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It was Clover's wail that woke Gaia at six o'clock on Monday morning, stirring her from a dream and reminding her of the week that lay ahead. As she opened her eyes, orientating herself for the day, she glanced over to see Evan sleeping soundly beside her. Half sitting with a pile of pillows behind his back, the only position he had found comfortable when it was impossible to lie on his front, his head lolled back against the headboard and he let out the occasional snore as he dozed. A heavy sleeper, he had never been woken by his children's cries and when they were little, it had only been when Gaia had elbowed him awake that he had got up to tend to them.
But he needed his rest. It had taken over an hour of tossing and turning for him to fall asleep last night and Gaia had stirred several times when she had felt him shift beside her. While he needed his eight hours a night to face the day, Gaia had trained herself to survive on whatever she got. Mornings were hers, the time that she spent baking and getting ready for the day, and she reminded herself of that as she rolled out of bed with a blearly groan.
Clover lay in her cot, kicking her heels as she cried, but her tears began to settle when her mother picked her up and swayed from side to side, shushing her with her soothing voice. Rubbing her back, she carried her downstairs to find a comfortable seat. For months, she had been telling herself to move an armchair into Clover's room but it was something she had never got round to, so every morning she carried her grizzling daughter to the sitting room for the first feed of the day.
As Gaia sat with Clover cradled to her chest, stifling a yawn as she got used to the day, she ran through the next twelve hours in her mind. Ordinarily, she made her way to the café by half past six to ensure there was something fresh on the counter when they opened ninety minutes later, while Evan took care of the morning duties. It was his responsbility to ferry Alfie to day-care and Zara to school before he joined his wife at eight thirty, bringing Clover with him. But that would be impossible today.
Last night had been spent strategising with the help of the occasional phone call. As much as Gaia was loath to ask for help, there came a point when she had to back down and with a quick call to Bree's boyfriend, Kit, she had solved the issue of getting Zara to her morning exam. A music teacher at the school, he had been more than willing to give her a lift.
Evan, for all intents and purposes, was out of action. He could hardly look after himself, let alone his children, and Gaia had resigned herself to the fact that they would be spending the day at work with her. She had grown used to having Clover with her at the café, and Alfie would just have to fit into the schedule. He was quite happy entertaining himself in the café's play area and for the morning he would have to be: Evan needed to sleep and Gaia needed to work.
And conduct an interview. She let out a quiet sigh as she sat in silence with Clover, the only sounds coming from the birds in the trees outside, and she closed her eyes. As much as she favoured the mornings, it was still difficult to wake herself up without a blast of energy and while she was still breastfeeding, she had sworn off caffeine. Instead, the tea she would make herself in fifteen minutes would be herbal, accompanied by a slice of toast for a little something to get her going before she bundled her children into the car.
