Civvy Street (18 page)

‘Hi, Suse,’ said Caro. ‘Come in, come in... if you can bear it.’ She opened the door wide so her visitor could step inside. ‘What can I do for you?’ She reached behind her and shut the sitting room door which went some way to lessening the racket. ‘Come into the kitchen so we can hear ourselves think.’

Susie followed her along the hall. She’d just sat down when Josh burst in.

‘Mum, Mum, Ollie hit me.’

‘Did he?’ said Caro with a total lack of concern. ‘Hit him back. In fact...’ She went to the sitting room. ‘...I’ve had quite enough of you two squabbling and Susie doesn’t want to be bothered with your racket so the pair of you can play outside. Get your bikes out of the garage and go and find some other kids to play with. It’s a nice day, there’s bound to be lots of your friends out and about. Shoo.’

‘But Mu-u-um...’ they both wailed.

‘I’m not discussing this,’ said Caro firmly. She opened the front door. ‘Out. And if you stay out for at
least
half an hour you can both have a chocolate biscuit after your lunch.’

Ollie and Josh exchanged a look and obviously communicated to each other that the bribe was probably worthwhile. They ran off.

Caro slammed the door and returned to her visitor. ‘You know, there’s a lot to gripe about, living in crappy army housing on a patch, but the demographic is A Good Thing. Having loads of kids around for your own to play with almost makes everything else worthwhile.’

Susie nodded. ‘I know. I miss it.’

Caro stared at her. ‘Sorry. That was crass of me. I keep forgetting you’ve escaped from all this.’

‘I wouldn’t put it quite like that,’ said Susie with a wry smile. ‘And don’t worry about pussyfooting around our situation. Let’s face it, what happened to me and Mike was none of your doing.’

‘No... well...’ There was a short awkward silence before Caro added, ‘How are you all settling into your new house?’

Did Susie tell Caro the truth? That the twins were the brats from hell? That they sulked around the house, complaining about every last thing: the village; the estate; the inhabitants; the lack of public transport; the lack of friends... the list went on and on. That Mike was sure their next-door neighbours were drug dealers? That someone had already keyed their car?

‘Fine,’ she lied. ‘Although it’s a bit different to living on a patch.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, very.’ Again she was tempted to tell Caro what it was really like but she stopped, afraid that it would make her and Mike look like even sadder losers. Better to put a bit of a spin on things. ‘Maybe I’m being over-cautious but is it OK to ask one’s neighbours what they do for a living? Is it a question that might offend?’

Caro nodded, thoughtfully. ‘I don’t know, would it? But I can see what you mean. It isn’t as if it’s a question that’s ever arisen on a married patch, is it? Let’s face it, if you live in a Type IV quarter everyone knows that you’ve either got at least three children or you’re a field officer’s wife.’

‘Exactly, that’s my point. You can tell at a glance what the pay grade is. And let’s face it, on a patch you’re a bit unlikely to find that your neighbours are drawing the dole. Although,’ she added with a raised eyebrow, ‘we came perilously close.’

Caro reached across the kitchen table and gave Susie’s hand a squeeze. ‘But you didn’t. That’s the main thing.’

Susie brightened. ‘Anyway, with both Mike
and
me in paid employment I need childcare. So, this is the reason I’m here – to ask you if you can help me. The twins are no trouble, honest, and they might even be able to lend a hand with Ollie and Josh. And I’d pay, obviously.’

Caro remained silent for a second or two. ‘Susie...’

Susie picked up on Caro’s tone of voice, and the hesitation. ‘That’s a “no” then, is it?’

‘No. Well, a bit of a no. But not a complete one,’ Caro added quickly.

Susie understood. Like Maddy, Caro would do it at a pinch but not as a permanent arrangement. ‘But it’s the same sort of “no” that I got from Maddy.’

‘Maddy?’ snorted Caro. ‘There’s a surprise. In fact, the only surprise is that now she’s so grand she even bothered to talk to you.’

Susie was stunned. What was going on there? ‘But you two are mates.’

‘Not
are
... were.’

Susie’s eyes widened. ‘And Maddy’s not grand.’

That comment got a derisory snort from Caro.

‘What happened?’

Caro told Susie about the row. ‘In fact,’ she finished, ‘if it wasn’t for the fact that running the crèche in the community centre wasn’t such a bloody good opportunity to earn some decent money, I’d tell her to shove that too. But running the crèche is
exactly
why I can’t give you an unqualified yes. If I’m going to be doing that, I can’t be certain that I’ll have the energy left to take on private childminding on top.’

