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give me chance to get myself together.’
    ‘There was a time when you would notice something like that straight away!’
    ‘Well, excuse me for not being the most perceptive man in the world! Your hair looks great, Isla. Sorry I did not notice it the second you walked into the room. Maybe you shouldn’t have distracted me with the pie if you wanted to be the centre of attention!’
    ‘Oh, that’s right, I think it’s all about me.’ Her hands were folded across her chest, her eyes locked onto Aiden in a death stare and her voice was now eerily calm. He hated women’s mood swings. He hated arguing because he knew that whatever he said was inevitably going to be the wrong answer.
    ‘It usually is always about you.’
    Now her eyes bulged with rage and the calmness was once again swept away by her anger.
    ‘Oh yes, Aid. Me, me me! We are here because of ME! Isn’t that right? How dare you! I moved
my life
for
you.
And this is how you repay me? Great! I’m trying my best to keep it together, this place is so unbelievably backwards, getting my hair done at least helps me get some sense of normality.’
    ‘Do you know how shallow that sounds?’
    ‘I do not care! I’m here and I’m really trying. I don’t want to become some housewife who fades into the background of your life!’
    ‘Isla, I see you. All I could think when I came in was how proud I was of you baking a pie, which is so much more important to me than your hair being immaculate. That is why we are here, to get our values right. You look beautiful to me no matter what. I don’t want Meegan to grow up being image-obsessed. I don’t want her to get sick like you did.’
    Isla’s eyes grew teary at the mention of her battle with anorexia which, while a distant memory, still had the power to cut her like a knife. Aiden crossed the space between them which was littered with insults and spite. He held his wife in his arms and kissed her new hair.
    ‘You look beautiful, baby, you always do.’ She was now crying into his shoulder.
    ‘It’s just hard, Aid,’ Isla spluttered through her tears. ‘This isn’t my home. Chicago was my home and I’m lonely here. I had a life, I had friends and now I have…nothing. I’m sorry, I’m just finding it hard to adjust.’
    ‘I know,’ Aiden whispered soothingly in to his wife’s ear. ‘It will take time, baby. We’ve just got to stick together.’
    ‘Mommy?’ Meegan was looking up at them, bewilderment in her little face and tears streaking her podgy cheeks.
    ‘Oh, baby girl,’ Isla gasped, hurriedly wiping the tears from her own cheeks.
    ‘What…is…wrong?’ the little girl sobbed, the confusion of seeing her mother cry overwhelming her.
    ‘Nothing, honey.’ Isla was now hugging her little girl as her sobs turned into hiccups.
    ‘Daddy told Mommy he was going to eat the whole pie because it looks so good and I’m very hungry,’ Aiden offered as an explanation.
    ‘No!’ Meegan screamed and started hitting his legs in fury.
    ‘Hey,’ he protested, grabbing her little arms mid-punch. ‘I’m sure that there is enough for us all to share, you and Mommy did a great job and I’m very proud.’
    Isla smiled warmly at them both.
    ‘And doesn’t Mommy look super pretty with her hair?’
    ‘Oh yes.’ Meegan was now smiling again. Aiden felt exhausted; living with two women was far from easy.
    ‘They made my nails pink!’ She showed her dad her tiny nails which now glistened and sparkled. He hid his true feelings with a smile as he couldn’t handle another argument. Meegan was two; she didn’t need to be getting caught up in all that beauty stuff yet. He would discuss it with Isla another time. For now, they were going to enjoy a nice family evening together.
    As they sat down to eat that evening, rain began splashing against the windows with a sudden fury, the tension in the air finally lifted.

Chapter Three: Little Miss Southern Star
    Aiden took a long drink from his coffee and looked