Lauren, am I glad to see you,’ confessed Kezzie. ‘I couldn’t face the thought of an evening at home alone, but I was a bit nervous about coming in here on my own.’
‘No need to worry,’ said Lauren, ‘the natives are quite friendly. I’ll introduce you to some. What are you having?’
‘Lager, thanks,’ said Kezzie.
Several lagers and some introductions later, Kezzie found herself in the middle of a lively group of locals, including John Townley (whom Lauren had whispered she should avoid like the plague), the eponymous Keith of the café fame, who was an ex-fashion designer and full of outrageous stories about some of the rich and famous he’d encountered in his previous line of work, and a couple of cheery builders who tried it on, but cheerfully accepted the knockback Kezzie gave them. She’d have felt awkward being the only woman, but luckily Eileen arrived with a man called Tony. They seemed to know everyone, so Kezzie soon felt accepted into the crowd. She had a fun and raucous evening, and felt fairly sozzled by the time she left at the end of Lauren’s shift, which somehow carried on until gone midnight.
‘What time were you supposed to finish?’ Kezzie asked Lauren as they walked up the hill together.
‘Eleven,’ said Lauren, ‘but Andy and Sally are good at disappearing when I need them. They only made an appearance at the end because it got so busy.’
‘You shouldn’t put up with it,’ said Kezzie. ‘You’re far too nice. I told Joel so today. He takes advantage of you.’
‘Oh, you didn’t!’ Lauren looked mortified.
‘Well, he was out of order,’ said Kezzie. ‘I felt so embarrassed when I realized you’d made all those sandwiches for us. There was no need.’
‘Habit,’ said Lauren. ‘I was pissed off, I don’t deny it. The trouble with Joel is, he can be so hopeless sometimes it’s easy to fall into the habit of looking after him.’
‘Oh, is it now?’ said Kezzie, resolving never to do the same. ‘Well you shouldn’t; you should stick up for yourself more.’
‘I know,’ said Lauren. ‘Easier said than done, though.’
Kezzie thought back to how pathetic she’d become around Richard. ‘True,’ she said. ‘We should be women, not wimps.’
‘Yeah, right!’ said Lauren, laughing at Kezzie as she fumbled for her keys and brought out her lipstick by mistake. ‘Come on, let me help you inside.’
Kezzie giggled her head off as she and Lauren sorted out her keys. It reminded her of being out for the night with Flick. She said good night to Lauren and let herself in the cottage. For the first time since she’d been here, she didn’t feel quite so lonely.
Chapter Ten
Lauren was still smiling when she let herself in. As she absentmindedly tidied up toys in the lounge before going to bed, she thought to herself how much she had enjoyed Kezzie’s company. She realized with a jolt that apart from Eileen, she didn’t have many girlfriends. Those she’d made at uni had faded away after the twins were born, and her friends from home had all moved on. Despite the age difference between them, Claire had been a fantastic friend to her in the short time they’d known each other. It wasn’t just that they’d bonded over their children, Claire had been like the big sister Lauren had never had. But Claire was gone and had left a huge hole in Lauren’s life. No one could replace Claire of course, but Lauren hoped that she could become mates with Kezzie. It would be nice to have someone to share things with again.
Though it was late when Lauren went to bed, she felt unable to sleep. It felt strange without the twins in the house. It didn’t happen very often, but when her mum had the girls overnight Lauren missed them dreadfully. Added to which, whenever she shut her eyes a picture of Troy swam before her. To her annoyance, she realized half-forgotten desires were stirring. She’d put Troy firmly out of her mind for so long now, she’d convinced herself she was over him. But, dammit, there was a residual – who was she kidding – a strong attraction still. They had chemistry, always had. And it was that whole free-spirit nonsense that had attracted her in the first place. Of course, Lauren thought she’d be the one to tame him. And of course she’d been wrong. But maybe this time he really had changed. He did seem more grown up somehow. But then again, did the leopard change its spots?
She slept late in the morning, luxuriating in a rare opportunity to lie in, and enjoying the comfort of her double bed with its fresh linen and bright flowery bedspread. One of the luxuries of living without a man was that Lauren revelled in having a girlie bedroom, which made her feel relaxed and homely. The rest of the house was the same. Though there was the inevitable clutter that came from having small children in the house, Lauren had paid a lot of attention to having the house decorated brightly, with cheerful curtains and comfy rugs on the floors. Even though it was a rented house, and she didn’t have much money, Lauren wanted her home to be bright and homely, and for the most part she felt it was.
Lauren made herself a cup of tea, and went upstairs to have a shower. She had just turned it on, when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was her mum bringing the girls home, she threw a towel around her and leapt down the stairs.
‘Hi, Mum,’ she said, flinging the door wide open. Then, ‘Oh––’
On the doorstep stood Troy with a bunch of flowers, and closely following behind, walking up the garden path, was Joel with Sam under one arm, and another bunch of flowers under the other.
‘Blimey. You wait all your life for men to bring you bunches of flowers, then two arrive at once,’ she said weakly.
‘Who’s he?’ they said simultaneously.
‘Joel, this is Troy, the girls’ dad. Troy, this is Joel, I look after his son, Sam,’ said Lauren, feeling surreal. And then because she couldn’t think of anything else to say, added, ‘Would you both like a cup of tea?’
‘No, I’d best be off,’ said Joel, looking awkward. ‘I don’t want to disturb you when you’ve got guests.’
‘Troy’s not a guest,’ said Lauren automatically.
‘I just wanted to say sorry for being such a selfish sod yesterday. Here, take these, I hope you like them.’
Lauren leant forward to take the flowers. She was slightly staggered but pleasantly surprised that Joel had at least acknowledged he’d been a twat. As she did so, her towel came undone.
‘Oh, shit!’ she said, as she exposed herself to everyone in the Lane.
‘Nothing I haven’t seen before,’ said Troy, with a familiar look in his eye.
‘Now I really had better go,’ said Joel, looking mortified. Lauren pulled the towel tightly around herself again in confusion.
‘I knew you couldn’t resist me,’ continued Troy, as Joel walked away. ‘Is that cup of tea still on?’
‘Yes, I suppose so,’ said Lauren. ‘But I really am only offering tea.’
Joel, feeling like a total idiot after his botched attempt at apologizing to Lauren, went round to see Kezzie. She opened the door looking bleary eyed.
‘Mind if we come in?’ he said. ‘I just called on Lauren,