Susie shrugged. ‘I see.’

‘And, Maddy shouldn’t even consider doing it, not unless she gets registered and checked and everything. It’s the law. If she did, she could be in real trouble – and you too.’

‘But she’s a mate. I know her, I’d trust her with my life, let alone my kids.’

‘Rules is rules, Susie.’

Susie rolled her eyes and wasn’t sure, in the light of what Caro had just said about her and Maddy’s relationship, if Caro mightn’t be exaggerating things a little, just to spike Maddy’s guns. But surely Caro wasn’t like that... was she?

The boys barrelled back into the house insisting they’d been outside for ‘hours and hours’. Caro gave them no truck and sent them packing again.

‘The big hand has got to be pointing straight up and the little hand on the one before you can come back in. In fact, why don’t you go to the end of the road and see if you can see Daddy coming home for lunch? When you see him you can come in.’

The boys scooted out of the house again and once more there was peace.

‘So, when is the community centre going to be up and running?’

‘In a few weeks.’

‘So, could you help out till then?’ pleaded Susie.

‘I suppose. But I can’t give you a definite promise once the crèche opens. Not until I see how it all pans out. Susie, I’m not being difficult but you need to have a back-up in place... just in case, and it can’t be Maddy, not unless she’s prepared to jump through a whole load of official hoops.’

‘No, no, I completely understand. I’ll see if I can find someone else – just in case, as you say. And someone who is properly registered, et cetera, et cetera. Promise. And one other thing, Caro. The Fanshaws... Mike wasn’t best pleased when he heard that Seb was taking over from him.’

Caro snorted again and muttered, ‘I bet.’

‘Let’s face it, promoting a pretty junior officer rather indicated to Mike that the brass felt that anyone could do his job, even a fairly junior captain. I mean, I don’t think anyone, least of all Seb, expected him to take over from Mike. As you can imagine, Mike felt a bit undervalued as a result.’ Caro nodded in sympathy. ‘But Seb really didn’t back-stab to get it. He was as gobsmacked as everyone else.’

‘Really?’ Caro sounded utterly unconvinced.

‘This is Rayner’s doing.’

‘Pah, Rayner.’ Caro’s antipathy was almost tangible.

‘You don’t like him either?’

‘Does anyone? I haven’t heard anyone say a good word about him or bloody Camilla since they arrived. It really does beg the question as to why he got the job of CO.’

‘Someone thinks the sun shines out of his backside.’

‘Yeah, while the people below him know what is
really
coming out of it, because we’re the ones, standing beneath, who it’s landing on.’

Susie giggled then got serious again. ‘All I’m saying, Caro, is don’t blame Maddy.’

‘Bit late for that now, though. I already have. So what do you think Rayner’s master plan is?’

‘No idea, but Mike is sure he’s up to something – something that Rayner hopes, in the long run, is going to make him look like God’s gift to the army.’

‘Involving Seb?’

‘Involving people who may not want to risk telling Rayner where to get off. Which, if Will had been made the OC of B Company, he might have done. Let’s face it, Will’s never been one to worry too much about rocking the boat, which I always found so refreshing. Seb is much more career-minded and is less likely to be stroppy.’

Caro smiled. ‘No, Will’s never been much of a one for forelock-tugging.’

Which, thought Susie, was all well and good, as long as it didn’t lose you your job.

‘I’ll be in touch about the twins,’ said Susie. ‘And I promise I’ll keep looking for childcare, just in case taking them on once the crèche gets going will be impossible for you.’

‘Do that. I’m not saying a categorical no but you need to have a Plan B.’

As Susie left the Edwards’ house she was drafting, in her head, an ad for a childminder to put in the garrison newsletter. Maybe in a year or so she’d feel they were old enough to look after themselves for an hour or so after school but not yet. Although she was sure they’d bitch about having a babysitter at their age.
Another
thing they’d bitch about. That was all they seemed to do these days, bitch about everything. She was deep in thought about her children and the toxic atmosphere that seemed to surround them these days when a greeting made her jump.

‘Hi, Susie.’

‘Oh, Seb. Hello.’ Shit, should she have called him Major Fanshaw? After all, that was the agreement she undertook when she got the job working in the mess. Maybe off duty, outside the mess it was OK to be informal. Anyway, he’d called her Susie...

