Andrew came out of the house as they pulled into the drive, closely followed by his look-alike daughter, Daisy. ‘Welcome!’ he called as they clambered out of the car. ‘It’s so lovely to see you all,’ he said, giving Tasha a big bear hug.
‘It’s so good to have you home!’ Tasha said as the children burst into a torrent of noisy chatter, desperate to go and see the swimming pool as soon as possible.
‘Charlie!’ Andrew gave his brother a playful shove. ‘How was the head on Thursday?’
‘Pretty dire, thanks to you.’ Charlie laughed. ‘I’m afraid I just can’t keep the pace!’ Andrew was tall, broad and built of solid muscle; he could drink his brother under the table. He needed to maintain peak physical fitness at all times for his job – the difference in muscular definition between the two brothers had become a bit of a running joke, particularly in the six-pack department.
‘How’s my favourite little niece?’ Charlie asked, bending down to ruffle Daisy’s hair as she sidled up to say hello. ‘You’re getting so big!’ He laughed, picking her up for a cuddle and spinning her around.
Tasha gave Daisy a kiss. ‘Hi, darling,’ she said. ‘Look at your lovely sparkly hairband!’ Daisy was dressed head to toe in pink, as usual.
‘Hi, Auntie Becca! Hi, Fergus!’ Flora, Max and Bella called as Becca came out to join them. She looked sleep-deprived but beautiful in a floral tea dress, her shoulder-length brown hair tied up in a messy bun. The children raced over to see the baby of the family, currently perched happily in his mother’s arms, gurgling contentedly.
‘Dad, can we show them all my new Wendy house?’ Daisy pleaded, tugging on Andrew’s sleeve.
‘You’ve got a new Wendy house?’ Flora asked.
‘Yes, it’s next to the pool,’ Daisy replied.
‘Cool!’ Max said.
‘Awesome!’ Bella cooed.
‘Great idea, darling,’ Becca added. ‘Here, why don’t you take Fergus too?’ she suggested, passing the baby to Andrew. ‘I’ll go and get us all some drinks.’
Within moments the children were dragging Charlie and Andrew around the side of the house to visit Daisy’s pride and joy.
‘You must be so glad he’s back!’ Tasha said as she helped Becca make a round of squash in the kitchen. ‘I know Charlie is.’
‘It is lovely. Although it always seems to go by so quickly… Daisy is beside herself with excitement to have him home.’
‘I can tell.’
‘She’ll be heartbroken when he sets off again later in the year. She is just such a daddy’s girl.’
‘I really don’t know how you do it,’ Tasha said. ‘You’re so brave.’
‘Sadly I haven’t got much choice.’ Andrew had been selected for the SAS several years ago and was currently running a training programme in Northern Iraq.
‘I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like.’
‘In a strange way, you do just get used to it,’ Becca said. ‘You just have to get on with life, I suppose. And the children keep me so busy I don’t have time to think too much. Which is a good thing, I can tell you!’
‘You are amazing, Becca. Andrew is very lucky to have you. We all are. He must miss you all terribly, poor thing.’
‘I think it is really hard on him. But it’s his choice to stay in the army. I keep telling him that he can leave if he wants to. He could find work in a new industry. Maybe in finance, like Charlie. I’m sure he could pull some strings…’
‘Definitely. Do you think he ever will?’ Tasha asked.
‘I doubt it.’ Becca sighed. ‘He’s army through and through. It’s in his DNA. And it’s important to me that he does what he loves…’
Tasha watched through the window as Andrew flew Fergus through the air above his head, eliciting squeals of delight. Her heart went out to Becca. She was grateful that Charlie was not in harm’s way. She didn’t know how Becca coped as a single parent for such long stretches of time, not to mention the worry of something awful happening. The thought sent shivers down her spine.
After an alfresco lunch the children wasted no time changing into their swimming costumes and jumping into the pool. It was another hot day – it had been one of the hottest Junes on record – and it made a lovely change to escape the sweltering heat of London.
‘Watch out!’ Charlie shouted as he took a running sprint into the pool, tucking himself into a neat little ball and bombing into the water. A tidal wave exploded over the sides, soaking everyone apart from Fergus, who was having a nap inside.
‘Dad!’ squealed Flora, Max and Bella as they splashed him back with all their might.
‘My hair!’ shrieked Flora, making Tasha and Becca chuckle, another sign of the teenager beginning to emerge. Andrew was holding firmly onto Daisy in the shallow end where she was paddling about with her armbands. Tasha and Becca watched from their sunloungers by the side of the pool. Tasha stretched out her legs and sipped her glass of cold rosé.
