Quinn rang while Hannah was serving dinner. She felt a pang of guilt as she rejected the call. Quinn was going through a terrible time, but Hannah’s two younger kids were fighting and Sam had begun that high-pitched whine, the one that signalled an oncoming meltdown, and she didn’t have time for Quinn’s drama right now.

She placed her phone face down on the bench and juggled the three plates over to the dining table where the kids were waiting. As soon as Sam saw the food on his plate, he tipped his head back with a theatrical wail.

‘What’s wrong with it?’ Hannah said wearily.

‘The sauce is all over the carrots!’

She sighed. ‘It’s not all over them. There’s a tiny bit of sauce on this carrot. Look, I’ll eat that one.’ She stuck his fork into the carrot round and put it in her mouth. ‘All fixed.’ Sam slapped both hands down on the table. ‘But now your germs are all over my fork!’

There was an edge of hysteria in his voice as he teetered closer to emotional collapse. Hannah knew the signs. If she didn’t bring him back now, he’d pass the point of no return and the screaming could last an hour or more. She forced herself to take a long, deep breath before she spoke, the exasperation that seemed to live inside her trying to swim to the surface. ‘If you calm down, I’ll get you another fork.’

Wrong response…

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