They should never have crossed that line when they were young. That was where it went wrong. But this was just a good buddy situation. Norah had much less to fear under these circumstances.

So why was she still anxious about it?

‘Where’s my toy box?’ Freddie asked.

‘I’ll get it next,’ Norah assured her son.

‘I know exactly where it is. I’m on it,’ said Poppy. ‘You guys chill for a minute.’

‘Thank you,’ Norah said. She turned to Freddie. ‘Give me another hug, you!’ she said.

He jumped up into her arms, and she squeezed him. Her back would pay the price later, but she didn’t care. She desperately wanted him to feel minimal upheaval. That’s why it was probably good they were moving to his grandma's for a bit, at least for him.

He knew the house, and his grandma was a comforting presence. She bought him sweets and made a fuss of him. Nothing complicated there. For Norah, it was a little different, of course. But you couldn’t have everything.

‘Toy box coming in hot,’ said Poppy not a minute later, staggering into the house with Freddie’s very full and pretty heavy toy box. ‘Fuck me!’ she yelled as she dropped it.

‘That is a swear,’ Freddie pointed out.

Norah’s mother was drawn in by the noise. ‘What have you done to my floor?’ she demanded.

Norah had a quick look, and it was indeed scratched.

‘It’s OK, I can sort that out,’ Norah tried to assure her mother.

‘Oh, you’re a floor fitter, are you?’ her mother snapped at her.

‘It’s just a scratch. It’ll come out,’ Norah said.

‘That’s a permanent mark,’ her mother said.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Poppy said. ‘I’ll pay to get it sorted.’

Her mother let out a noise that was somewhere between a tut and a scoff. ‘Flinging your pop-star money at it, are you?’ she asked with horrid derision.

Norah would have loved to have told her to get a grip and let them fix the mistake, but unfortunately, the woman was now her landlord. She couldn’t afford to piss her off.

Poppy cleared her throat anxiously. ‘Mrs Cauldwell, I don’t have pop-star money anymore. That was a long time ago.’

‘Yeah, she works at The Sugar Cube,’ Norah added despite herself.

‘I don’t go there. Three pounds for a cup of tea?’ her mum snorted.

‘I don’t set the prices,’ Poppy said. ‘But if you come in, I’m sure I could slip you a freebie.’

‘Hmm,’ she said. ‘I think I’ll stick to my own tea.’ She waltzed out.

The second she was out of earshot, Poppy had her phone out. ‘Apparently, I need to get wood putty.’

‘Right, off to B&Q,’ Norah said decisively. She turned to her son. ‘Freds, you coming?’

Freddie already had his head jammed in his toy box. ‘No,’ he said flatly. He pulled out a sack of Legos. He would be good for about thirty minutes. They had to make the best of the time.

‘Mum, we’re nipping out!’ Norah called. ‘Keep an eye on Freds, would you?’ She pulled Poppy out before her mother could start a fresh row about babysitting duties.

***

‘Is this it?’ Poppy asked, holding up a jar of wood putty.

‘God, I don’t know,’ Norah shrugged, baffled.

‘Fuck’s sake,’ Poppy groaned.

A young woman with a tight ponytail suddenly appeared. Her name tag read Sally. ‘Can I help?’ she asked.

‘I scratched some floorboards, and I need to fix it, fast,’ Poppy told her.

‘How deep was the scratch?’ the woman asked, a little smile curling up her lips. Norah realised why she’d dashed over to help.

‘What do you think?’ Poppy asked Norah.

‘They weren’t that deep,’ Norah said.

‘You might just want to try a stain pen,’ the woman said. She led them down the aisle to the right section. ‘Do you know the colour?’

Poppy’s eyes widened in horror. ‘Uhh...’

‘It’s dark walnut,’ Norah told her.

‘How do you know that?’ Poppy asked.

‘She had the floor redone about five years ago and it was dark walnut this, dark walnut that for weeks,’ Norah explained.

Sally grabbed a stain pen. ‘That will do it.’

‘Great,’ Poppy said, relieved.

Sally smiled brightly. ‘No problem. If you have any problems with it, come back. I’ll sort you out.’

I just bet you would, Norah thought.

They paid and got back on the road.

‘Thank god for that saleswoman. I’d have bought the wrong thing,’ Poppy noted.

‘Yeah, lucky she was such a horndog,’ Norah said, putting her turn signal on.

‘What?’ Poppy asked, confused.