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Midday rolled around and Lydia was handed the house keys. Halle insisted she have a dozen pictures taken outside her new home. In the end they got ridiculous, with Halle photobombing, using Monty, who thoroughly enjoyed the attention.

Unlocking the front door, Lydia drew in a breath. “Here goes,” she muttered, stepping over the threshold.

“Just think, Lyds, you’re going to have hot showers and dripless taps.” Halle commented seriously.

“You’ve no idea how bloody good that sounds.”

“Oh, I do. You spent half an hour a day in my shower. It was like a bloody steam room by the time you finished.”

Flushing slightly, Lydia knocked Halle’s shoulder. “I was defrosting. It’s been years since I had hot water.”

“I’m only messing. Now, shall we get these boxes unloaded?”

Halfway through unloading, Fe stopped by. She hadn’t had the chance to check out Lydia’s new digs yet. It would have been better to choose a different day to visit, but that was Fe. The kids tore through the house, instantly picking their bedroom. Thankfully, Lydia had already earmarked the one they chose.

“Oh, Lyds, this is magnificent,” Fe gasped. “Bloody gorgeous.”

“I know, right?” Lydia couldn’t hide her excitement. “I can’t wait to decorate the place. Make it my own.”

“Oh, we can have a deco party!” Fe clapped. “They’re all the rage.”

“Where?” Halle asked, amused.

“Everywhere,” Fe scoffed.

“Do you mean you saw someone on a TV show do it?” Halle grinned.

“Shut up. Please, Lyds, please!”

“Jesus, all right. We can have a deco party.”

“We can help,” the triplets chorused as they bounded into the kitchen. “I’m great at painting. Mummy said,” Jenny added.

“Let’s get unpacked before we start trying to paint anything, guys,” Lydia chuckled.

“And on that note, we have to go,” Fe announced.

Lydia stared, mouth agape, as Fe rounded up her brood and promptly left. Halle burst out laughing. “You didn’t think she would actually stick around and do some work, did you?”

“Well, after the deco party idea. Yeah, kind of.”

“Lyds, my sweet. Fe will bring party food and then walk around telling everyone else what to do. I would bet Nora she won’t even pick up a paintbrush.”

Halle was spot on. Fe would become the unelected leader and get her bossy pants on. “Shit. Why did I agree to do it?”

“Because you’re excited and rightly so. Instead of a deco party, just turn it into a housewarming. Me, you, Cathy and Harrison can get the place decorated.”

“You think Cathy is going to paint? Ha! And Harrison is not exactly the handy type.”

“Good thing I am then. We can start whenever you want. Have you got an idea?”

“A few. But honestly, I’m in no rush.”

“You’re just excited to be here, right?”

“Right!” They stood smiling and staring at each other for a few seconds. Lydia’s heart ramped up. “Um… I… had another idea for my bucket list.” Not what she’d actually wanted to say, but hey ho!

“Really. I thought scuba diving was next.”