The Family Friend, C. MacDonald [ereader for android TXT] 📗

‘Not been able to get him.’ Erin dries off the bottom of her hair. There’ll be photos at the podcast. Ally Thornton has a black bob with a white-and-red David Bowie streak on one side of it. She always looks immaculate. Amanda blinks her long eyelashes and cocks her head to the side. ‘I’ll text him though. He won’t mind if it’s you.’ Amanda looks at something in the garden and Erin can’t make out her expression. She feels edgy with the need to be somewhere else, like getting stuck behind a tractor on a single-lane road. Bobby’s brow creases and he grizzles at being ignored for so long. Erin picks him up and takes him to Amanda. ‘It’s so much to ask and I wouldn’t dream of it if I didn’t know how totally amazing you are with him.’ Bobby reaches towards Amanda as she twists her hair into a bun. ‘And look, he’s sick of me anyway. Give you some time to get to know each other.’

‘All right,’ Amanda says, ‘no worries.’ She takes off her slick winter coat, letting it fall to the floor. She’s in one of her tunic tops, this one a pale blue. Bobby holds his arms open to Amanda and she takes him to her chest, cuddling him like a much tinier baby. ‘How can I say no to you, eh, my darling boy?’ Erin smiles at them, gives Bobby an affectionate pat on the head, touches Amanda’s elbow and then she’s off upstairs where she tears her clothes off and tears on a new outfit, does a thirty-second make-up job, before tearing back downstairs to the hall.

She rifles through her £400 #gifted baby backpack and finds her keys, phone charger and headphones and puts them in a green glittery clutch before giving herself a moment to look in the hall mirror. The vintage trench she got from the Cancer Research shop opposite the station makes her look tall, powerful, her hair up, professional, the forest-green eyeshadow, fun-loving and it goes with the bag. For a two-minute job, it’s pretty bloody good, she thinks. She grabs a wide-brimmed black hat from the shelf above the coat hook behind the door and tries it on. It looks great but in the rain could give her the appearance of a wader so she puts it back.

This feels like a step up and she’s ready for it. She can still see the thin tributaries of stress that crease around her eyes through her foundation but there’s more light in them than there’s been for months, not the sparkles she tries to generate for her photos, this is real, shining excitement. She taps the shabby-chic hall table three times with the tips of her fingers and turns back into the living room. Amanda’s stood exactly where she left her over by the sink, Bobby still cradled in her arms like a newborn. He’s quiet, calm, and they’re just staring at each other. Erin feels spit catch at the top of her throat and a shard of envy at the effortless calm Amanda seems to have with Bobby splices into her enthusiasm. A tiny sound, Amanda singing, humming, an ancient sound, drifts across the room. She was going to go over and give Bobby a kiss on the head, the sort of thing she’s seen on a thousand television shows and films. A mother’s parting gesture of love, of propriety, but she decides it’s better not to upset the apple cart by making it too clear that she’s leaving him.

‘Good luck,’ Erin says weakly. ‘I’ll be forever in your debt for this.’

‘Happy to help,’ Amanda says in a theatrical whisper, before restarting her song and turning back to Bobby.

Erin picks up an umbrella from the stand and strides out into the deluge, leaving Amanda inside clutching her baby boy.

10

BRAUNEoverBRAINS

372 posts           39.7k followers            1,377 following

ERIN BRAUNE

Mum to Bobby. Salty sea-dweller. Bright up your life. Reformed thespian.

This is my podcast pantsuit. Because we did a podcast.

ALLY THORNTON IS A DREAM. We had a hilarious chat. Well, tbh, cos Ally is so bloody good at her job it wasn’t just a thrill ride up the lollercoaster. We talked how hard it was giving up acting, keeping things Zen on two hours’ sleep, the anxiety that comes with getting a biblical deluge of DMs, and a whole lot of other shiz. But most importantly, we provide you with the definitive guide to what different condiment combos work best on toast and plans for our Carbicide Cookbook. SPOILER ALERT: Ally has a penchant for a rice sandwich.

BUT. Who is that standing next to Ally and me? If you don’t know her or her extended prosecco-drinking pinky finger, this is the pocket rocket that is Grace Fentiman. Grace is agent extraordinaire and THE Svengali of the influencer world. And she’s offered to represent me! I couldn’t be more delighted to be working with this wonderful woman. She’s a positivity-head too and as soon as we started chatting – about the worthy topic of how we managed to survive before the invention of four-minute microwave mug-cake – I could tell she was full of great ideas and integrity. I’m so excited about working together and everything the future holds.

Also. Promise to stop posting pictures of me boozing. I’m a good mum and my baby does see me every now and again. Honest, guv.

#i’mnotdrunkyou’redrunk

#BRAUNEoverBRAINSmegaglobalworldtour.net

#notarealwebsite

#ifitwasarealwebsiteweneedtofirethebrandingperson

#doineedawebsitenow

#grace?

#doi?

#seriously

theparentalist this is HUGE. @bubbleagent is a FORCE. Instagram better reinforce its walls cos you guys are gonna tear through it like a Scud missile.

Annamaitron SHIT THE BED. This is mega. My two favourites under one roof. Snuggles?

jeremyforbes wow. drinking. groovy. you must be such a laugh.

bubbleagent I have no words. After a turbulent pregnancy and a pre-birth freak-out, @Brauneoverbrains was terrified of succumbing to post-natal depression, but she took action and took control. She dressed bright, exercised and tried to laugh