“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell any of us you couldn’t swim.”
I watch her shrug but don’t miss the twitch of her lip.
“Really? A little hard to admit when you’re surrounded by the university’s team of elite swimmers.Oh guys, by the way, I can’t swim.” She chuckles again, the sound filling the air. “And it wasn’t a case of not being able to swim. I could manage the basic strokes. I learned those at school. I just needed to be where I could put my feet down.”
This is nothing new. I quizzed her about it after the event. With her mum always working and money tight, there’d been no after-school swimming lessons for Pen. It was the first time I realised how privileged I was and why it became our mission to ensure Pen could confidently swim by the end of the summer.
“If I remember. It was the perfect trade-off. I helped you with your coding, and you taught me to swim. A win-win.”
My chest aches as memories of our time together. She shuffles forward, making herself level with me, her feet now on the floor.
“I can’t believe that was sixteen years ago,” she says wistfully. “We were all so young and carefree.”
“Life is very different now,” I mumble.
Silence descends as we stare at the water.
“The wedding was beautiful,” Pen says eventually.
“Very different to mine, you mean,” I say.
I sense Pen turning her head towards me.
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
I turn my head to face her, our eyes locking. “But it’s true.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you and Darra,” Pen says.
“Are you?”
She pauses as if weighing up her answer. She sighs. “No.”
It’s my turn to chuckle. “Always brutally honest.”
Pen shrugs. “I didn’t like the way she treated people. You most of all, but it wasn’t my business. She gave you Lottie, and she’s the best of both of you.”
My heart warms at her words, but my chest constricts. Would she say that if she knew the truth? Pen’s love for my daughter, her goddaughter is renowned. She’s stepped in over the years and supported her, been like a second mother when Darra was too wrapped up in herself.
I shudder to think what would have happened if Pen had been in the country the day Lottie overheard Darra and me. It would have been Pen who Lottie ran to, and that would have been more serious than Gabriel and Leah.
“Good to know,” I say.
“So what next?” Pen asks. “You’ve clearly dismissed hooking up with any of thesocial climbers. What are your plans while Lottie’s away?”
“The usual,” I admit. “Run my company. We have a release going out. I may take Gabriel up on his offer to attend boys’ night.”
“Ah, the infamousboys’ nights.You should. They’re fun, and it will get you out.I’m going to miss the girls’ night equivalent.”
I know from Leah and April that Pen is part of their girl squad.
“How are your wedding plans coming along?”
Pen groans.
“Sorry.”
She sighs. “I can’t believe it’s been seven years since we last chatted like this.”
