Lipstick And Lullabies – Emma Whittaker

She blinked in the darkness and burrowed further into her pillow, disgruntled that he was trying his luck in the middle of the night. ‘I’m off,’ he said softly. ‘See you later.’ The collar of his shirt pressed against her skin and she forced her eyes open to see him leaning across the bed. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Got to be in London for eight-thirty, remember?’ ‘No…’ She rolled over to face him.

‘That’s next week, you said.’ ‘This is next week,’ Eric sniggered. ‘Time sure flies when you’re having fun.’ ‘But I thought you meant…’ ‘Next week as in, the one after this week?’ Leah nodded blearily and turned on the bedside light. ‘Anyway, you’ll be OK, won’t you? Just don’t forget the whistle, it really helps with his recall.’

‘Seriously?’ She slumped against the headboard, noting the time was only just after six in the morning. ‘What if he runs off or something? If I lose grip of that pushchair up a hill, Kiki’s going to…’ ‘Can’t you give her to Nana?’ ‘No, Eric, I can’t. Mum’s got a church thing on, so that leaves me stuck with the pair of them!’ ‘Look, I have to run. My train leaves in twenty-five minutes.’ He kissed her forehead and slid guiltily into his suit jacket.

‘You’ve got this. I’ll be back in time to take him out tonight.’ He turned to give her a last encouraging glance, but she wasn’t letting him walk out of there thinking she was fine. The fragility that consumed her at every new challenge was flooding back as she thought of her day ahead.

While Eric would be kicking back on the train, scrolling through the news with a coffee cup keeping his hands warm, she would probably get stuck in the back of beyond, searching for a lost puppy with a toddler in tow.

First published worldwide by SRL Publishing in 2026 Copyright © Emma Whittaker, 2026 The moral right by the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. ISBN: 978-1915-073-57-0 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

No part of this book shall be used in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence (AI) systems or technologies. SRL Publishing and Pen Nib logo are registered trademarks owned by SRL Publishing Ltd. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

SRL Publishing is a climate positive publisher, offsetting more carbon emissions than it emits. This is for Margaret, the most inspirational and wonderful mother in the world. And in loving memory of Christina, always in our hearts x OceanofPDF.com One In the blink of an eye, mascara was a memory, flushed away with the figure-hugging dresses and glossy red lips of the past.

These days it was an accomplishment if Leah managed face cream before her daughter’s tantrums reached the pitch that could send social services to the door. She abandoned the dressing table once again, throwing on a tattered hoodie and wiping her tears with the cuffs. ‘It’s OK…’ she sniffed, reaching for Kiki as she thrashed and howled on the floor. ‘I’ve got you.’ She fastened her into the car seat, and even that was a chore. Arms and legs smacking into her face and her back arching in protest as she wrestled with the straps.

‘You think I want to go, either?’ Leah shouted, reversing off the drive and eyeing Kiki’s shrivelled face in the rearview mirror. ‘I can’t do a thing anymore. Can’t take you anywhere because you never stop!’ She slammed on the brakes just in time, as a car slowed in front of her. ‘See? I can’t even drive properly now.’ She sobbed. ‘It’s me that needs a healthcare check, not you!’

Sucking in a slow breath, she moved forward and tried to stay calm, hating herself for being so angry when Kiki was tiny and defenceless. But life was impossibly hard. No struggling mother should suffer in silence. It was the golden rule of every parenting handbook. But the only thing lonelier than being stuck at home with a screaming baby was taking her out in public.

Routine health checks like this one were the worst, forcing her into a community where she didn’t belong.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: f4796f1e4bf61416
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,594,966 bytes (1.521 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781915073570
• Pages: 319
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 494.31 minutes
• Total Words: 98,863
• Total Characters: 552,181
• Average Words per Page: 309.92
• Average Characters per Page: 1730.97

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