‘Tom does keep in touch, though, doesn’t he?’ she asked. ‘Didn’t you say that he talks to the children on the phone and comes to see them every week?’
Jenny nodded. ‘Yes, he does. It’s not the same as having him around, though. The children miss him.’
‘I’m sure they do.’ Megan made up her mind there and then that she would try to have a word with Tom fairly soon. He and Jenny had always seemed like a happy couple to her, and she would never have imagined that he would want to leave his family. It seemed so out of character for him to behave that way.
They looked around the rest of the flat, and Megan was pleased to see that there was a little balcony running around the back of the building, looking out onto the park. At the moment it was cluttered with ladders and various bits of equipment left behind by the workmen, and that surprised her a bit. She would have expected them to clear up at the end of the day.
Still, when they were finished, she guessed that she would be able to sit out here on a warm afternoon and relax. She smiled, seeing that Josh was already in his element, taking out his plastic toy hammer and bashing everything in sight.
‘What do you think?’ Jenny asked, raising her voice above the din he was making. ‘It looks good to me. Do you think you’ll take it?’
Megan nodded. ‘I do like it. I think I could settle in here fairly quickly.’
Once she had made up her mind, everything was set in motion fairly quickly, and by the weekend she had moved in. She had told Mrs Carter that she didn’t mind if the workmen were around for a short time.
She soon got to know the people who shared the building with her. Her immediate neighbour was a woman in her early thirties, a single parent who had two young boys. The children came to see her as she was carrying boxes into the flat, offering to help her.
‘OK, thanks,’ she accepted with a smile. ‘I could do with a helping hand.’ Jamie, the youngest, was eight years old and wanted to know everything about her. His older brother, Jack, was ten.
‘Did you have a removal van come and bring all your furniture?’ Jack asked.
‘No. Most of the furniture was already here.’
‘My dad helps people move house,’ Jack volunteered. ‘He doesn’t live with us any more. He has a van and he goes around moving furniture for people. He says it does him in, with all the lifting, but that’s because he smokes. Do you smoke?’
‘No, Jack. I never have done. I don’t think it’s very good for you.’
Jack mulled that over. ‘It makes my dad cough. He says he’ll have to cut down… I think maybe I won’t start smoking.’
Megan nodded. ‘I think you’re very wise.’
They had been busily fetching and carrying for about half an hour, and she was just about to offer the children a glass of lemonade when there was an almighty crash, followed by the sound of a boy howling, and she rushed out onto the balcony to see Jamie on the floor, clutching his ankle.
She rushed over to him. ‘Let me have look at you, Jamie…show me where it hurts,’ she said quickly.
‘It’s my foot.’ White-lipped, Jamie looked up at her, the pain showing on his face. ‘Have I broke it?’
‘I don’t think so,’ she murmured, carefully examining the ankle. There was some swelling, but she didn’t think the damage was too bad. ‘I think you’ve just twisted it, Jamie. Stay there, and don’t try to get up. I’ll go and get a bandage for you.’
She glanced at Jack, who was watching and looking concerned for his brother. ‘Jack, will you stay with him?’
He nodded.
Megan quickly went and found her medical bag, and came back to crouch down beside Jamie so that she could set about strapping up the ankle. ‘Jack, will you go and fetch your mother? Tell her what’s happened.’
He sped off, glad to have something to do.
Megan concentrated on examining Jamie. It looked as though he had a nasty sprain.
‘There, does that feel a little better?’ she asked after a while.
He nodded, and she said lightly, ‘How did you manage to fall over?’
‘I tripped over the ladder. I forgot about it.’ He looked at his freshly bandaged ankle. ‘Are you sure it’s not broke?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sure. It will be painful for a day or so, and you might need to rest it for a while, but there’s no serious damage.’
By this time his mother had come hurrying along to see what was happening. ‘Is it bad?’ she asked anxiously. She knelt down to comfort her young son.
Megan shook her head. ‘No. He’s twisted his ankle, and I imagine it must be painful for him. He’ll probably need to take paracetamol for a day or so until he feels better.’
His mother nodded. ‘I’ll see to it that he has some. It was really good of you to help. Thank you for looking after him.’ She pulled a face. ‘You know, it’s about time those workmen finished up here and moved all their stuff. If they hadn’t left it lying about, this wouldn’t have happened.’
Megan could see her point. ‘I think I’ll have a word with the landlord,’ she said.
‘I’ll be all right, Mum. You don’t need to say anything to him about it,’ Jamie said.
His mother shook her head. ‘It isn’t right to leave things like this. We were lucky that it was just a twisted ankle. It could have been much worse.’ She led Jamie away, and he was still protesting as they went in through their door.
Megan went back inside her flat and phoned the accommodation officer, Mrs Carter, and explained what had happened. ‘Perhaps you could let the landlord know that there’s a problem,’ she said. ‘I think it’s something that should be dealt with fairly soon. Maybe he could have a word with the workmen?’
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Mrs Carter said. ‘I expect he’ll be in touch before too long.’
Megan went back into the living room and tried to sort her belongings into some kind of order. Luckily, the flat was equipped with lots of shelves and cupboards and there was plenty of room to store everything away. It wouldn’t be too long before she had everything the way she wanted it. For the moment, though, she contented herself with adding a touch of colour to the place with cushions and rugs and some of her favourite ornaments.
When she had finished she went and soaked in the bath for half an hour, glad of the chance to relax in the scented water. Coming back to Wales had been a good move, she decided. She was back with her family, and although her new job had its own difficulties, she would do her best to make things turn out well.
The doorbell rang as she was towelling herself dry. Frowning, she pulled on a soft robe and belted it around the waist. Who on earth would that be at this time of the evening?
Opening her door a fraction, she was startled to see Sam standing there.
‘Oh!’ she said in surprise. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’
His glance drifted over her, taking in the soft robe that clung to her like a second skin and gliding down over the smooth expanse of her bare legs, before returning to rest on the tousled mass of her auburn curls.
‘So I see,’ he drawled, a glint of something unreadable darting in his grey eyes. ‘Perhaps I should have rung first…although I would have expected Mrs Carter to have let you know that I was coming here.’
‘Mrs Carter?’ she echoed faintly. ‘I don’t think I understand…’
He lifted a dark brow. ‘You don’t?’ He studied her thoughtfully for a moment. ‘Perhaps she didn’t tell you that I’m your landlord?’