STARS In Her Eyes

Dean how he is a hundred times, but things are still a bit of a shambles to be honest.

Dean' s distant, the kids are just¼ weird¼ and I feel like the house is increasingly spinning out of control.'

Ha!' exploded from Alice' s lungs. That' s family for you. You wait until the house needs a few upgrades. You wait until the kids start noticing the opposite sex, staying out late and dabbling in all kinds of things they shouldn' t. You wait until Dean discovers model railways!

Still, I do have a method I' ve used over the years to stay rational as you put it. I' ll go and fetch it.'

Alone, Laura gulped down tea, feeling light-headed.

Please give me something amazing,' she muttered.

Alice returned with a rolled up laminated sheet of paper under her arm and a little tin box in hand. When she unrolled the paper on to the table, it threatened to roll right back up again. So she anchored it in place, the salt pot at one end, the pepper at the other. Then she opened the box. Inside lay hundreds of tiny coloured stars.

Oh!' Laura' s lip trembled in dismay. It' s a star chart.'

It' s served me well over the years.' Alice beamed.

But Laura couldn' t find a smile herself. Her grin was as burnt out as a blown light bulb.

Now, don' t look like that. You haven' t tried it yet!' Alice railed. Don' t dismiss anything until you' ve given it a go.'

What' s that?' asked Dean when Laura tacked the chart up in the kitchen.

She placed it symbolically over the bin, since it would likely end up nestled between broken egg shells and mouldy tea bags.

Your mum gave it to me I have to fill it in. I assume you remember it from when you were a boy?'

Nope,' he said as she pulled out a Chinagraph pencil from the box Alice had handed over.

Down the left-hand side she wrote in the names of her family. Then at the top, she added a list of misdemeanours and problems yelling, fighting, exam chaos, chores left undone, work stress and so on.

How does it work?' asked Dean. Aren' t you supposed to list good things, not bad?'

I' m not sure what I' m doing yet,' Laura confessed. I' m simply following your mother' s instructions.'

Does it all end in some kind of punishment?' he asked. Are you going to lock us all in the shed?'

Laura pressed her lips tight together. Had Alice meant for her to keep the thing in full view? Had she missed out on that advice? It seemed she might have kept the table of stars in a drawer for years if Dean knew nothing about it.

What the heck' s that, Mum?' Emma was next to see the kitchen' s new addition. She wandered in, carting a book. Can you tell Noah to shut up? I can' t concentrate when he' s playing stupid war games in his room. I' ve told him, like, 90 times. Why can' t he go outside and play in the road?'

I heard that!' Noah yelled from the hall. He came thundering in he never missed a chance to argue.

Aged 14 and 12, they always seemed at odds.

What' s that?' he asked when he also saw the chart, completely forgetting to start another row for at least 10 seconds.

Laura frowned, still not exactly sure what the chart meant either.

As Noah finally gave his sister a poke, and Dean wandered off perhaps to indeed look into the joys of

model railways she realised how fast the columns would fill up.

Stop arguing, you two!'

She picked up a blue star, moistened the glue on the back and pressed it on to the plastic to record their battle.

You can do this, she told herself. Even as she thought it, the thud of music from next door interrupted. She closed her eyes and cursed.

She hadn' t put their neighbours on her visual aid yet.

You two behave. I have to go next door to have a word,' she said to her children.

She called out the same to Dean as she passed him.

It won' t do any good,' he replied. I tried earlier this morning.'

I' m going anyway.'

On her way out, Laura set her shoulders back and told herself: Two weeks!

Alice had insisted most firmly before she left her bungalow: Report back to me in a fortnight and we' ll see if the chart' s made any headway. It won' t be easy. In fact, it will be hard for a big softie like you.'

Fourteen days later on Saturday, inside ringing Alice' the Laura bell. s porch found again, herself

You' re back!' The older woman said when she answered the door.

She guided Laura inside, making her usual pit stop at the lounge where her husband sat.

We' re in the kitchen, pet.

Knock if you want to come in. This is girl talk.'

Once inside their hideyhole, Laura sat blowing out sighs, her hands in her lap. Go on then, tell me,' Alice urged as she filled the

Well, the kids still argue. Dean' s still doing overtime and refuses to talk about confronting his boss, and the neighbours still have no idea how much their noise

drives everybody round the bend. I' ve told them a million times. I think the council needs to get involved.'

I see,' Alice nodded. Then she pulled two mugs from the mug tree and fished out tea bags from a box. Now tell me the really important stuff.'

Laura hesitated. I' ve got to be honest, Alice. I' ve been struggling with all of this, just the way you said I would. I haven' t even done any of the big radical stuff you suggested yet. Though I think I' ve progressed a little.' I can tell just by looking at you, you' re doing fine,' Alice reassured. Now tell me, did you work out what all your stars ought to mean? They won' t mean the same to me as they do to you.' get Laura it all nodded, straight in pausing her head. to A blue one means I can have a sneaky bar of chocolate somewhere private or I can even take a nap. A red one means I can have a treat, like a cut and blow-dry or my nails done. Silver means I can buy something to wear, or I can read a book in the bath. I can, if I like, accumulate the stars one blue, one red and one silver make a gold.

A gold star includes spa days or a trip to the cinema alone, or maybe even a little holiday with the girls.' She swallowed dryly. Only, like I said, I' m struggling with all of this. So are Dean, Emma and Noah. I haven' t explained anything, so they haven' t got a clue what' s going on.

It feels so selfish. It' s my Treat Chart after all. Their misbehaviour and all the stress it causes fills it, and then I reap the rewards.

It has definitely changed my attitude to problems somewhat though. I feel a lot stronger in fact.'

Of course you do,' said Alice. It was very hard to carry on pouring from an empty cup. Now yours is filling up a tiny bit.' She filled up the mugs as if to mark her point, then carried the tea over. So when' s this little holiday of yours?'

Oh, I don' t think I' ll really go that far. A break would be hellish to organise. My friends have kids and husbands too, and their own problems stacking up.'

ÔIÕ ve got to be honest, Alice. IÕ ve been struggling with all of this, just the way you said I wouldÕ

Alice pouted as she sat down. And they' re not looking after themselves properly either, are they?'

Well, no. Not really.' Laura could only agree.

Alice smiled. Do you want to the see the photos of me and the girls in Alicante? I was about your age at the time.'

You went to Alicante?' Laura eyes widened. How many stars is that?'

As few as you like.' Alice' s smile turned fox-sly. You made all the rules for yourself when you married Dean and got yourself into this mess. Now you can change all the rules.

I' m giving myself a red star for this lot. I' m off to the hairdressers as a reward. What do they say these days

you' re worth it! It' s such a shame beginners like you need a star chart to prove it.'