They all fell silent, until Aaron stood up and nudged his mum to do the same.

‘We’ll leave you to have a think, Prue, about the garden. But, knowing you, this won’t be the end of it.’

‘No, you’re right. Because when I start something, I want to see it through.’

‘But you haven’t started, have you?’ Suzy said.

‘True, but I’ve been thinking about it so much I can almost see it, and smell it! Of all the ideas knocking about, I can’t get the idea of a sensory garden out of my head. Surely that’s something you could benefit from, Suzy, something you could enjoy … Well, everyone could, and will, I hope. And I don’t think it will take long to do, once we get started. I thought maybe at the weekend, if I can get hold of Simon.’

‘And what about Carrie’s swing?’

‘I’m really not sure about that. I was hoping for something more tranquil, somewhere where everyone can relax, not have a toddler squealing and kicking her legs in their faces.’

‘I don’t think they’ll be living here much longer anyway. Theirs is only a one-bed, and I should think the little girl’s going to need a room of her own pretty soon, never mind a garden.’

‘Maybe a sandpit then? Easy to cover over again if it’s not needed in the future. A token gesture, to keep them happy for now? And it’s relatively unobtrusive … and quiet! Can’t go upsetting Stan now, can we?’

‘Oh, no,’ Suzy said, with more than a hint of sarcasm. ‘Nobody must upset Stan. Never mind the rest of us …’

‘She didn’t like me, did she?’

Aaron shrugged. ‘I’m not sure she likes anybody very much. You notice she didn’t say a word to Miss Parker, or to Betty. She keeps her distance, pretends that because she can’t see them she doesn’t know they’re there, but that’s rubbish. And she certainly can’t stand that miserable old bugger Stan. He can be difficult, but so can she. And she doesn’t like change. I think that comes down to not being able to see things change, if you know what I mean. In her head, everything’s still the way it was when she last set eyes on it. And that includes that scrappy bit of grass outside. Change them and they become alien things that she can’t picture. So, no, I don’t think it’s you she’s taken against. It’s more what you’re hoping to do. And the fact that she doesn’t know you, or what you look like, doesn’t help.’

Prue nodded.

‘I think her main reason for coming to your meeting last night wasn’t really to offer much in the way of help, but to make sure she knows what’s going on and to veto any suggestions the others might come up with, just out of spite. She’s always said Stan’s a scheming old busybody, and you’d think that Miss Parker from down below us was some old witch the way she talks about her. It’s just Mum, I’m afraid. Just the way she is.’