Waiting for Grace by Hayley Oakes Read Free Book Online Page A

you.”
    “Not any more.” I smiled. “He was so angry with me, I could see it in his eyes.”
    “Well not many men would race to Grouchers the day after their ex was spotted. He was there first thing, too.” She widened her eyes to me as she took a sip of her wine. “That’s not revival; that never bloody died!”
    “Whatever. Anyway, let’s focus. Now I’ve told him, so I need to have a chat with Devon tomorrow just in case he wants to see her.”
    “Oh thank goodness Max’s dad is a druggie who’s probably OD'd by now, and can’t remember his own name let alone mine,” she joked with a wink. “Makes things a bit less messy.”    
    “Maria,” I said. I laid my hand on hers. Despite what I had been through, she had lived through much worse. She was always so jovial about it, though. She had had it tough, and here I was whining about my charmed life. It would be hard for Max if Devon did connect with her father, and we would all have to deal with that. We would have to pull together. As teenagers we thought being their mother and father would be enough, but they started asking questions a few years ago, and so the awkward explanations began.
    “Right, let’s change the bloody subject,” I said. “No more shit, only gossip. Tell me about any hot men in your office.”
    “That’s more like it,” Maria said.
     
    ***
     
    The next morning Maria was rushing. The kids were up just after seven, and she was running around the flat like a mad woman getting things together for her day. “I need to be on the tube at eight am,” she kept emphasising. “I can’t find my phone. Ah! Max have you had it?” Max shook his head as he sat next to me on the sofa. We were all eating cereal in our pyjamas whilst Maria tore around.
    “Calm down,” I said, jumping up to help. “What else do you need?”
    “My brain.” She smiled. “God, I need to make a good impression and I am, in fact, a mad woman.”
    “You are not,” I said looking under some bills on the dining table and retrieving her phone. I handed it to her and she smirked at me. “Breathe. Now go and be professional.” She kissed the kids, grabbed her briefcase, and was gone.
    “Wow,” Max sighed as I sat back down between them on the sofa. “I’ve never seen mum move that fast. She needs to organise her things the night before,” he said knowingly, and I laughed.
    “Very true Maxie, when did you become so clever?” I teased him. “Now come on eat up and uniforms on, no dawdling.”
    “Mum, I’ve got tummy ache. I shouldn’t go today.”
    “Really? You feel sick?”
    “No we have a spelling test,” Max snitched and rolled his eyes.
    “No, my tummy hurts,” Devon whined.
    “I think it’s the test,” he said quietly as he walked to put his dish in the sink.
    “Come on, Devon, quick mummy cuddle, then uniform on and get school to ring me if you are feeling poorly.”
    “I’ll get dressed,” Max said, making his way out of the room. No doubt he was headed to play in his bedroom until I got in there to hurry him along.
    Devon climbed onto my lap and her blonde hair splayed across me as she cuddled me tightly. “Oh baby,” I said kissing her head. “Is it that bad?”
    “I suppose not,” she sighed. “But I am worried about the test.” I laughed and hugged her tighter. “Come on let’s get dressed. Just think, tonight we will get Chinese and watch a film. And no more school for two days.”
    She broke out into a grin and ran to her room. She and Max were still sharing. Maria and I were aware that they were getting a bit too old for that, being of the opposite sex, and getting increasingly irritated by each other’s habits. We joked about moving into a room together and letting them have their own rooms, as there were neither men for us, nor any interest in men, really. Our lives seemed full enough, and it had never come up. In reality, we would have to move. I quietly worried that Maria would want to end our little