‘Hello,’ she said, deciding it was better to get it over with. At least it gave her the opportunity to tell Fiona that she’d taken her advice and was going to focus on her family. Fiona would like that, and Sara needed to keep her onside.

‘Sara, I’m glad I’ve caught you. I did wonder if you’d be at the match tonight, but I was late picking up the girls and missed everyone.’

‘No, Matt took them. I’ve got Ezra with me, so I couldn’t go.’

‘You’re still with your sister, then?’

‘Yes, for the time being.’ Sara took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry I left work early today. I don’t know if anyone mentioned it. But I’ve had a think about what you said and I’m going to take your advice and focus on the children until Matt and I have got everything sorted out.’

‘Oh, thank goodness. You’ve no idea how hard it was for me to give you the news about your contract being terminated. I really am sorry about that.’ Fiona’s relief seeped down the line. ‘Anyway, I hope a bit of time out will help smooth things over. I’m sure James and the volunteers can cover for now, so it’s not a problem… But that’s not actually what I was ringing about.’

‘Oh, okay.’ Sara’s hand tightened round her phone, hardly daring to think why else she’d call. ‘So… is there a problem?’

‘No, no, well, not for you. The thing is, we’ve booked a lodge at Center Parcs in the Lake District for a few days, and Chelsea is making a terrible fuss about it because she says it’ll be boring on her own. I was wondering if the girls would like to come? What do you think? I thought it might give you and Matt a bit of space to talk things through. Win-win for everyone. What do you say?’

Sara didn’t have to think twice about her answer. It was a perfect end to the holidays for the twins and would give them a treat, away from all the family troubles. ‘I’m sure they’d love to. And you’re right. It might help resolve things one way or the other.’

‘Thing is, we’re going tomorrow afternoon. Last-minute booking, you see. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Chelsea, and then she had a complete meltdown about it. Is that too soon?’

‘No, that’s fine. I’ll just give them a call, then ring you back, okay?’

They said their goodbyes and Sara looked at Hailey. ‘Fiona wants to take the girls to Center Parcs for a few days to keep Chelsea company. I think that’ll be good for them, don’t you? Give us a chance to corner Matt.’