Happy Families by Adele Parks

1
    3 September
    Lisa liked to be in control. She could control most things. Like her ironing basket – she found it easy to stay on top of that, and most other women found it hard, which just goes to show what a great control freak she was. She controlled her soap-watching. Well, really, she just gave in to that. She never missed an episode of East Enders or Coronation Street. And she had a good idea about the main plots in Emmerdale and Holby City too. She could control what went into her kid’s lunchboxes – not too much junk, brown bread sandwiches, yogurt and carrot sticks – although she could not control what they really ate. For all she knew, they chucked away the fruit and spent their pocket money on crisps.
    Controlling her family was the hard bit. The important bit and the hard bit. She liked to think she was in control of Kerry (aged fifteen), Paula (aged twelve) and Jack (aged eleven).They were good kids, largely, but you could never be sure.
    Lisa lived in fear of a teenage pregnancy, a drug or drink problem or a not very happy copper standing at the door.
    She hadn’t always been like this. Lisa used to be very positive, about her now and her future. But two years ago, just before her fortieth birthday, her husband of fifteen years had said goodbye.
    Something like that shakes you up. It takes your trust away, your trust in the world. It seemed a serious thing to do just to get out of buying a birthday present. She’d have been happy enough with bubble bath or a box of chocolates.
    While Lisa had been divorced for two years now, it still surprised her. She’d thought she would always be married to Keith. How was it possible that after fifteen years of being married you could stop being married suddenly? That was a silly question. Of course Lisa knew how it was possible. Your husband runs off with a woman with big breasts. Too big. Silly big. Papers are signed. You’re divorced. It’s as simple as that. But it’s not simple at all, not really – not in Lisa’s heart.
    Lisa didn’t fall apart. She didn’t have time,with three kids to care for. Falling apart over a broken relationship is something you can only do when you are still a kid yourself. Or if you are a star, and Heat magazine will put your photo on their cover. If not, you just have to get on with it.
    Her family was there for her. At least, they all acted just as she expected. That was a comfort of sorts, after Keith had acted so oddly.
    Her mother and father went into shock. They’d been married for forty-five years. There had never been a divorce in the family. Well, except for Granny Hills and Uncle Terry and cousin Clare (she’d been divorced twice). They meant there had never been a divorce in the close family. They didn’t mean her to but Lisa got the feeling she’d let them down. It was a bit like receiving her O level results when she was sixteen. Everyone said she’d tried her best. No one looked that pleased with the results.
    Her father’s hair turned white almost overnight. Her mother said it was the shock. Lisa believed it was because he’d stopped using that stupid dye her mum bought from Boots.
    Her sister, Carol, was the posh one in the family. She’d married a teacher. He was now a headmaster, and somehow this had changed things. Carol had lunch and dinner now. Therest of the family were still happy with dinner and tea, with sometimes the odd bit of supper too. Carol no longer liked a bargain, she liked value for money. Carol used napkins at every meal. The rest of the family used kitchen roll, but only on special occasions.
    Carol had not been happy when Keith left Lisa. She took it as a personal slight. In fact, as she took it so badly, Lisa felt she had to play down the whole thing. Lisa had to pretend it didn’t matter much. She pretended that selling her house, going out to work and being alone was all OK. She didn’t want to upset Carol any more. She was sick of Carol ranting.
    But it did matter.
    John,