From Jamie Burchell’s Twitter feed:
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Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

Happiness is – taking care of the world’s sweetest 20-month-old! 

Elsje Steenkamp @newbiemama

@jamieburchell Ha! I take care of a 22mo every single day and he drives me completely up the wall. #noveltyvalueover

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

@newbiemama I know! It’s way harder than I expected. But still … I’m so, so happy!!

Elsje Steenkamp @newbiemama

@jamieburchell Hmmph! I bet he’s been on his best behaviour for you.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

@newbiemama Well, let’s see what he’s done so far, shall we? Refused to eat his veggies. Chucked food on the floor… (contd)

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

@newbiemama …flooded bathroom floor during bathtime and pulled towel into water. Insisted on being carried for a solid hour – screamed if I put him down… (contd)

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

@newbiemama …screamed when I tried to read the book his father picked out.

Insisted on Room on the Broom – 4x over. I know that book by heart now.

Elsje Steenkamp @newbiemama

@jamieburchell LOL! Sounds like an average Thursday night at our place.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

@newbiemama I’m exhausted. Don’t know how you mums do it every day.

Bronwyn Jones @redhighheels

@jamieburchell @newbiemama Try doing it all on zero hours sleep a night.

My toddler STILL doesn’t sleep through.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

@redhighheels @newbiemama That would be a challenge all right. 

Nomsa Mahlape @nomnom

@jamieburchell @redhighheels Hah! You think that’s bad? Try a toddler who doesn’t sleep through at night AND a new baby. #goingcrazyhere

Jamie put her phone down. If you spent long enough on Twitter, you’d always find someone worse off than you were. She couldn’t imagine – literally couldn’t comprehend – doing everything she’d just done for Ben while also being responsible for a new baby and knowing she wasn’t going to get much sleep that night. It was a recipe for madness.

But her happy glow remained. She’d done it. She’d taken care of Ben’s evening routine all on her own, and he’d been quiet for nearly an hour now.

“I didn’t do too badly, did I?” she asked the dog sprawled at her feet.

Silver sighed and settled as Jamie nudged her with a toe. Jamie sighed too. Then reached into her pocket as an incoming text sounded on her phone.

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Tom let himself quietly into the house. Closing the door behind him, he stood and listened, alert for telltale sounds of misery from his son. There wasn’t a peep. Jamie had texted him updates throughout the evening so he knew Ben was fed, cleaned, pyjama’d, bedtime-storied, and allegedly in bed. He also knew that Ben had a habit of getting out of bed long after he was supposed to be asleep.

Bypassing the living room where he could see Silver sprawled out on the rug, Jamie’s sock-clad feet resting on her furry haunch, Tom climbed the stairs to his son’s bedroom. The door was ajar and the nightlight was on. Ben was sprawled sideways across the racing car bed he’d recently graduated to. His head was touching the wall and his feet were resting on the side safety rail. Tom’s hands itched to rearrange him and pull the duvet over him, but that would be playing with fire. A Ben woken up at night was a Ben who was very difficult to get back to sleep.

Exhaling, Tom backed out of the room.

He could get used to this, he realised as he went back down the stairs. He could get used to coming home at night to find that someone else had taken over the evening chores for him. Cooked dinner too, judging from the smells that were coming from the kitchen. Just the knowledge that he wasn’t solely responsible for Ben’s welfare was somehow comforting.

And because part of him wanted to embrace that comfort – wanted to share the responsibility and accept the help offered – he hardened his heart. Nothing lasted forever, he knew, and step-parent relationships were especially brittle. This was strictly a once-off event. If Jamie thought this would become a regular thing, he needed to set her straight.

But Jamie wasn’t thinking about Ben at all. The text she’d just received had pushed everything else out of her mind.

As he walked into the living room, she turned a beaming face towards him. “Hey, how was your lecture?”

“It went off very well, thanks.”

“That’s great! I’m so glad you could do it. Everything’s okay here. Ben’s fine. He ate well – after I managed to convince him the vegetables weren’t actually poisoned. We had fun. He’s been asleep since half past seven.”

“Yes … well … actually, I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Guess what just happened?” Tom frowned. “I have no idea.”

“I’ve been invited to be on television!”

“Television?” Tom rubbed a hand over his face, trying to switch gears. “Okay, television. That sounds like fun. Why have you been invited to be on television? Hey, is this about your book?”

Jamie smiled at his enthusiasm, but shook her head. “No, not my book. It’s about the stalker. The producer of the Kathy Kelly Show just texted me. She caught my interview on the radio. She wants to do a show about stalking, and she wants me to be on it. It’ll be some time after Christmas. I’m going to be on live TV!”

“Wow, really?” Tom wasn’t sure which part of this disturbed him the most, so he zeroed in on a detail. “How did she get your cellphone number?”

“From my website, of course.”

“You put your private cellphone number on your website?” He just shook his head when she nodded. “You must get an unbelievable amount of spam.”

“I suppose I do, but I’m used to it by now.”

“It’s actually kind of surprising you’ve only managed to pick up one measly stalker in your life so far. I’d have thought you’d have a whole bunch by now.”

“Ha ha. Very amusing.”