Sarah was happy in her work, and the weeks passed quickly. One Saturday morning in April she woke in the early hours to hear the front door close. She knew it would be Samuel leaving for work and closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep again. She didn’t work on Saturdays and wanted to look her best for when she went to the market, hoping to see Roger. She was disappointed that he still hadn’t asked her out, but didn’t want to give up hope that one day he would.

She was still wide awake when the sun rose and light spilled through the thin material at the window, illuminating the room. Sarah climbed out of bed and trudged over to the stove. She might as well put the kettle on, as it was unlikely she’d get any more sleep now.

As she stood with an absent mind and waited for the kettle to boil, Tommy jumped up from his bed and ran from the room, calling, ‘I need a wee.’

She could hear muffled voices in the hallway, and guessed Tommy must be talking with Mo.

A few minutes later he returned, Mo close behind him. ‘Morning, love. Tommy said you’re making a brew.’

‘Yes, sit yourself down,’ Sarah said and yawned.

‘Looks like that job is wearing you out,’ Mo commented.

‘No, it’s not my job. I just didn’t sleep very well. I’ve been awake for hours.’

‘Something on your mind? Or someone?’ Mo asked with a knowing smile.

‘Well, funny you should mention that. I was thinking of popping up the market later and now that I’ve managed to buy some, I wondered if you’d do my make-up for me?’

‘Sure, no problem. Tell you what, Samuel won’t be home until late, so how about I come with you? It’d be nice to put names to the faces of the people you talk about.’

‘Are we going to see George today?’ Tommy asked. He’d obviously been listening to the conversation, and was now jumping on his bed excitedly.

‘Yes, we are,’ Sarah told him, ‘and what have I told you about breaking that bed?’

‘Sorry,’ Tommy answered and sat down.

‘We can make a day of it,’ Sarah said to Mo, ‘it’ll be fun.’

‘Just as long as I don’t spend too much money. You know how Sam is.’

‘You’re doing my make-up so we’ll have fish and chips for lunch and it’ll be my treat.’

‘Yummy,’ two voices said in unison, both Mo and Tommy grinning happily.