Publication date 1st July 2018
About the book
For fans of Marian Keyes, Hurrah for Gin and Allison Pearson. A tear-jerking but uplifting modern love story about motherhood and marriage.
Happy children, happy husband, happily ever after?
Tasha knows that she should count her blessings: married for eleven years, mother to three healthy children, she should be content with her lot. However, feelings of frustration have settled over her like a dark cloud. Despite living under the same roof and sharing the same bed, Tasha has never felt so distant from her husband, Charlie. She feels worn down by the mental load of motherhood, drowning in the never-ending chores that keep the family and household afloat. Most of all she worries that her once happy marriage is slipping away from her.
Tasha longs for something to change, but when change comes calling will it really be the answer she was hoping for? And is it possible to fall in love with the same person twice?
About the author
Georgie lives in South West London with her husband and daughte
r. Alongside her
writing she works as a primary school teacher and she particularly e
njoys teaching
English. She studied Italian and History of Art at the University of E
dinburgh and did a
PGCE in primary education at the University of London.
Follow Georgie
Website:
Twitter:
@GeorgieCapron
Facebook: @GeorgieCapron
Follow Aria
Website:
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
Georgie lives in South West London with her husband and daughter. Alongside her writing she works as a primary school teacher and she particularly enjoys teaching English. She studied Italian and History of Art at the University of Edinburgh and did a PGCE in primary education at the University of London.Follow Georgie
Website: https://georgiecapron.com/
Twitter: @GeorgieCapron
Facebook: @GeorgieCapron
Follow Aria
Website: www.ariafiction.com
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
Extract
‘Right, darling, time to turn your light off,’ Tasha said as she kissed her goodnight.
‘Night, Mum.’ Bella reached to switch off the bedside table lamp.
‘No sneaky reading in the dark…’
‘I won’t!’ Bella smiled, resting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes in a bid to convince her mother that she meant what she said.
Tasha pulled the door to before heading back downstairs to try and encourage Flora to part with her homework. Her mind boggled at the complexity of the algebraic equations a ten-year-old was expected to solve these days.
Just as she was peering quizzically at number eight the landline rang.
She picked up the receiver. ‘Hello?’
‘Tasha, it’s me,’ came the ever-so-familiar voice of her husband, Charlie.
‘Where are you? I’m so late!’ she moaned, expecting the reply to be that he was just about to walk through the door at any second.
He paused. ‘I’m afraid I’m stuck here,’ he said, awkwardly.
Tasha’s heart sank, swiftly replaced by a flush of anger. ‘What? But it’s Steph’s engagement dinner. I’m all dressed up and ready to go…’
‘I know. And I’m sorry.’
‘God, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Then at least I might have found someone else to help. I’ll never find anyone now…’ Tasha was aware she was whining but she couldn’t help herself.
‘I was stuck in a meeting room with no signal.’ Charlie sounded somewhat sheepish. ‘I’m really sorry. I’ll be home as soon as I can…’ He tailed off.
Tasha slammed the phone into its holder, misjudging her aim and causing the phone to ping up and fly down the back of the table. This did nothing to calm her nerves. She dragged the side table out with a screech and extracted the handset from a coating of dust so thick it had congregated into giant, spidery clumps. It was clearly a very long time since she had pulled out the furniture to clean the harder-to-reach gaps. She tried to quell the tide of burning resentment that welled up inside her. Her eyes smarted with tears. She knew Charlie’s job in asset management was all-consuming but she still felt unbelievably let down. She had been so looking forward to this evening. It was yet another disappointment to add to the never-ending list that seemed to be accumulating under Charlie’s name.
‘Dad’s not coming home?’ Flora said with a sigh. ‘Great. So you’re the only one who can help me?’
Tasha took a calming breath. ‘Sorry, darling, I’m afraid he’s stuck at work.’ She fixed a false smile on her cheeks and said with a sort of crazed enthusiasm, ‘Don’t worry! I’m sure we can figure it out. Let’s have another look!’ She pulled up a chair and sat next to Flora. Together they puzzled through the remaining questions so that Flora could get herself upstairs and ready for bed. To add insult to injury, Tasha’s phone vibrated with messages on her school friends’ WhatsApp group – a bottle of champagne and lots of brimming glasses, a photo of Steph with her sparkling diamond ring, and a third saying ‘Hurry up and get here!’ undoubtedly aimed at her.
Kicking off her heels despondently, she made a few phone calls to her trusty friends with au pairs and her usual babysitters, but as she had suspected no one was free last minute to come and look after her children. She picked up the phone and called Flo, her closest friend from the group.
‘Tash!’ she said, already sounding as if she’d had a couple of drinks. ‘Where are you?’
‘I’m so sorry, Flo… I’m going to have to bail. Bloody Charlie is stuck at work. I’m so gutted…’ Tasha felt her eyes fill with tears, which she furiously bit back.
‘Oh, no! What a shame!’ Flo replied. Tasha could hear all the hyperactive chatter coming from the rest of the group. She felt even more upset not to be there.
‘Look, send my love to Steph and apologise for me. I’ll arrange to see her soon…’ Tasha hung up and sighed loudly.
After a few minutes staring blankly at the peeling paint on the wall, in desperate need of redecorating, she dragged herself upstairs to check on Flora, who was in bed reading. ‘Lights out soon, darling,’ she said.
‘I’m just going to get to the end of my chapter.’
‘OK, sleep tight!’
‘Mum?’ Flora said, peering over the edge of her book. ‘Thanks for your help earlier…’
‘You did really well – but I’m not sure how much use I was!’ She laughed as she closed the door.
Tasha popped in to check on Max and Bella who both seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Lacking any enthusiasm, she went into the kitchen and slopped the rest of the children’s dinner into a bowl. Pasta and a tomato sauce, not very exciting. She whacked it into the microwave and pressed the timer, finishing the washing-up while it turned around. She grated some cheese over the top in a bid to make it a little more appetising before carrying her meal through to the sitting room and plonking herself on the sofa. What a surprise – there was nothing to watch. For the second time that evening she felt absurdly close to tears. How come all of her friends had managed to sort out childcare except for her? It was Charlie’s fault. She hoped that he would be feeling guilty.
Georgie lives in South West London with her husband and daughte
r. Alongside her
writing she works as a primary school teacher and she particularly e
njoys teaching
English. She studied Italian and History of Art at the University of E
dinburgh and did a
PGCE in primary education at the University of London.
Follow Georgie
Website:
Twitter:
@GeorgieCapron
Facebook: @GeorgieCapron
Follow Aria
Website:
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
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