United States of Love

The sound of raised voices and shrieking seeped out through the front door as Anna stood on the doorstep, waiting for her knock to be answered.

‘Morning, Titch,’ smiled Nathan, opening the door and standing to one side so she could come in.

‘Morning, Lofty.’ It was a joke they had shared since childhood.

At nearly six feet tall, her brother Nathan took after their father with his athletic physique, fine-tuned by his career in fitness training. Anna, on the other hand, at five feet two, with a small petite frame and waiflike in her appearance, took after their more delicate mother.

‘Sounds fun in here this morning.’ Anna headed towards the kitchen where the noise of squabbling children seemed to be reaching fever pitch. ‘Morning everyone,’ she said as she poked her head round the door.

‘I don't want Coco Pops,’ whined Alex, one half of Nathan's seven-year-old twin boys. ‘I want Boulders.’

‘Just eat them now,’ sighed Zoe as she held a warmed bottle of milk inEmily's mouth with one hand, and with the other began pouring another bowl of Coco Pops for Jake, the other half of the duo. She glanced up as Anna walked in. ‘Well, good morning to you. What are you doing here so early?’ Then with a sudden anxious look on her face, ‘Everything all right?’

‘Fine, absolutely fine,’ said Anna reassuringly. She took the box of cereal from Zoe and finished pouring them into the bowl. ‘Here you go, Jake. Where's the milk?’

Jake wasn't paying attention, instead embarking on a tug-of-war with his three-year-old brother, Henry. Jake wanted the milk, but so did Henry. Giving the carton one final tug, Jake managed to pull the milk free from Henry's grasp. The momentum took Jake by surprise and the milk flew out of his hand, splashing all over the table and sending a cup of tea into Zoe's lap.

‘Oh, for God's sake!’ Zoe cried. ‘That's so naughty, look what you've done!’

Baby Emily began screaming in protest at having her breakfast whipped away as Zoe dropped the bottle while trying, and failing, to avoid the tea.

‘Hey! Hey! Hey! Boys!’ commanded Nathan as he strode across the kitchen. ‘That's enough.’

The boys exchanged a look and immediately sat quiet, as did Henry. Nathan picked up the bottle of milk and ran it under the tap to clean the teat before quickly popping it back into Emily's mouth. Peace.

‘Could have done with you down here five minutes earlier,’ muttered Zoe, simultaneously trying to mop up the milk on the table and sponge out the tea from her dressing gown. ‘I expect you've got to rush off to work now.’

‘Here, Zoe, let me clean that up,’ insisted Anna. ‘You sort yourself out.’

‘So how's your house guest?’ asked Zoe as she dabbed at the tea stain.

‘We had a Chinese last night and then he pretty much fell asleep. Jet-lagged. Left him asleep on the sofa this morning.’

‘I think you're asking for trouble,’ grumbled Nathan, looking at his watch. ‘Oh Christ, I've got to go. I'm going to be late for my client. We've got a five-k run this morning. Here, Zoe, take Emily.’

‘Always rushing off,’ complained Zoe, lifting Emily from Nathan's shoulder. She popped a kiss on her daughter's head and put her back in her baby chair. ‘You sit there, darling. Mummy's got to sort out those brothers of yours. Daddy's clearing off again, just when I could do with his help. Perfect.’

Anna glanced at Nathan who gave a small shake of his head, tension etched in his face.

‘I'll be back at lunchtime. Bye, love.’ He went to kiss Zoe but she turned away, busying herself with filling the kettle.

‘Right. Fine.’

Anna waited until she heard the front door close. ‘I'll make the tea, Zoe, you sit there for a bit. Is everything all right?’

Zoe looked thoughtfully out of the window for a moment before answering. ‘The official party line is yes, everything is fine. Nathan's personal training business is really taking off. I'm busy looking after the children and the house, sipping coffee with girlfriends and flicking through glossy home furnishing magazines.’ Zoe let out a big sigh.

‘And unofficially?’ prompted Anna.

‘Unofficially, Nathan's working all the hours God sends to keep a roof over our heads so I don't have to go back to work. We hardly see each other. I just feel so tired all the time, it's a struggle to do anything.’ She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I am a complete wreck, suffering from sleep deprivation, who can just about manage to pull on my baggy tracksuit and tie my hair in a ponytail.’

‘Is it really that bad?’

‘Most of the time. When you cancelled last night my first thought was, oh good, I don't have to bother getting all done up, I can just have a bath and go to bed. I was asleep by nine.’

Normally, Zoe was upbeat and positive but since Emily had been born, she had seemed less so, thought Anna as she looked at her sister-in-law. Her eyes looked heavy and the black circles underneath them were highlighting the bags that were beginning to become part of her daily feature.

