Page 2 of The Christmas Fayre on Holly Field

‘Do youwantme to be bullied?’ Sara demanded.

‘You won’t be bullied for not wearing makeup. Anyway, it’s against school rules.’

‘I don’t want to wear it toschool,’ Sara shot back, flicking her long hair over her shoulder. ‘It’s for Darlene’s birthday party.’

‘When is that?’

‘November. The invite is in my bag, too. I’ve got to RSVP it. That’s French for telling her I’m going.’

Blimey, Harriet thought, fishing it out and looking at the date. Darlene’s mum was very organised. Harriet didn’t usually begin thinking about her kids’ birthdays until a couple of weeks before.

She was about to secure the invite to the fridge door, when she spotted the venue. Deri Castle? Surely that was a misprint?

‘And I’ll need something new to wear,’ Sara declared.

‘Will you now?’ Harriet sighed.

‘Please?’ Sara was starting to whine.

‘We’ll see.’

Her daughter scowled at her. She knew, like all kids, that ‘we’ll see’ usually meant no.

‘I’ll ask Dad.’ Sara’s expression was belligerent.

Good luck with that, Harriet thought. Declan paid the bare minimum towards his children’s upkeep, and because he was self-employed and didn’t declare half of what he earned, on paper he appeared to be living on the breadline.

‘Good idea,’ she said, with false cheerfulness. Maybe Declan would come through for his daughter, but Harriet doubted it.

Sara flounced out of the kitchen and Harriet called after her, ‘Have you got any homework?’ but the only response was the sound of a stroppy pre-teen stomping up the stairs.

Harriet let out another sigh. Being a single parent wasn’t easy. Being a single parent with barely two pennies to rub together was flipping impossible. At least with the kids now back in school, she was able to pick up some extra shifts in the cafe, but she had a depressing feeling that most of any additional income would go on funding school activities and her daughter’s burgeoning social life.

One step forward, two steps back… it was the story of her life.

‘It’s time to take Etta for a walk,’ Harriet said after tea, and she waited for the grizzle of protest from her daughter. Bobby was happy enough to scamper along the riverbank with the dog, but of late Sara had become more reluctant, although she seemed to enjoy herself once she was there.

‘Do I have to go?’

Yep, there it was – the whiny moan. ‘Yes, Sara, you do. You can’t stay in the house on your own.’

‘Why not? Darlene does.’

‘I’m not interested in what Darlene does or doesn’t do. You’re too young to be unsupervised.’ Harriet was already sick of hearing Darlene’s name. The child was swiftly becoming Sara’s best friend, despite the two of them having only known each other a matter of weeks, as they’d gone to different primary schools.

‘Scared I might nick your makeup?’ Sara sneered.

Harriet blinked. This answering back and sassy attitude were new, and Harriet didn’t appreciate it. ‘If you want to pinch my makeup, feel free,’ she said, hoping to take the wind out of her daughter’s sails.

Most of it was old and dried up – a bit like Harriet herself. She’d never worn much anyway, just some concealer for the permanent dark circles under her eyes, mascara and lipstick when she remembered. However, the concealer had dried out, the mascara had gone gloopy and the lipstick wasn’t the most flattering of colours. If Sara wanted it that badly, she was welcome to it.

‘It’s not fair,’ Sara protested. ‘Everyone else has makeup.’

‘That’s life,’ Harriet said, biting back a smile when her daughter thrust out her chin, a mutinous expression on her face. When she did that, she appeared five, not eleven, and Harriet thought she looked adorable. Not that she’d say that to Sara’s face, of course: there was only so much stropping Harriet could take. ‘Put your shoes on.’

Sara narrowed her eyes and for a moment Harriet thought she might refuse, but with a loud huff, her daughter stomped into the hall to retrieve her trainers from under the stairs.

Bobby, bless him, was already wearing his and was hopping from foot to foot impatiently. Etta, sensing a walk was imminent, jumped up at him before dashing around in excited circles.

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