‘God, I’d just love to live in the countryside,’ she said, looking at the flower beds bursting with colour as fat honeybees danced from one blossom to another, her gaze drifting across the rolling lawn that led down to the fields below.
‘It is pretty hard to beat, isn’t it?’ agreed Becca. ‘Especially on a day like this.’
‘Who’d live in London?’ asked Andrew. ‘Scorching heat, airless, sweaty commutes… not the life for me, thank you very much.’
‘Unfortunately some of us are well and truly bound to the daily grind.’ Charlie sighed. ‘Though coming here always makes me want to sack it all in. Oh, for a quiet, peaceful life. Maybe we should sell up and move down the road?’
‘Funny you should say that,’ Andrew said. ‘The Cunliffes were talking about putting their house on the market the other day. They want to move to Spain when Peter retires.’
‘Oh, yes? Which one’s that, then?’ Charlie asked.
‘Hazeldown. You know, the Tudor house with the topiary hedge a couple of miles down the road? You’ll pass it on the way home.’
‘I know the one,’ Charlie said.
‘Oh, please can we move here?’ begged Flora. ‘That’d be so cool.’
‘Yes, please, Daddy, ple-e-ease!’ chimed Bella and Max.
‘Can we get a pool?’ Flora asked.
‘We have to have a pool!’ squeaked Max in excitement.
‘That’s right, children, keep asking.’ Tasha laughed. ‘Maybe you’ll persuade Daddy!’
‘We’d love it if you moved here,’ said Becca. ‘Do you think we could really tempt you?’
‘Sadly I’m not sure I could survive the commute,’ Charlie said. ‘My hours are antisocial enough as it is.’
‘True,’ said Tasha. ‘You’d find it even harder to get home on time.’
‘You’d have to get a crash pad in the city,’ said Andrew.
‘Ha! Very likely.’ Charlie laughed. ‘With that spare million pounds I’ve got lying around in a Swiss bank account – no problem.’
‘You could always leave?’ Tasha suggested. ‘Get a local job, less pressure, less hours…’
‘Less money,’ Charlie added. ‘Who’d pay the mortgage?’
‘Well, it’s a nice idea,’ Tasha said. ‘Maybe one day…’
‘Can we have a race?’ Max interrupted, clearly bored of the adults’ conversation.
After a series of races and a long and competitive diving competition, Andrew, Charlie and the children played a hilarious game of Marco Polo with some extremely unsubtle cheating from Max. Tasha soaked up the sun and chatted to Becca about the children, about Caroline and Stephen, and Becca and Andrew’s plans for a summer holiday in Majorca.
All in all, it was a lovely afternoon. There was nothing like being away from home to truly relax. Tasha had to be physically removed from the possibility of doing housework to even have the chance of a rest. On the way back to London they drove past Hazeldown, the house Andrew had told them was potentially coming on the market.
‘Slow down,’ Tasha said, spotting the topiary hedge, rather unusually in the shape of a cockerel. ‘Let’s just have a quick look.’ Charlie raised an eyebrow as if to warn her not to get any ideas, before pulling over. There were no cars in the drive, and no lights on in the house.
‘The Cunliffes must be out,’ she said as she got out of the car and peered through the gate. It was a perfect Tudor house, all sprawling whitewashed walls and dark wooden beams. Rambling roses climbed the walls leading up to the thatched roof. Charlie appeared by her side, clearly unable to resist the temptation.
‘It is pretty amazing, isn’t it?’ he said.
‘Gorgeous. And just look at the view!’ The house was on the cusp of a hill, with a view for miles looking out over the rolling countryside.
After a few minutes lost in admiration they got back into the car and set off for home, both of them dreaming of a time in the future where a life in the country might become their reality.
‘It’s so nice to have Andrew back home, isn’t it?’ Charlie said as he drove down the lanes leading back towards the motorway.
‘I was saying to Becca how brave she is coping with him away for so much of the time.’
‘She does cope very well without him.’ Charlie nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. ‘I may not work the most sociable hours, but at least I am around more than Andrew.’
Even Tasha couldn’t disagree with that. ‘True. Do you think he will ever leave the army?’
‘I don’t know. It’s a tricky one. A part of me thinks he might. But it’s his life, and he’s such a natural soldier. It’s just in his blood.’
‘I know what you mean.’
‘Maybe he will leave one day.’
‘I wonder…’ Tasha looked out of the window as the countryside whizzed by. It occurred to her, not for the first time, just how fragile life was. She turned around and looked at the children. They had all dozed off, exhausted from their energetic activity in the pool. They were breathing peacefully in their sleep. Tasha thanked her lucky stars that they were all healthy and happy. She sent up a prayer that it would always be so.