Free A Perfect Home by Kate Glanville Page B

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    â€˜Wait till Daddy finishes what he’s doing and then he’ll put water in the paddling pool,’ said Claire, trying to get the jug of lemonade from the fridge as Ben pulled at her arm.
    â€˜Show me where everything is and we’ll fill it up while your mum gets us all a drink,’ said Stefan to the children, shepherding them into the garden.
    Five minutes later the children were happily splashing in the cool water and eating ice lollies. Meanwhile, Claire and Stefan sat a safe distance away on wrought-iron chairs. On the table a large glass jug of lemonade sparkled in the sunlight.
    â€˜I can’t believe we’ve just had Christmas day,’ said Claire, now happily changed back into her summer dress, her shoes kicked off, feet bare on the rough, dry grass.
    â€˜This is what it’s like in Australia at Christmas,’ said Stefan.
    â€˜Have you ever been there?’
    â€˜I lived there for a few years a while ago. I spent a few Christmases on the beach. Barbequed turkey drumsticks followed by an afternoon of surfing. It was fantastic.’
    â€˜What brought you back?’
    â€˜I don’t know really,’ he said, staring across the valley. ‘I’ve never really settled anywhere for long, but in Australia I missed frosty winter mornings and the snow, and a relationship didn’t work out.’ He shrugged. ‘The job with Idyllic Homes came up at the right time so I came back.’ He was silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled at Claire, his dark eyes twinkling. ‘Maybe I just missed a good cup of tea and a Marmite sandwich.’
    â€˜I thought you had Vegemite in Australia,’ said Claire. ‘Isn’t that the same as Marmite?’ She longed to ask about the relationship.
    â€˜No, it’s not the same.’
    â€˜So a sandwich brought you back to the rain and cold and congestion?’
    â€˜Do you know, I don’t think I’ve had a Marmite sandwich since I’ve been back?’ Stefan laughed, but then was serious. ‘I think I missed the British countryside. I’d like a life like this – old farmhouse, big garden, roses round the door, vegetable patch.’
    â€˜Dog.’
    â€˜Chickens,’ Stefan added.
    Ben came over, arms outstretched, dripping with water and melted ice lolly. He gave Claire a hug and a kiss before running back and belly-flopping into the pool.
    â€˜You’ve got sticky stuff on your skirt now,’ said Stefan. ‘Do you want me to get a cloth to wipe it?’
    â€˜You really don’t have children do you?’ said Claire, laughing ‘If you did you’d know that after a while you don’t care about the sticky stuff all over you. It all goes in the wash at the end of the day. Though William struggles with the messier side of parenthood, he’d definitely be getting a cloth right now.’ She bit her lip.
    â€˜I always wanted to have children,’ Stefan went on. ‘But I think I’m getting a bit old now.’
    â€˜You don’t look too old,’ she argued.
    â€˜How old are you?’ Stefan asked, taking a sip of lemonade.
    â€˜I don’t think you’re meant to ask ladies their age.’
    â€˜Sorry, I forgot. How rude of me.’ He grinned at her.
    After a brief pause she said, ‘I was thirty-five last Guy Fawkes night.’
    â€˜Wow, fireworks on your birthday, what a celebration every year! But actually I thought you were older.’
    â€˜Thanks!’
    â€˜No, sorry. I didn’t mean you look older; you look years younger of course.’ He flashed a smile that immediately made Claire forgive him. ‘It’s just you have so much, have achieved so much, when I feel I’ve hardly started. I’ve concentrated on my work and travelled for so long, but sometimes I look round at my life and wonder what I’ve really achieved. What have I got to show for it all? Most of my friends are part