The ring of her cellphone startled her, and she quickly silenced it. Wren mumbled in his sleep but didn’t stir. One guess as to who it was. Mark. A jolt of electricity coursed through her. She was afraid, imaging that he was outside, waiting in his car. She knew that was silly; there’s no way he knew where they were already. He would never connect Billy to her, he probably didn’t even know that Billy was back in town. The ringer stopped, and she put the phone on the floor. It rang again almost immediately, and she ignored it again. It stopped, and she sighed before it rang again. He continued to ring her nearly every ten minutes, so she put it on the kitchen bench and went back to bed, dreaming of her boys playing in the backyard.

They were free.

6

By nine the next morning, Vanessa and Wren had unpacked the kitchen boxes, had breakfast, dressed and brushed their teeth. Vanessa had been up since dawn, unpacking boxes in the lounge, making muffins, checking her phone and worrying that Mark would bang on their door at any moment.

‘How about we start unpacking your room until we have to go and pick up Ty?’ Vanessa suggested to Wren. He came and hugged her. She was getting more hugs and kisses from him than ever before, but she would take every touch she could get. Once the house was set up, it would feel more like a home, although she already felt at ease here.

There was a knock at the door at about ten o’clock and both Vanessa and Wren froze in fear. It was a quiet knock, not the bang of someone whose family had run away and been found.

‘Who is it?’ she asked timidly through the wooden door, not daring to look through the glass panel at the side.

‘It’s just us, honey,’ said her mom, and Vanessa opened the door.

‘I thought I was coming to you,’ Vanessa said, confused.

‘You did, but I wanted to see the new house. Wow, it’s lovely.’

‘Right?’ Vanessa smiled as she took Ty so her mom could take a look around. Nannie gave Wren a hug and kiss, then he took her on a tour of the house. Vanessa kissed Ty on his plump little cheek, cradling him to her breast. She couldn’t breastfeed so he was already on formula.

Her mom came back into the lounge. ‘It’s just perfect,’ she exclaimed. ‘And Wren’s room is so blue. It’s spectacular.’

Wren giggled and hugged into his nannie. He was so affectionate, it was wonderful. ‘I like it here, Mom – it’s our house now that Ty is home.’ He walked over to Ty and grasped his little brother’s hand in his. Ty curled his fingers around Wren’s, and he laughed, something she couldn’t get enough of. Things were going to get better; she just knew it.