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‘I’m sure it will. I’ll send you a text.’

And with one more kiss on the cheek, Holly left.

23

Back in Bourton, Holly tried to get hold of Jamie. She wanted to discuss the idea of the different themed platters for the wedding and fill her in on some of the details from her and Evan’s evening, but after the call went to voicemail twice, she decided to head into the village and try again later instead.

After checking up on Drey and the shop, Holly took Hope over to the green to have a crawl on the grass and a splash in the water. The plan was only to stay there for half an hour, but as the pair of them sat on the grass, watching the world go by, Holly found herself with no desire to leave. The bus tours and day visitors were slowing, making their ways back home, and with a bag packed with snacks for Hope, there was no rush to go anywhere.

Around half five, Drey came out to tell her she had locked up and was heading home, and Holly thought about heading back too, but it seemed a shame to take Hope back to the cottage when she was having such a nice calm time. So, they went and got a takeaway coffee from one of the restaurants and it was only another hour later, after Hope pulled off her second pair of socksand threw them in the river, that Holly finally decided it was time to head back and give Hope a bath before meeting Maud.

Hope loved baths. She could splash about in the water, kicking her little rubber ducks, and giggling with joy as Holly poured water on to her belly, or spinning the little contraption that was fixed to the wall, to her heart’s content. She also found joy in lots of other aspects of the bathroom. Recently, she had learnt to flush the toilet. She’d pull herself to stand with her head above the bowl as the water spiralled down and then begin to refill. Holly’s weighing scales also gave her great delight as she pressed her hands on them and watched the dials go up and down. Not to mention the wash basket, which she was always desperate to climb inside, although Holly knew she was partly to blame for that one, having put her in it once about a month ago, pretending it was a boat.

Yes, normally the bathroom was a happy place for Hope. But that evening, Hope did not want a bath for one very simple reason. The bunny rabbits.

Prising them out of Hope’s hand so Holly could get her into the bath was proving almost impossible. The moment Holly freed one of the animals from Hope’s fist and dropped it onto the floor, her daughter picked another one up.

‘Look, we can put them on the edge of the bath, so they can watch you?’ she tried gently, and for a second, she thought Hope was about to release one of them. But then she grabbed it again and pulled it back to her. Holly’s voice grew firmer. ‘Okay, but the bunny is going to get wet. Are you ready for that? Because that’s the only option, Hope. Bunnies stay out of the bath or they get wet.’

Hope’s eyes widened, as if she’d actually understood what Holly had just said. Then, a second later, her face turned bright red and she began to cry. But if Holly had thought her daughter being upset would offer an opportunity to separate a bunnyfrom her, she was mistaken; Hope’s grip on the animals only tightened.

‘Fine, then, it’s a shower.’

The shower wasn’t much easier. Holly had to hook one arm around Hope to hold her steady while using the showerhead with the other hand, all while trying to ensure the spray didn’t reach the rabbits. It was not going to be a hair wash day.

When Hope was finally clean, Holly took her out of the bath and placed her on the mat before wrapping her up in the cute, hooded bath towel her mother had embroidered for her. Hope always looked adorable in those. Like she belonged on some whimsical television advert. And she had to admit, she looked even sweeter with the bunnies. That said, when Hope went to sleep that night, she decided she’d probably to hide one or two of them. That way there would be spares if she lost any too.

With Hope sitting on the bathmat, Holly allowed herself the luxury of attempting to clean her teeth. It was times like this, evenings like this, that she thought about other single parents. How tough it must be for them. After all, Hope was a good baby, and Holly had Ben and her parents to support her. People who raised children on their own, with no network around them, really were superheroes.

She had just turned on the electric toothbrush when Hope crawled beside her.

‘Bubba. Baba.’

Nothing like ‘Mumma’ was coming out of Hope’s mouth yet, though every new sound felt like an achievement, and Holly wasn’t entirely unconvinced that Hope wasn’t trying to say bunny. What was more surprising, though, was how quickly she stood up. One second, Hope had been sitting there on the mat, all four bunnies in her hands; the next second, she had pulled herself up on the toilet seat.

‘Don’t do that,’ Holly said through a mouthful of toothpaste foam. ‘It’s dirty. Do you hear me? Dirty.’ She tried to angle herself to pick Hope up, only for toothpaste to spill from her mouth. Standing back up, she decided it was probably just easier to wash Hope’s hands afterwards.

With Holly focusing back on her teeth, Hope cruised along, holding on to the edge of the toilet, and Holly thought she was going to take steps to move towards her. Instead, Hope did one of her favourite tricks and pushed down on the toilet handle.

‘Did you hear me? Dirty.’

Holly stopped her toothbrush with her teeth only half done and placed it on the edge of the sink.

‘No, darling. What did I say about dirty? You know I told you…’

Holly never got as far as finishing her sentence. The words caught in her throat as she looked into the toilet bowl. There, swirling down into the pipes, was the yellow bunny.

Lunging into action, Holly picked Hope up, swept her to the side, and plunged her hand into the bowl. But she was too late. She looked around, aware that there were now only two bunnies on the floor by Hope’s feet, meaning that at least one more had disappeared down the toilet bowl and was trapped somewhere in the pipes.

A circling feeling of dread settled in Holly’s stomach.

‘Great, just great,’ she said.

24

Holly lifted Hope up onto her hip, while watching the ever-increasing height of the water in the bowl.

‘Hope? What have you done? What are we meant to do now?’