She almost hadn’t come. The day hadn’t started well. She’d woken up on the couch— again—heavy limbed and with her head banging. She’d been drinking a hangover cure and checking her email when the fulminating anger hit. It had been bubbling inside her ever since. According to the time stamp, the email had been sent late the previous evening and it was as brisk, rude and to the point as ever.

Rosa and Rick will be doing the pick-up and drop-off.

No greeting or sign off. No “Is that okay with you, Jess?” No explanation. Nada.

Jess didn’t even know if Leo had ever met Nick’s parents. Jess had only met them a couple of times and that had been years earlier. She didn’t want to freak Leo out by sending him off with strangers. Libby would never allow her children to go off with people they didn’t know, yet Jess was expected to do exactly that without comment or complaint.

Being angry with Libby was now a permanent state, but Jess couldn’t believe Karen would let her down like this. Karen was the saving grace of this whole access nightmare. For weeks, she’d faithfully met Jess in the park, picked Leo up and returned him home to her at six o’clock. Last week, Karen had said, “Don’t worry about daylight savings. I’ll still bring him home to you.”

Jess knew Karen cared for her and Leo. Unlike her spoilt princess of a daughter, Karen was doing her best to make things as easy as possible. So why hadn’t Karen told her she couldn’t come today? Why did it have to be an email from Libby ramming home yet again that she called the shots? But Jess knew it was more than that—it was another test to push Jess to her limits so she’d pull the pin on the access visits and conveniently leave the Hunter-Pirellis’ lives.

No way in hell, bitch!

Jess had typed the words, “any change of plans requires twenty-four hours’ notice,” but sense had prevailed and she hadn’t sent it. Libby could keep pushing but Jess wouldn’t crack. Still, it didn’t mean she wasn’t anxious about meeting Rosa and Rick or worried about Leo’s reaction.

“Mama, swing!” Leo tugged on her hands, having lost interest in driving his back hoe in the garden bed.

But the thought of standing up and pushing a swing was all too hard today. “Let’s have a cuddle.”

She gingerly picked up Leo, trying to avoid the ligament twinge she often got now he was heavier. It didn’t work—the hot twisting pain froze her for a few seconds as she braced herself for the next wave of pain that would come when she breathed out. She really needed to see a physiotherapist and get this fixed.