Free Sticks and Stones by Ilsa Evans

noticeboard before a small advertisement that she had already read at least a dozen times.
    SUPPORT GROUP
    This is an informal support group for any women who have
ever been abused by a partner. This includes physical, mental,
verbal and financial abuse. We can’t promise miracles and none
of us are trained counsellors but we can lend a friendly ear and
sometimes it just helps to know that you’re not alone.
Every Friday night @ 7.00pm
Ring 5420 5810
    Ignoring the sudden fluttering of her stomach, Maddie reached out quickly and pulled the notice off the board, thrusting it deep into her pocket. Then she continued tidying, feeling rather audacious even though the act had been so minor. And probably unnecessary. In the back room the volunteers had now departed, leaving a double row of food parcels. Maddie sat down at a computer and called up the database, entering ‘parenting orders’ as a keyword. She leant forward, skipping down the information until she reached the section on orders by consent. It only told her what she already knew, that they could lodge their own parenting plan without involving lawyers or even a court appearance, if they could come to an agreement.
    â€˜Parenting orders, hey?’ Lisbeth was peering over her shoulder. ‘Having problems?’
    Maddie closed the page. ‘No. Just checking the information I gave my last client.’
    â€˜Would have been better off giving her a calorie counter. Or a tread-mill. So that she’s around long enough to see her kids grow up.’
    â€˜Just as well
you
didn’t see her then.’ Olive came through and hung up her clipboard. She pushed past Lisbeth and started turning off lights. ‘Let’s get out of here. I’ve had enough.’
    They closed up quickly in a silence that Maddie welcomed, even if it was uncomfortable. Lisbeth said a terse goodbye at the back door and then Olive held Maddie back, hand clutching her sleeve, determined to vent. And to enlist her support for a planned approach to management the following week because
something
had to be done. Maddie nodded, although she found it hard to really care. It seemed bizarre that Olive and the others felt so deeply about the situation. And equally bizarre that only a few days ago she would have too.
    After ten minutes Maddie finally freed herself, nodding agreement even as she backed away. She drove home marvelling at how priorities can shift in an instant. Now whether or not Lisbeth was suited to the job or just burnt out barely rated a second thought. Maddie turned into her street and saw a car parked by the kerb, feeling an immediate flush of disappointment when she realised it was Kim’s. Nevertheless she waved as she coasted up the driveway and then smiled welcomingly as she watched her friend approach slowly over the damp lawn.
    The two women were of a similar age and height, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Maddie sometimes felt characterised by the colour brown, Kim had blue eyes that shone against pale Scandinavian skin and long hair the colour of a milky omelette. An interior decorator by trade, she also had an eye for fashion and always dressed her slightly pear-shaped figure off beautifully in tailored pants. A touch of femininity was then added via a range of silk or chiffony-type shirts. This one was a lacy pink with bell sleeves that billowed over her hands.
    Maddie got out of her car. ‘Hey there.’
    â€˜Hey yourself.’
    â€˜Got time for a coffee?’
    Kim nodded. ‘But I can’t stay too long. I have to pick up Ryan from after-school care and take him down to his father’s place.’
    Maddie could hear Guess scrabbling at the inside of the back door as she unlocked it and the dog shot through eagerly as it opened. Straight over to his favourite corner of the yard where he immediately went into a straining half-squat, staring back at them with wide eyes.
    Kim laughed. ‘I think he wants some