Free Another Mother's Life by Rowan Coleman

‘Oh go on, Alison, let me see them, please!’

    “And I said to him, ‘Are we going out or what?’

    “And he says yeah we are, all sort of desperate and pathetic, so I said, ‘Okay, then.’

    “I couldn’t get him off of me for the rest of the afternoon. He wanted to go further but I wasn’t having any of that. I’m not losing it to him. Still he’s quite sweet really when he’s not with his mates. He said he’s fancied me for ages.”

    “So you’ve chucked Ryan then?”

    “Well, I will,” Alison said, glancing at her watch. “What about you? What did you do? I would have phoned you here to tell you but I knew you’d rather get out than be stuck at home cleaning up after the wicked witch all afternoon.”

    Catherine thought about her kiss with Marc and how it would sound if she tried to explain it to Alison in the way Alison had just described her afternoon with Aran Archer to her. The moment was too precious for her to share with anyone, not even Alison. Especially not Alison, because once she knew she’d have questions like whose hand went where and what did it feel like and when could she meet him? Catherine had realized with a sudden lurch that she didn’t want Alison to meet Marc. The afternoon she had spent with him, the talk they’d had, and the kiss were hers. Catherine wasn’t ready to share them.

    “We can do something tomorrow if you like,” Alison said. “Aran will be begging me to see him but I don’t think I should, do you? I’ll be fighting him off again all afternoon and it’s such a drag.”

    “Actually I can’t tomorrow,” Catherine said quickly. She had already told her mother that she had forgotten a summer studyproject she had to work on for school and she would have to be excused from the shop to go to the library. Her mother had not been pleased, not with her slapdash attitude to schoolwork or her absence from the shop. But she had agreed that Catherine could go because the only thing more important to her than keeping her daughter under control was keeping up appearances in the community, and having a child that did well at school was part of that. Catherine didn’t care if her mother eventually found out she’d lied. She didn’t care about anything except seeing Marc again.

    “Really?” Alison looked disappointed. “The witch?”

    Catherine nodded. “She’s got me sorting out all the paperwork from the shop.”

    “Poor you.” Alison gave her a sympathetic hug. “Just think, one more year and we’ll be off to university in Leeds. I’ll be studying English literature and writing my novel and you’ll be doing art history and some hunky artistic type will fall in love with you and make you his muse.”

    Catherine smiled and thought about Elizabeth Siddall. She didn’t suppose she would ever be Marc’s muse.

    “We’ll sneak your application past your parents and once you’ve got your place you’ll never have to see them again. One more year and you’ll be free and so will I.”

    “ Your parents are lovely,” Catherine chided her.

    “Yes, but they are so safe and careful, always saving. Always putting every penny aside for a rainy day. Do you know we can’t even go on holiday this year?”

    “Because they’re saving money so you can go to college,” Catherine reminded her. “If I ever get there I’ll have to work about ten jobs to pay my way.”

    “You will get there, and so will I. We’ll have the best time ever. Only one more year to go.”

    “Yes,” Catherine said thoughtfully. “One more year.”

    They heard a footfall on the bottom stairs.

    “I’ll be back tomorrow,” Alison hissed as she climbed out of the window. “Same time, same place, okay? Love you!”

    Hastily Catherine pulled the window shut after her, and glimpsed the silhouette of her friend on the garage roof before scrambling back into bed.

    “Lights out now,” her mother said, opening the door.

    “Yes, Mum.”

    Her mother paused for a moment