‘It's natural to feel a bit run-down. You only had a baby four months ago.’

‘Some days I don't even want to get up. I feel like it's Groundhog Day most of the time.’ Zoe pulled her dressing gown further around her, retying the belt. ‘When Nathan gets in all I want to do is go to bed to sleep.’

Anna sensed that a ‘pull yourself together’ team talk wouldn’t help Zoe at this precise moment. A more practical approach would probably be best, Anna thought. In her head she began to formulate a plan of action.

Chapter Four (#u71ac035c-2898-536a-9871-7aebd3129a67)

Anna was convinced Mark was up to something but she couldn't for the life of her think what it was. She had woken up on Sunday morning to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking. Mark had made brunch for all three of them, something hitherto unheard of. Then, later, they had wandered down to the Fish and Fly pub and sat out in the courtyard garden sharing a bowl of chips. She had a glass of wine, while Luke nursed a coke. The conversation up until then had been easy-going, mostly involving Luke: his schoolwork, his band and his GCSEs that were looming in a couple of months. On the whole, it had been okay until Mark took a phone call. He had moved out of earshot, leaving her to watch him pace the car park with animated gestures. That was thirty minutes ago, and ever since he seemed agitated and restless, drumming his fingers or tapping his foot.

‘You okay, Mark?’ asked Anna, feeling uneasy by his mood change.

‘Of course I am. Why the hell wouldn’t I be?’ he snapped back.

‘Sorry, you just seem a bit on edge…’

‘Just drop it, Anna.’ He got up and strode off towards the toilets.

‘What’s got into him?’ asked Luke, exchanging a look with his mother. ‘He was all right until he took that call.’

Anna shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea. Best not say anything again.’

Mark came back a few minutes later and sat down, smiling at them. ‘That’s better. All okay? Good. Another drink?’

At home after returning from the pub, Anna felt even more troubled about Mark and his sour mood swing. Yes, he used to fly off the handle from time to time throughout their marriage, but she had never known it to be so sudden, or such a dramatic swing.

Late on Monday morning, Anna was sitting in a coffee shop in Chichester, phone in one hand and Jamie's business card in the other. She hadn’t heard from Tex yet and she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

She flicked the business card over and over again in her fingers. Jamie had sounded like he’d meant it when he had said she should give him a call about work. She didn't actually have much choice. Not after her meeting with Howard earlier. She should have just kept her mouth shut. She should have just let Howard give her a roasting over her behaviour towards Andy. She should have just nodded and apologised. What she shouldn't have done was to tell Howard just what a creep Andy was and that Howard should be backing up his staff. She also shouldn't have said words to the effect of ‘over her dead body’ about taking Andy out to lunch. And she most definitely shouldn't have told Howard that if his attitude was her word against Andy's then he could stick his sodding job.

Ten minutes later and with a feeling of trepidation, Anna left the coffee shop. It had been a successful call. Jamie had sounded genuinely pleased to hear from her. They had agreed that she should travel up to his home in Surrey tomorrow.

‘Most of my work is done over the phone,’ he had explained. ‘Any meetings are usually at the client's house or hotel. I tend to go to my clients rather than them come to me, it's part of making the service professional and elite. I use my office at home to co-ordinate my staff. Yvonne helps out with the paperwork.’

It occurred to Anna that she should have done a bit of research about Jamie's company before she had phoned. She would have a look at his website when she got home, then at least she would be better prepared when she met him tomorrow. She also had a document waiting to be translated by Friday, so she’d have to make a start on that this afternoon, because Wednesday and Thursday she was working in the tea rooms. She could see a few late nights of translating coming up. Still, she shouldn’t complain, especially not now she’d just lost one of her jobs.

When she and Mark had separated, they had sold their bigger Southampton home and Mark had bought this one for her and Luke. She hadn't wanted to stay in Southampton, she'd only gone there with Mark because as a professional footballer, he needed to be near his club. Once his career had been deemed over, due to an accident, they no longer had any ties with the city. Anna had chosen to return to Chichester, where she had grown up, needing to feel she belonged somewhere, getting comfort from familiar places and people.

It was only a two-minute walk from the centre of Chichester to her little, two-up two-down, mews cottage. No matter whatever the weather – be it a bright April morning like today or a cold, dark winter's afternoon – the sight of her blue wooden door at 2 Coach House Cottages always made her feel happy.

She approached her front door, and as usual her neighbour Mrs Meekham twitched her net curtain. Anna waved and smiled, thinking if you looked up the expression Neighbourhood Watch in the dictionary, it would simply say ‘Mrs Meekham’. She put the key in the lock and turned it gently before creeping in. The front door opened straight into the living room and she didn't want to disturb Mark.