They spent most of the time in raucous fits of laughter, and Joel soon found it was infectious. It was impossible not to laugh with them, and Joel felt a sudden zestful feeling about the glory of being alive on such a wonderful day, doing something so useful. He looked over to where Sam was chewing contentedly on his buggy book, and was filled with an overwhelming joy of being with his son, shot through with sadness that Claire wasn’t here to share the moment. But for once the joy seemed stronger than the sadness. He’d lost Sam’s mother, but Sam gave him a lot to live for. And over the last few months he’d really begun to feel life was worth living again.
In the end Sam started getting fractious, so Joel said to Kezzie, ‘Sorry, I think that’s my lot. I’ll come down again tomorrow if you like.’
‘Not to worry, we’ve got reinforcements coming,’ said Kezzie, as Lauren and Troy approached, with the twins dancing between them. ‘Do you fancy coming back to mine later and having a drink with us all? We usually crack open a bottle when we’ve been working together. I’ll ask Lauren too. You can bring Sam if you like. I should think we’ll all be too knackered to be too raucous.’
‘Sounds great,’ said Joel. ‘I’ll see you there.’
‘Hi Lauren, Troy.’ He felt forced to acknowledge Troy’s presence, but felt like punching the guy on the nose. He had such a self-satisfied air about him, and seemed to be almost proprietorial about Lauren, touching her arm constantly, as if he somehow had some claim over her. Why couldn’t she see it?
‘So how’s it going?’ Flick said, as she and Kezzie transported another load of branches to the skip the council had provided.
‘The garden?’ said Kezzie. ‘It’s fantastic. I’ll ask Joel if we can go and look at it later, if you like.’
‘Durr!’ said Flick. ‘Not the garden, dummy. I’m talking about Richard. Have you heard from him at all?’
‘Oh,’ said Kezzie, heaving a particularly heavy branch into the skip. ‘Richard.’
‘Well?’
‘Well, nothing,’ said Kezzie. ‘I emailed him to ask for some advice about contacting gardening celebrities, which he did, but he also made it clear he doesn’t want any more contact. End of story. It’s over.’
‘Oh, Kez, I’m so sorry.’ Flick came over and gave Kezzie a huge hug.
‘Don’t,’ said Kezzie, her lip wobbling, ‘otherwise, I’m going to be a puddle.’
‘OK, OK,’ said Flick, backing off. ‘Did you at least get any contacts out of it?’
‘I’m working on it,’ said Kezzie, as they wandered back to pick up more garden rubbish. ‘Couldn’t find anyone to help us with the Memorial Gardens, but I have been talking to Anthony Grantham’s agent – you know the guy who presents Dig It! – and he may do a piece on Edward’s garden at the Summer Fest.’
‘See,’ Flick dug Kezzie in the ribs, ‘there’s always a silver lining.’
‘I suppose,’ said Kezzie, dragging a massive branch back to the skip. ‘I just need to work out a way of getting over Richard permanently.’
‘What you need is to get out there again,’ said Flick. ‘Surely there must be someone interesting here.’
‘In Heartsease? I don’t think so!’ said Kezzie.
‘What about Joel?’ argued Flick. ‘He seems nice.’
Kezzie sighed, ‘Been there, done that, realized it wouldn’t work. Joel’s great, but we’re friends, nothing more.’
‘What about him?’ Flick pointed over to Troy, who was helping Gavin dig up a flowerbed. He’d taken his top off to reveal a sixpack which was both toned and tanned to perfection.
‘Troy? Puh-lease!’ snorted Kezzie. ‘He’s Lauren’s ex, and very very bad news. Wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole.’
‘So what are you going to do?’
‘Nothing,’ said Kezzie. ‘I’m just going to wait till I’m over Richard. It has to happen sometime.’
Lauren had had a great day. To begin with she’d been helping Flo and June planting the bedding plants with the twins. The girls had enjoyed digging and got thoroughly muddy. Flo and June had been immensely patient with them, and let them help plant the bedding plants, while not appearing to mind too much that a lot of the flowers had been decapitated by the time they went in.
‘Oh well, saves us dead-heading them,’ Flo had twinkled. ‘And they’re so enthusiastic, the pets, I wouldn’t like to stop them helping.’
Enthusiastic. That was one way to describe the way both girls threw themselves wholeheartedly into every activity, whatever their ability.
Later on Lauren had worked with Kezzie and Flick cutting down bushes, and enjoyed some rare girlie chat, most of which centred around Flick and Gavin’s athletic sex life.
‘You did what?’ giggled Lauren. ‘How on earth did you manage that?’ as Flick described one particularly gymnastic kind of manoeuvre.
‘Well, what can I say?’ grinned Flick. ‘That man is an animal.’
‘Grrr, tiger, watch him roar,’ said Kezzie, and they all collapsed in fits of laughter.
‘What’s so funny?’ Gavin wanted to know.
‘Oh, nothing,’ Flick said innocently.
‘Grr,’ said Kezzie, and the three of them laughed some more.
‘Honestly,’ said Lauren, tears streaming down her face, as Gavin walked away puzzled. ‘I don’t know when I last laughed like that.’
She wiped the tears away.
‘You’ve got a smudge now,’ said Kezzie. ‘Really, Lauren, you need to get out more.’
‘Well it’s not that easy,’ said Lauren.
‘I know,’ said Kezzie. ‘But now he’s here, why don’t you make more use of Troy? If he means what he says, he should take a bit more responsibility for the girls.’
‘That’s true,’ said Lauren, ‘but it is still early days. I want him to get to know the girls better before I start leaving them with him too often. That’s why I got him to come along today.’
‘Doesn’t look like he’s doing too badly,’ said Flick. They watched Troy take a break from digging and play around with the girls, taking it in turns to throw each one over his shoulder.
‘It doesn’t, does it?’ said Lauren with a smile. Maybe Troy would be here for the duration after all. She was beginning to allow herself the small smidgeon of hope that he would. And in her weaker moments the flame of attraction that she had felt when he first showed up was growing stronger. She was wondering if she shouldn’t perhaps fan it some more.
‘You are coming round to mine tonight, aren’t you?’ said Kezzie, over fish and chips, which Gavin and Flick had gone to get for lunch.
‘I’m not sure,’ said Lauren. ‘I haven’t got a sitter.’
‘Bring the girls,’ said Kezzie. ‘It’s only informal drinks. I told Joel to bring Sam.’
‘You won’t be smoking anything funny, will you?’ said Lauren. She’d recently spotted the little plastic bag that Flick had given Kezzie on the kitchen window sill and clearly disapproved.
‘No. Cross my heart and hope to die,’ said Kezzie. ‘I know what I told you about Emily, but really, I wouldn’t do that round kids. Come on. It’ll be a laugh. It won’t be the same without you.’
‘Oh go on then,’ said Lauren, ‘you’ve twisted my arm.’
‘It