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LITTLE DEVIL - WHO'S WHO

The grown-ups…

In the beginning
Will Crowe and Adrian Bishop met at college but it wasn’t through academia they hit it off. It was the social life and the shared spirit of fun that meant they ended up sharing a student flat with a few other lads, and got up to as much of the traditional badness as they could – but they were always a bit of an odd couple – Will could be uptight and diligent, with Adrian flash and impetuous trying to lead him astray. Will didn’t need much persuading; they were partners in crime, until, not long after leaving college, Will met Laura and they decided to marry (Adrian the best man, naturally).

Will Crowe
Will was a career teacher from the outset; diligent, accommodating, passionate and smart; and he quickly gathered promotion points and, after ten years teaching he was an excellent Vice Principal. Five years ago he landed the job of Head Teacher at his current comprehensive school, and they didn’t know what hit them.

But after the first few years of making an impact, Will settled into a routine. He was never lazy, but has become increasingly sedentary and hard to inspire or shift from the safety of his status quo. He’s not good at taking advice, he is a control freak, and patience was never one of his virtues. So now Will, at work, as in most other aspects of his life, has become stuck.

Laura Crowe
Although without a university education, Laura discovered a natural flair in the low-level business world, and showed real promise as a book-keeper for a large retail company – until she became pregnant. This annoyed her, but she and Will did plan to have kids while they were young, so any disappointment quickly dissipated.

With Will’s blessing Laura soon launched herself into the workplace to find there was no shortage of opportunity for her. In fact, she was set for a significant promotion when she became pregnant for the third time. It wasn’t planned, and this time she really was pissed off. Jackie and Martin were still pretty demanding, so the stress on the family was significant. Laura’s career took a back seat again, and she resented the sacrifice. They discussed child-minding, nannies and crèches for Ollie at a very young stage, but neither really wanted that, preferring him to have the same full-time mother the other two had, at least until he’s at primary school. It was five years ago that Laura got her life back. Will discouraged her from taking a full-time job so she tried to content herself in various part-time book-keeping jobs, but found them deeply unsatisfying. So when, three years ago, Adrian casually dangled a temporary full-time post, she leapt at it.

Will and Laura Crowe
Laura and Will met soon after college – she was taken by his bright-eyed idealistic passion – and him, by her wit and determination. It was a whirlwind romance, but there was never any doubt with either of them that this was a chance not to be missed. As newly weds they had a humble life, but with Laura’s keen eye for financial planning, and Will’s anal analysis of their situation, they were able to acquire a lovely house in the suburbs. Cash would be tight for a while, but, while not flash or huge, it was the house of their dreams and they knew it was worth it.

Adrian and Katie Bishop
Adrian continued enjoying the single life for years after college, but when he saw his best mate flourishing as a father and family man he found it harder to deny he had those aspirations too.

And then he met Katie when she thrashed him on the squash court. Finally here was someone who could match his competitive bite – and she could see right through his bullshit too. Anybody could see they were made for each other, although Adrian did his best to resist, so it took Katie to dump him in humiliation and be found kissing her tennis coach for him to face facts and propose marriage. It’s always been a fiery relationship, at first they seemed to do nothing but argue and have sex, but they did make a very good team.

Adrian was over the moon when she became pregnant as he would not have to bother with all the domestic stuff. Adrian’s had a few flings with other women while married but Katie only found out about one. And it took some negotiating for her to give him a second chance. they’ve settled down again to some degree, but to be truthful she’s never really forgiven him. And she’s made it clear – one more strike and he’s out.

The foursome It was being married fathers that brought Will and Adrian closer again. Will had lived vicariously through Adrian’s exploits to a degree, but it all seemed safer now they were equals treading the same furrow. The two families spent increasing amounts of time together, the closest of friends, even sharing family holidays when Ollie and Zoe were very young.

So now Adrian sees Laura at work every day, Zoe sees Oliver at school, Katie often picks Ollie up from school and minds him until teatime, so there’s regular contact between sets of parents when collecting the children, Will and Adrian might get a pint every six weeks to watch the rugby, and they’re all together once a month or so for Sunday lunch. Very cosy indeed…

The kids… Oliver Crowe
Ollie’s a good kid really but the imminent collapse of his parent’s marriage puts him in a spin. He’s not exactly sure his family is normal, but then he’s not sure that any family is. He’s definitely aware that he was an afterthought; his older siblings make sure of that! The way he sees it, he’s either ignored or he’s the centre of attention, usually because he’s done something wrong! It’s never a happy medium.

As his parent’s marriage begins to fall apart, Ollie’s convinced that it’s his fault; he’s the one that makes them angry and that’s why he decides that it’s up to him to get them back together. He reckons that, if he’s very, very, good, they’ll have nothing to row about, it doesn’t occur to him that Bill and Laura’s relationship crisis has deeper roots.

When his strategy fails miserably Ollie turns to Zoe for help, she’s always been the one with all the answers and together they decide that if being good doesn’t work it’s time to turn the tables…time to be really, really, horrid.

Zoe Bishop
Zoe’s wise beyond her years, she’s Ollie’s trusted guru and the one that convinces him that he’s the only one that will be able to get his parent’s back together. Her extensive reading of Marie Claire proves invaluable – who ever knew that problem pages could be such a useful measure for relationships. Zoe’s a chip off the old block and if getting her parent’s back together involves playing them off against each other, then that’s what she’ll have to do.

Behind the hyper-mature attitude however Zoe’s much more vulnerable than she’d ever admit and when Ollie finally loses it, so does Zoe and her parents realise that behind her precocious demeanour she’s just a little girl that doesn’t want her family to fall apart.

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