NOT QUITE RIGHT

From the start we thought there was something not quite right about Aggie.

Oh, don’t get me wrong – she did nothing you could put your finger on. She was always nicely turned out, baked lovely cakes for the PTA stall, even learned everyone’s names – on the surface she was perfect.

But there was something that made us uneasy. For one thing, her kids were so well-behaved it wasn’t natural. In the playground before school they’d just stand beside her in silence, while all our lot rushed around shrieking until the bell rang.

Watching them join the line the other day, Belinda commented, “Have you noticed how they never kiss her? They look as if they’re scared of her.”

“I heard they’re both adopted,” Sally said. “Maybe she doesn’t treat them right.”

We watched them even more closely after that, just in case. But like I said, she did nothing out of place – until this morning.

It was raining and she was hiding under an umbrella – she hated getting wet. She stepped out into the road without looking and the lorry driver didn’t stand a chance.

Her perfect façade cracked like an egg-shell – bits all over the road.

No wonder her kids were afraid of her.