Early morning sun was warming up the pavement as the movers carried boxes and furniture from the truck to the house. Digging through a box on the kitchen table Tara hunted for the kettle and some cups so she could make a coffee for the movers and for herself. The back garden was filled with the sound of laughing from her two kids, nine year old Kieran and four year old summer. The house had been sold to her with the play set included and now it seemed like a good idea as it was keeping her kids entertained. Tara had her long flame red hair tied back out of the way as usual and it swished behind her as she moved around the kitchen. Waiting on
the kettle boiling she watched her kids playing through the window, thinking to herself about how this was going to be a whole new start for them all. “That’s the last of it” the deep voice broke her out of her day dream and she spun around to see the two men standing in the kitchen with her, they were covered in sweat and looked like they needed a cold drink not a hot coffee. “I was going to make you a coffee but I think a cold one would be better.” she walked over to the fridge and took out two bottles of coke and handed them to the men. “Thanks that’s great” the man who had spoken before said to her. Summer came running in through the patio doors and
clung to Tara’s leg she was screeching in a high pitched voice “He is going to get me mummy”. Kieran came running in a second later with a worm in his hand. “Out with that and put it back where you found it” Tara ordered him and he sulked back outside leaving the movers laughing.
She stood and waved off the movers as they drove away and saw that she was being gawked at by her new neighbours. It would not be long till the first of the neighbours came over to introduce themselves so she headed inside to get to work on un packing and clearing the rubbish away. “Mom Im hungry” Kieran told her when he came in from the garden with summer following behind him. Tara thought for a moment and looked around then she smiled at her kids “Lets go” she grabbed her bag and keys from the bench and they headed out to her jeep Cherokee that was parked out front. Summer skipped to the car and Kieran ran to the front door
while Tara locked up the house. Once they were inside and all buckled up Kieran asked “Where are we going”. “When we drove through the town I saw a nice little café so I thought we could have lunch there” Tara watched them through the mirror as she drove them out of the street without even having to deal with the neighbours yet. The two dark with a hint of red haired kids ran straight to the desert counter when the family of three entered the café. A rosy cheeked grey haired woman stood behind the counter with a pot of coffee in her hand, she chatted to a couple on the stools in front of her. Tara walked over to a booth and sat down “Summer, Kieran
come on over here” she called to them and they walked over to the booth, Summers curls bouncing on her shoulders. Kieran sat opposite his mother and sister and looked at the menu Tara handed him. The woman from the counter came over to take their order and scribbled it on a small note pad. Kieran chose a cheese burger and curly fries with extra ketchup, Summer wanted fish fingers and curly fries but she didn’t like ketchup. Once they had ordered Tara asked for a chicken salad and two glasses of orange juice and a strong coffee for herself. “Can we have a cake afterwards mum please?” Kieran was eyeing up the cream cakes as he spoke. “If you eat all your lunch then yes you can” Tara promised them. The week passed by quickly and it was filled with unpacking and organising schools for the children. Tara had made friends with her neighbour to the right of her. Kate Hanson was also a mum of two and was married to the
town mechanic. While Kieran, Summer and Kate’s two boys played outside Tara and Kate were packing up some of Tara’s craft stuff to sell at the weekend market. Tara had boxes of paintings and hand crafted greeting cards, she even had some works of clay packed up. “These are fantastic Tara. They will sell really well here, this town loves the personal touch” Kate was looking at a clay statue of a horse that had been painted and glazed. “Im looking at stores to set up my own shop but until then I will have to settle for the market” Tara finished packing the last box and put the horse into it before closing it up. They took the boxes down to the car and Tara brought out a folding table to put in the back. “What do the kids do when you are selling your stuff?” Kate asked as they headed back into the kitchen for a cuppa. “Kieran helps with the selling which helps him with his math and he loves it. I think that kid is going to be a great little business man one day he is very good at getting good deals” Tara filled the kettle and Kate sat down at the breakfast counter. “And what about Summer?” she glanced out the window to see the kids playing on the swings. “Summer is mummy’s little helper she takes control of the bags she likes to make sure that everything is bagged up all nice, that is till she gets bored and then she sits in the chair and plays with her toys or goes for a sleep” Tara put the coffee into the
cups. “If you want I can take them for a little while after lunch when I take the boys to the park, then I can bring them back later on so you can have a break from them” Kate’s offer was tempting, but the thought of letting her kids out of her sight for too long was too much of a risk.
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