Life Or Something Like It

‘And me,’ squeaked Izzy.

Claire laughed. ‘Nice to be popular, eh?’

‘Yes,’ said Cat, her voice wavering a little. ‘Yes it is. Thank you, girls.’

‘S’okay. Come on!’ cried Ellie as they skipped back to Claire.

Cat felt flustered by her reaction and decided to distract herself by checking her phone.

‘You’re a slave to social media, aren’t you?’ said Finn jogging over, picking up a water bottle and taking a deep gulp.

‘I’ll have you know that social media is the thing that makes the world go round,’ she said.

‘Is it indeed? Isn’t it just for needy people with low self-esteem constantly searching for some meaning in their lives?’

The comment was teasing but it made Cat bristle. ‘Actually, it’s very useful and necessary. It has helped people start revolutions and change the world.’

‘Oh right.’ Finn grinned. ‘How many revolutions have you started then?’ he quipped before jogging off to join the boys again.

Cat was furious. She could honestly say that she’d never met such an irritating man in her life before. She stared back at her phone. Today was the day of the Paradise Rivers perfume launch and her feed was awash with comments from supporters and trolls. The reality TV star was trending and if she had been at work, Cat would have been delighted with this result. Today, however, she felt dissatisfied. She threw her phone to one side and turned her attention to the boys’ football game. Charlie had just scored a goal, shooting the ball past James. Finn cheered and gave him a jubilant high five. Cat found his exhibitionist chumminess with the kids beyond annoying. She couldn’t believe the magnetism he seemed to have over people. She liked Claire but she could honestly say that she wouldn’t be in a hurry to meet up with Finn again.

At that moment she noticed a small dog running towards them. She watched in horror as it made a beeline for her handbag. The world seemed to move in slow motion and Cat couldn’t act in time to prevent the horror of the dog firstly sniffing and then lifting one of its tiny back legs before neatly peeing all over her prized possession.

Charlie and James fell about laughing. To his credit, Finn did shout at the dog and shoo it away but even he was suppressing a snigger as he carried the offending article back to Cat.

‘You might want to wipe this,’ he chuckled.

‘Oh no!’ cried Claire, rushing over with a packet of wipes. ‘That looks like a nice bag. Was it expensive?’

‘Yes, yes it was,’ said Cat weakly as she observed the urine-soaked green leather.

‘First rule of looking after kids,’ said Finn cheerfully, ‘never bring or wear anything that you aren’t prepared to take home covered in urine, poo, vomit or a combination of all three.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ said Cat through gritted teeth.

On the way home Ellie declared it to be ‘the best day ever’, and even Charlie seemed cheerful.

Later that evening, Cat sat in the garden with her brother, nursing a glass of wine. ‘So,’ he said innocently, ‘what did you make of Finn?’

‘Smug, irritating and a know-it-all,’ declared Cat.

‘Right,’ said Andrew. ‘So you quite liked him then.’ Cat stuck out her tongue. ‘Still. The kids enjoyed it and at least you didn’t have to deal with any vomit today.’

‘No just dog’s urine,’ she observed. ‘Anyway, things are improving. Ellie told me I was “okay”.’

‘Praise indeed.’ Andrew smiled. ‘Well I think you’re doing a great job, sis,’ he added, knocking his glass against hers.

‘I’m learning to go with the flow,’ said Cat.

‘Sounds like something Finn might say,’ observed Andrew.

Cat frowned. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

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