He stopped, he obviously wanted to talk. ‘How are things?’

‘Not too bad,’ she said. ‘I’ve started taking over from Sergeant McManners today.’

‘How’s it going?’

‘I’m sure it’ll all be clear by the end of the week. There’s a lot of information to get my head around at the moment. And given how much I’ve got to learn, I must get on. Seriously, must dash. I promised Sco— Sergeant McManners that I’d only be gone for a few minutes. Nice to see you though. Bye, Seb.’ Susie walked on. She wondered about suggesting that maybe he and Maddy ought to try and have a word with the Edwardses, kiss and make up and that sort of malarkey, but then decided that it wasn’t her place to interfere. She wasn’t the OC’s wife any more, just the mess manager, and it would be, like a lot of things were now, inappropriate.

Just a few minutes after Susie had gone, Will, with the two boys hanging off him trying to cadge piggybacks, thundered into the house and, once again, any semblance of calm was ruined. The boys demanded their lunch as fast as possible, ‘pl-e-e-e-ease, Mum’ as a lad down the road had, apparently, built a ‘wicked den’ and was allowing Ollie and Josh to play in it with him. They wolfed down the ham and chutney sandwiches that Caro had prepared, then demanded, got and snarfed the promised chocolate biscuits before racing back out again. The peace that descended on their departure was deep and gratefully received. Will and Caro sat at the kitchen table and munched their own lunch in appreciative tranquillity.

Will finished first and pushed his plate away.

‘Enough?’ asked Caro.

Will nodded and stretched. ‘Yup, that’ll keep me going till supper.’

‘I saw Susie just now,’ said Caro.

‘Oh?’

‘She’s started work in the mess. She came asking if I’d do some childminding for her.’

‘That’s nice.’

‘Only I can’t really, or put it another way, I don’t want to take on more than I can chew. Not if I’m going to run the crèche properly.’

‘I suppose.’

There was a silence while Caro twiddled the salt cellar on the table. ‘How was work?’

‘All right. Why?’

‘I was just wondering how things are with you and Seb?’

Will studied his wife. ‘Tricky.’

‘Is it likely to get any better?’

‘I don’t find it easy to work for someone who I know has less experience than I have. I see him doing stuff, issuing orders, planning things and I know I could do it better. Once or twice I’ve made suggestions but he won’t listen, so now I’m letting him dig his own grave.’ Will shrugged. ‘If he doesn’t want advice from his elders and betters, why should I give a fuck?’

Except Caro could see that being rebuffed by Seb hurt him.

‘I ran into Maddy in the Spar yesterday.’

Will raised his eyebrows and looked questioningly at his wife. ‘And?’

‘And I didn’t have much to say to her. Just because her husband is your boss doesn’t mean we have to be friends.’

‘No, but it’s sad that it’s ended this way.’

‘Maybe it means the friendship was never that strong.’ Caro finished her sandwich and pushed her plate away. ‘Friends don’t do the dirty on each other, do they?’ But she missed Maddy’s companionship – even if she was denying it to everyone, including herself.

*

The following week Mike Collins had started work at the Winterspring District Council offices, Susie was flying solo running the officers’ mess and the twins were being looked after by Caro.

Was this job, wondered Susie as she flopped into her office chair, going to be worth the money given the utter bloodiness of getting the twins up and dressed in time to leave the house at eight? She might have thought they had been sullen and sulky before, but the last couple of mornings, since the new routine had had to kick in, their truculence had hit new heights. And, of course, she couldn’t threaten them with leaving them behind because that was
exactly
what they wanted her to do.

Everything
about going to Caro’s was wrong, as far as the girls were concerned although Susie knew for a fact that they had a perfectly lovely time with her old neighbour. Caro went out of her way to make their day fun and interesting; picnics, trips out, teaching them to make delicious treats in the kitchen... All the sort of things that really ‘mumsy’ mums did and which Susie had never quite found the time or the energy for. Naturally, when she’d picked the girls up the last thing they were going to let on was they might have had a good time, that, in fact, they’d had a zillion times better time than they’d ever had stuck at home with her or Mike. To do that would involve loss of face and would be uncool. Susie just had to make do with the crumb of comfort that while the twins were utterly vile to her, they did, at least, behave reasonably decently for Caro. It was better that way, obviously, but Susie did just wish occasionally that she reaped the benefit of their expensive education and her own efforts at proper parenting and teaching them half-decent manners and social skills.