Ordinarily, we’d love to look after Max for you but I’m afraid we can’t tomorrow.’ Fern’s shoulders sagged as she listened to her mother at the other end of the phone.
‘We’re off on a coach trip for the day, and it’s a bit late to cancel. Sorry, love.’
‘That’s OK, Mum. Don’t worry. You enjoy your day out.’
Steve, Fern’s ex-husband, was supposed to be looking after Max, but had just cried off. Nothing new there. His unreliability was one of the reasons their marriage had failed.
Asking her parents had been the last resort. She’d already tried a neighbour and two friends, all of whom were unable to help for one reason or another.
Over a cup of strong coffee, Fern considered her options. She could cancel tomorrow’s meeting with a potential new client and reschedule. But it had been a long, hard road to get to this point, and she was reluctant to go back and start the whole process again.
Perhaps she could have the meeting here, she thought as she sipped at her drink.
