He spat it out into his hands.
‘Oh dear. Clearly not a fan,’ Maya laughed.
‘Maya made these especially, Finn,’ I chided. ‘They look delicious.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Maya showed him where the bin was. ‘Maybe he’d prefer one of the muffins.’ She offered him the plate and Finn didn’t need to be told twice as he grabbed one and started wolfing into it.
‘Can we go now?’ he asked when he had finished eating it, littering crumbs all over the pristine floor.
‘Come on, Finn.’ I nudged him. ‘We’ve only just arrived. Why don’t you go back and play with Elliot.’ I looked over and saw he was playing by himself with a talking robot.
Reluctantly, Finn walked back over and picked up a Transformer and began folding its legs. I watched then as Elliot lunged at him and tugged the toy from his grasp. Finn didn’t put up a fight and let the toy crash to the floor.
‘I’m sorry,’ Maya said, jumping up. ‘Elliot, you have to share. Finn came here today to play with you but you’re not being a very nice friend.’ The child looked as though he was about to cry and Maya softened. ‘Look, honey, why don’t you show Finn that new car that you got for your birthday?’
Finn looked over at me pleadingly.
‘Go on, sweetie,’ I encouraged, ‘that sounds really fun.’
Reluctantly, he followed Elliot out towards the patio area. Manicured flower beds unblemished by weeds surrounded the sandstone paving and clusters of white mop-headed hydrangeas still clung on to the last of their flowers. Wicker baskets with olive trees gave the patio an intimate feel. All the plants were carefully curated in shades of white and green. I guessed Maya must have spent a fortune on the landscaping. There was alarge, oval-shaped table that could easily sit twenty people. At the other end of the patio was a covered outdoor kitchen and bar area with a fridge. They obviously liked hosting friends, I thought.
‘I’m sorry about that,’ Maya said as the boys went outside. ‘Sometimes, it takes Elliot a little while to warm up. Maybe it’s because he’s an only child.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ We watched as Elliot opened the door of the red, battery-operated toy Ferrari two-seater sports car. ‘That’s really cool,’ I remarked.
‘Isn’t it the cutest thing? Elliot loves it. He has been tearing around the garden on it since he got it. He has my flower beds destroyed.’ She laughed. I couldn’t see any damage to the perfect garden but I laughed along with Maya anyway.
I thought about my own postage-stamp-sized garden at home. I would love to get a car like this for Finn but we didn’t have the space, let alone the money.
We looked through the French doors as Finn followed the boy over to the toy car and pulled the door to get into the passenger seat. Elliot reached across from the driver’s seat and held it closed. Finn tried again but Elliot refused to let him into the car.
‘Oh dear,’ Maya said apologetically. ‘Let me go have a word with him. He isn’t usually like this.’
‘They’re five-year-olds,’ I said breezily with a wave of my hand. ‘That’s what they do.’
‘Well, still, it doesn’t excuse him being mean to Finn.’
Maya went outside to the patio and I watched as she crouched down to her son’s level and spoke to him. I saw her gesture towards the toy car and then to Finn before picking herself up and returning to the kitchen.
‘I’m sorry about that, Liv. Hopefully, I’ve got through to him now. I think he’s picking up on everything going on betweenHugo and I, you know…’ she said glumly. ‘He’s too young to express it properly but I think it’s upsetting him which is why he acts out.’
‘The poor mite,’ I said sympathetically.
Just then, Finn wandered back into the kitchen. ‘Elliot won’t let me go in the car, Mammy.’
‘Oh, honey,’ Maya rushed in. ‘I’m so sorry, he’s being very naughty today.’
‘Finn is okay, there are lots of other toys that he can play with.’ I turned to my son. ‘Look, sweetheart, why don’t you go play with that cool remote-control robot over there?’ I suggested. I had noticed him eyeing it up when Elliot was playing with it but Finn wouldn’t budge.
‘I want to go home, Mammy.’
‘But I haven’t even finished my coffee.’
‘I want to gonow,’ he said, impatiently tugging on my cardigan.
‘Okay, love, we’ll go in a few minutes,’ I said to appease him, hoping in the meantime that he might get distracted and start playing with the toys.
‘No, Mammy, I don’t like it here!’ he protested.
