Free Soldiers' Wives by Fiona; Field

down their faces. I mean, why their mother hasn’t taught them to blow their noses…’ She shuddered. ‘And then there’s Olivia. I’ve never known a child throw a tantrum like she does. Skweems and skweems and skweems till she’s sick,’ she said, quoting from
Just William
. ‘So little Nate, here…’ she plonked a fat kiss on his cheek, ‘is an angel in comparison. Just like my two, obviously. But then I might be a teeny bit biased. So come on – pull your finger out.’
    Maddy gave in and tugged Nate’s all-in-one off the peg by the door. ‘Can you stuff him in that?’ she asked Caro, handing her the garment and the baby. ‘I’ll just get his kit together.’ Maddy raced upstairs to grab Nate’s nappy bag and as she did so, she realised that she was looking forward to getting out and meeting the other wives.
    Five minutes later the two women were pushing their buggies along the road towards the community centre, an old senior officer’s quarter which had been converted for use in this new role. Nate didn’t seem to be too happy about the outing and was grizzling.
    â€˜Maybe this isn’t a good idea,’ she said to Caro, horribly aware that his cries were quite noisy even out in the open; in a confined space they’d seem even worse.
    â€˜Of course it is,’ said Caro. ‘As if anyone has had a baby who has never cried.’
    â€˜And I suppose the colic will pass. Won’t it?’ she added hopefully.
    â€˜Should do. In a previous existence I was a nanny, and I never looked after a baby that suffered beyond about four months. It’s not called three-month colic for nothing. It’ll pass, honestly. By Christmas, this will all be a memory.’
    Maddy didn’t listen to what Caro said about the colic – all she heard was that Caro had been a nanny. So that explained why she was so brilliant with Nathan, which only made Maddy feel even more inadequate. ‘You must think I’m a complete moron – the way I am with Nate.’
    Caro shook her head. ‘God, of course I don’t. He’s your first, and they don’t come with an instruction manual. And, let’s face it, having to move almost straight after giving birth has hardly made things easier for you – or him. I think you’re an absolute trouper.’
    â€˜Really?’
    â€˜Really.’
    They reached the community centre and parked their buggies at the edge of the dozen or so other ones that littered the drive to the big house. Maddy unclipped Nate’s car seat from the frame of the pushchair and lugged it in through the front door while Caro took off Luke’s restraining straps so he could toddle in after her.
    Inside the house the hubbub of women’s voices almost managed to drown out Nate’s cries. Maddy picked him out of his seat and unzipped his suit before stripping the bulky outer garment off him and popping him back in. Then she hooked the handle of his seat over her arm like a handbag.
    â€˜Come and meet everyone,’ said Caro, holding open a door and ushering her into the main room. Around the walls were a couple of dozen dining room chairs, while in the middle of the floor was an impressive array of toys and a number of small children, mostly playing contentedly. Caro nudged Maddy and whispered, ‘Spot Josh.’
    Maddy looked at the kids on the floor. Oh, yes, she could see in an instant exactly what Caro had meant. Yuck.
    â€˜Now then, let me introduce you to a few people and then I’ll get us both a coffee.’ She made a beeline across the room to a thirty-something woman in a tweed skirt and sweater. ‘Maddy, I don’t think you’ve met Seb’s OC’s wife – this is Susie whose husband is Seb’s boss. Susie, this is Maddy Fanshaw, wife of the famous Seb Fanshaw – you know, the rower – and her son, Nathan.’
    Susie looked