Kate smiled...

Kate smiled as she peeled the potatoes, looking forward to the rich mash she would soon be serving up on her kitchen table. Her two children, Ruby and Louis, loved potatoes – though would probably be less impressed by the lamb chops. Not to worry, her husband Peter adored them and would happily consume whatever the children left.

She had no regrets about her new life in the country. Occasionally she would smile about past times in London, the men, the clothes, the occasional drug use. And the dancing, she did miss the dancing. But she was a great believer that properly saying goodbye to things was the best way of keeping life fresh and meaningful. It was a maxim that had stood her in good stead over the years. The important thing was to remember to say hello to something new.

Peter worked in the city, nothing too fancy – statistical analysis. It brought in a steady wage of a £100,000 a year…a lot, she guessed, but by no means a grotesque amount. Despite the recession he seemed fairly sure his job would survive – people still needed to know what the figures meant, perhaps more so now than ever.

She peeled each potato till it was gleaming white, then placed it in a pan which was half full of cold water. She worked over a colander, so when she was finished she could quickly transfer the content to the compost barrel just to the left of the kitchen door. If there was any mash left over they could fry it up for breakfast and have it with beans and egg. It was Saturday tomorrow and they usually had a fry up to get the weekend off to a good start.

Peter had just rung confirming that he’d got on the earlier train so they could all eat together; she hoped to have the food ready as soon as he got in. In order to stop the grill getting too dirty she decided to cook the chops in the oven – it took a bit longer but, in her opinion, made the meat more juicy.