ‘But you were having a child out of wedlock. You vowed never to tell me who the father was. I mean, what would they have thought at church? Tell me, Alana, what was I supposed to do?’
    Alana felt herself welling up now. ‘You were supposed to just love me, Mum.’ She tried to stop herself crying, but a real emotion can never be hidden and suddenly a strangled sob tore from her heart.
    ‘I cannot believe you haven’t even asked me her name,’ she wept. She eventually got herself under control and then was engulfed by a wave of anger. ‘Now, just piss off and leave us alone! We don’t need you here, either of us.’
    ‘Where shall I go?’ Isobel said, selfish as ever and seemingly unperturbed by her only daughter’s outburst.
    ‘You can go to hell as far as I’m concerned.’ Alana pushed her mother out, slammed the front door and put her back against it, then went and sat down and cried her eyes out.
    When Alana had not one tear left inside of her, she poured herself a large glass of wine and downed it in one. The even larger whisky that followed caused her to crawl up the stairs. On reaching the landing, she kicked off her shoes, sneaked into her daughter’s single bed and snuggled against her soft, warm neck.
    The little girl, oblivious to the anguish of two generations before her, snored gently.

– Chapter Five –
    ‘Diabetes apparently,’ Mo said once, twice, three times over as various mums questioned why the ever-present Joan was not dropping her kids off. She overheard Emily Pritchard meanly comment that it was probably due to Joan over-eating the wrong type of foods, and Mo glared at her.
    Alana held Eliska’s hand and pushed her way through the gabbling throng of morning mothers. Despite her hangover, she still looked immaculate with her full make-up, designer jeans and heels.
    ‘Where will I find Mr Chambers?’ she asked Dana, who couldn’t believe that after a year of her child attending Featherstone Primary, the other mother didn’t know this. But the quiet Czech girl was not one to judge, and she kindly explained where he could be found.
    ‘Ah, Mr Chambers, here you are. I’m Alana Murray,’ she said and held out her hand, while Eliska waited outside on the drive.
    He smiled, noting that her ‘sugar baby’ lipstick matched his bright pink tie.
    ‘An agency nanny from Bebops will be collecting Eliska today and maybe tomorrow,’ Alana told him. ‘I don’t have a name.’
    ‘Wonderful, thanks for letting me know. Is Inga on holiday then?’
    ‘Yes,’ Alana lied. ‘Everyone deserves a little break. Is Eliska getting on OK, by the way?’
    ‘Um, well. I guess Inga told you about the kissing incident?’
    ‘Oh yes, yes,’ Alana lied again. ‘Youngsters, eh?’ She managed a smile, thinking that she’d have to find out what on earth he was on about later.
    Eliska hugged her as she came outside.
    ‘Bye, Mum. I love it when you bring me to school,’ the little girl said, and Alana ignored the pitying glances of those other mothers who were within earshot.
    ‘Bye bye, darling. Be good for the Bebops person and I’ll see you later.’ She patted her daughter on the head.
    ‘Oh, hi Alana. Long time no see,’ Emily Pritchard shouted across to her. ‘No Inga today then?’
    Alana glanced down at her BlackBerry and then walked towards Emily. She had been the only mother on Eliska’s first day at school who had made an