Impartial & supportive marriage advice throughout all stages
Helping Britain to build back better
Greater personal tax allowances & financial protection
Smart Marriages are dependent on your coupling remaining strong and stable. Failure may result in mandatory divorce and the loss of your home and other Smart Marriage benefits.
www.smartmarriage.co.uk
1
Roxi
Roxi glared in disbelief at the YouTube video playing onher tablet. ‘How the hell has she bagged that?’ she muttered.
Walking across the white sandy beaches of one of the Maldives’ islands, an energetic young woman gesticulated with the gusto of a children’s television presenter as she described to the camera the soaring temperatures and natural beauty of the tropical paradise.
‘If your bingo wings flap any faster you’ll be airborne,’ Roxi continued as the camera panned out to focus on the luxury resort.
Autumn Taylor’s tan was rich and her skin glowing, her hair was immaculately coiffed and, despite her claims of having only just woken up, her make-up was flawless. She clenched a tube of sunscreen in one hand and, in the other, a bottle of water. Both labels faced the lens.
Roxi paused the video, picked up her phone, opened the Notes App and began to dictate. ‘Sunglasses: Prada. Bikini: Harper Beckham. Sunblock: Nivea. Mineral water: Acqua Panna. Tits: sponsor unknown.’
She glanced at the data surrounding the Vlogger’s online channel, titled Autumn’s Endless Summer. It contained forty-two videos shot around the world in Bali, India, Fiji Islands, the Seychelles, Musha Cay and Bora Bora. Her most recent clip, posted yesterday, had already garnered more than a million views. Her position as one of the world’s top ten Influencers ruffled Roxi’s feathers every time she thought about it. Which was frequently.
Autumn’s content was a far cry from the videos Roxi had been editing that morning in an overcast New Northampton. Yesterday, she had been wandering around the shop floor of a discount home and fashion outlet discussing the week’s new best buys. She’d made sure to use the key words and phrases in every Influencer’s dictionary – ‘hey guys’, ‘community’, ‘get ready with me’, ‘collab’, ‘challenge’ and ‘haul’ – and with the same enthusiasm as booking a French Airbnb and being handed the keys to the Palace of Versailles.
Her footage had been shot on a camera phone and lit with a portable LED ring light, both operated by her reluctant offspring Darcy and Josh. The end result was as far removed from Autumn’s high production values as the sun and the moon. And when Roxi had briefly dragged her daughter in front of the lens, no amount of sharp editing could disguise Darcy’s thunderous expression. She would rather be burning in the fiery flames of hell than be in Costland.
‘I don’t even get why you’re making videos,’ Darcy had moaned, her negativity buzzing in Roxi’s ear like a trapped mosquito. ‘Nobody watches your Vlogs.’
‘Let’s try a little positivity, shall we?’ Roxi had replied. ‘One hashtag seen by a PR could change everything.’
‘You’re far too old for this.’
‘Jem Jones isn’t much younger than me.’
‘She’s a dinosaur but at least she’s a dinosaur people give a damn about.’
‘I have twelve thousand combined social media followers.’
‘Is that all?’ Darcy had laughed. ‘That dog with the lazy eye and patch on its back that looks like Prince Louis has more followers than you. Vlogging isn’t going to make you famous. You’re embarrassing yourself.’
‘Shall I tell you what embarrassing is?’ Roxi had retaliated. ‘You turning up at school tomorrow with no phone because it’s been taken away from you as punishment for not doing as you’re told. Now be a good little girl, shut up and point that camera at me when I tell you.’
‘I hate you,’ Darcy had muttered.
‘The feeling’s mutual, darling.’
It wasn’t, but Roxi couldn’t deny that when children had appeared in her world, her former life had swiftly crumbled. Even now, she was struggling to rebuild it. And she quietly resented them for it.
Watching Autumn’s video was forcing Roxi to accept that, despite her best efforts, her clip lacked excitement in the subject matter. Not even a warm colour filter, background music and a screen filled with positive emojis could save it. The Taylors of this virtual universe received beautifully boxed high-end fashion, jewellery, luxury holidays and perfumes. The Roxis received non-aspirational products like espadrilles, panty liners and renewable wooden cases for Audites, the mandatory Artificial Intelligence-powered personal assistants installed in all Smart Marriage homes. Regardless, she was always the consummate professional, reminding herself that even Jem Jones had started somewhere.
Today, though, Autumn’s video had pushed her to the edge. She made a snap decision and hit the delete button. There would be no more clips like this.
Darcy had been partially to blame for her mother’s Vlogging. Twelve years earlier, her daughter hadn’t been the easiest of infants, thanks to colic, reflux, eczema and frequent sleep regressions. Roxi had spent many a sleepless night online searching for advice. And there’d been a video or a Vlog for just about every ailment known to babykind. But very few of these Influencers had resembled her. They weren’t sleep-deprived mums in torn joggers and threadbare jumpers that hid their lumps and bumps. They didn’t tie their hair up in scrunchies or go outside with make-up free faces. They were immaculately turned-out domestic goddesses living their best, filter-lensed lives. Roxi had subscribed to their channels, bookmarked their pages, lived vicariously through their videos and photos, queued at their book signings and voted for them as they competed on reality TV shows. They became friends Roxi had yet to meet.
But, over time, envy had replaced her fascination. Why were they travelling the world, eating at the best restaurants, wearing the most sought-after outfits, while she was doing the school run in decade-old elasticated jeans and returning home to piles of dirty washing? Against the chaos and disorder of her early years, she had found normality in two children and a husband. Only it wasn’t enough. She needed something else, something more.
