‘Eileen, have you got a moment to come down to the playground? It’s in a terrible state – worse than normal. I really think we should start sorting it out. We can’t wait forever for the Parish Council to do something about it.’
‘I’m only on the High Street,’ said Eileen. ‘I’ll be with you in a minute.’
Lauren put Sam into the swing and pushed him half heartedly while the other mum did the same with her little boy.
‘I just don’t get why anyone would do this,’ she said. ‘It’s so mindless.’
‘I know,’ said Rose. ‘Were you serious about doing something about it?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Lauren.
‘Well, if you’re prepared to do something about it, I’m in,’ said Rose. ‘What did you have in mind?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Lauren, ‘but I’m sure my friend here can help.’
Eileen was striding up to them with a horrified look on her face.
‘This is awful,’ she said. ‘I keep bringing this to the attention of the Parish Council but so far they’ve done nothing. Even with Tony as Chair now, it takes so much to get them to change anything. So I wouldn’t hold your breath and imagine this will make any difference.’
‘I’m not,’ said Lauren, ‘which is why I want your help spearheading a clean-up campaign. Maybe if we prove to the council how much we need this place, they’ll sit up and take notice.’
‘So now you’re running the Save Our Playground campaign, as well as being on the Summer Fest committee and the PTA?’ Kezzie grinned when Lauren told her what had happened. ‘Well, good for you. I think one committee is enough to send me potty.’
‘Yes, well, someone needs to do something,’ said Lauren. ‘Otherwise the situation will just get worse. I think we should catch the little scrotes who did this and make them repaint the playground.’
‘Quite the community policewoman, aren’t we?’ said Kezzie.
‘Well, someone needs to be,’ said Lauren. ‘I can’t help thinking if the place were spruced a bit more, the vandals might be put off.’
‘They might,’ said Kezzie. ‘I really ought to get out there and start planting properly. Sod waiting for the Parish Council’s approval – I may just do it anyway!’
‘Oh, I think we can make enough fuss to ensure that,’ said Lauren. ‘I don’t think the Parish Council can turn a blind eye any longer. I’m going on Radio Sussex to talk about it and I’ve already spoken to the Heartsease Gazette and the Chiverton Post. I’ve got a petition going, too, and thanks to mums in the playground and a Facebook page I started, I’ve got a hundred signatures already.’
‘Blimey, that’s impressive,’ said Kezzie. ‘Tell you what, I’ll see if I can persuade some of my guerrilla gardening pals to come down for a few days. I did ask them if they would when I saw them last. They’re pretty good at turning a barren patch of land into something that looks halfway decent.’
‘And we should really start Neighbourhood Watch patrols,’ said Lauren. ‘The local police aren’t going to do anything.’
‘I bet it’s bored kids,’ said Kezzie. ‘They probably just need something to do. When I was younger I used to get a buzz out of breaking into parks at night. Me and my mates didn’t cause much damage, but we caused enough. I got tired of being so destructive, but enjoyed the buzz of breaking in. So I became a guerrilla gardener instead.’
‘And now you’re a landscape gardener. How did that happen?’
Kezzie paused. She still felt uncomfortable talking about the reasons why she’d come here. And now that Richard appeared to have completely closed the door on their relationship, she was even more reluctant to come clean. She liked Lauren, and didn’t want her to think badly of her.
‘Richard persuaded me that I had a God-given talent that could be put to better use. I was pretty disillusioned with my job at the time, and then I got made redundant, so it seemed like a good idea.’
‘Why did you split up? If you don’t mind me asking.’
Kezzie pulled a face. As ever, when she thought about her last meeting with Richard she felt sick to the pit of her stomach. How could a moment of such stupidity have caused such a catastrophe? If she could have one wish in life it would be for that evening to replay differently, for her not to have had Emily that day, for Emily not to have done what she did, for Richard to still be in love with her.
‘I – well, let’s just say I cocked up big time,’ said Kezzie. ‘I did something really stupid and now Richard doesn’t want to see me any more.’
‘What on earth did you do?’ said Lauren. ‘It can’t have been that bad.’
‘It was in his eyes,’ said Kezzie, blinking back tears. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t be so wobbly about it after all this time. It drives me nuts that I still am.’
Lauren reached over and gave her a hug. ‘Come on, Kezzie, we’re mates. Talk to me about it, it looks like you need to get it off your chest.’
So reluctantly, Kezzie told Lauren the story she’d told Flick. With Flick she had been fairly sure that she wouldn’t be judged, but Kezzie had heard Lauren go on about how much she hated drugs; she wasn’t sure Lauren wouldn’t be offended.
To her relief, when she’d finished Lauren snorted, ‘Is that all?’
‘What, you mean you wouldn’t have been cross if I let the twins eat magic muffins?’
‘They’re four years old,’ said Lauren. ‘That’s different. You know I don’t agree with drugs. But it wasn’t as if you told Emily to help herself. She shouldn’t have just assumed she could eat whatever she wanted without your permission. And frankly, she does sound quite obnoxious. Which is fair enough, she’s a teenage girl. I hated one of my dad’s girlfriends so much, that I put pepper in her tea. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Emily knew exactly what she was doing and ate those muffins just to cause trouble between you and Richard.’
This was more or less what Kezzie had thought. ‘Do you really think so?’ She felt hugely relieved that her friend was being so supportive.
‘I sure do,’ said Lauren. ‘And if you ask me, Richard’s an idiot, letting his teenage daughter dictate his love life like that. I mean, he could have cut you some slack, couldn’t he?’
‘Do you know, you’re right,’ said Kezzie, wiping away her tears. ‘He damned well could have. He doesn’t deserve me.’
‘No he doesn’t,’ said Lauren. ‘Sorry, I hope you didn’t think I was interfering.’
‘Not at all, you’ve made me feel much better about it,’ said Kezzie, in control of herself again. ‘So come on, how are we going to go about patrolling the playground?’
‘Patrolling the playground?’ Joel said, when he came to pick Sam up. ‘Yeah, I’m up for that, so long as I can get a sitter.’
‘I can always have Sam overnight when it’s your shift, if you want,’ said Lauren. ‘From what we can tell, a lot of the damage occurs around 10 p.m. That does make it rather late.’
‘That would make life easier,’ admitted Joel. ‘Have you got many other takers?’
‘Quite a few,’ said Lauren. ‘I’ve even persuaded Sally and Andy behind the bar to do a stint, by promising to do a couple of extra shifts for them.’
‘And don’t forget, I’m doing one.’ Troy emerged from the kitchen, holding a spanner and looking very dishevelled.
‘How could I?’ said Lauren drily. ‘Joel, you