Annabel heavedher shopping onto the kitchen counter, to say she felt tired was an understatement. She didn’t know why seeing Dan with that woman had affected her so much, but she’d struggled to sleep properly since. On top of that, she now had an abundance of this flower and that flower crowding her head. She sighed. With a last minute wedding to provide for, she certainly had her workcutout.
She thought back to the young couple concerned, knowing her job would be a lot easier if they’d had the slightest idea as to the kind of design they wanted. Then again, she supposed their indecision was understandable. From what they’d said, their wedding did seem very last minute. And to be fair to the bride, she had given her a starting point. She’d said her favourite colourwasred.
Annabel’s heart sank.Red. Usually such an exciting and vibrant colour, moody even depending on the shade; today, however, it symbolisedfailure.
Up until now, she’d managed to keep a lid on her disappointment and, doing her best to quell it once again, told herself not to be silly. She’d known all along that getting pregnant wouldn’t be easy, her pragmatic side insisting only a fool would think otherwise. No, this morning’s bathroom visit didn’t really bring any great surprise. Her time of the month had arrived as it always did – even if it was a bit late on this occasion. Trying to be positive, Annabel told herself that thanks to today’s young couple, it was probably a good job anyway. With her current work load she didn’t have the time to deal with morning sickness, let alone to feel sorry forherself.
She scoffed. Maybe she should thank them for the welcomediversion.
Annabel forced all thoughts of pregnancy to the back of her mind. She refused to feel down and was determined to do the young couple proud; she let her mind drift back to the run up to her own wedding. She’d been so looking forward to their good old-fashioned elopement, followed by a weekend in bed. At least that had been the plan until Tom let slip what they were up to. She laughed. She should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to keep his excitement to himself. On the other hand, her soon-to-be husband should have known not to tell hismother.
The woman had always been one for great displays of emotion, especially when it came to getting her own way. ‘I want to sit at the top table,’ she’d said. ‘I want a bunch of flowers.’ Annabel recalled her frustration as, before she knew it, the date had been postponed and her mother-in-law had elected herself wedding planner, ensuring every man and his dog made up the invitation list.It’s funny how things turn out,she considered. Now Tom had gone, it was a day Annabel would be foreverthankfulfor.
She waited for the wave of loss that usually accompanied thoughts of her wedding, but this time it didn’t come. Yes, the sadness was still there, but she didn’t feel bowled over by it. Confused, half of her wondered if this was a good thing, a sign that, finally, she really was moving on. The other half felt like a traitor to her marriage. Something else Annabel didn’t want to thinkabout.
She turned her attention to the bag of shopping and the evening ahead. An evening that would no doubt finish the day in the same way it had started – miserably. Tempted to rearrange, she knew that would only be delaying the inevitable. She and Rebecca had to sort things out at some point and she supposed tonight was as good a nightasany.
Annabel emptied the bag’s contents, her purchases looked pitiful and she wished she’d made more of an effort. Not that there was anything she could do about it now. A bottle of wine and a couple of ready meals might not be up to her sister’s exacting standards, but, on this occasion, the woman would just have to like it or lump it. She imagined Rebecca going all out to produce some fabulous gourmet meal were she the host and not the guest. But trying not to be too hard on herself, it wasn’t as if Annabel hadn’t intended on delighting her sister’s taste buds. Wandering around the supermarket, her heart just hadn’t been in it. ‘You’ll have to do,’ she’d said, picking up a couple of lasagnes. However, looking at them now, sitting there waiting to be pierced and popped into the microwave, she couldn’t help but sigh. There was no way they were going to look as good on the plate as they did on thepackaging.
She put the bottle of white in the fridge and hoped it would cool sufficiently before Rebecca arrived. The food on offer might not be up to much but at least they could enjoy that. With a bit of luck, it would also help her sister loosen up enough to divulge whatever had been on her mind lately; a problem shared was a problem halved and all that. At any rate, that was the plan. After all, talking about Rebecca’s issues would keep them off the wholeDansubject. Annabel paused and realised that, compared to him, she’d spent the day feeling sorry for herself over nothing. Having to deal with his mother’s illness and find himself a wife. Now that was someone with a realproblem.
Annabel began to puncture the cellophane covering tonight’s dinners with a knife. At the same time, she recalled the other evening when she’d seen Dan with his mystery woman. For some reason it had made her feel uneasy, a strange reaction considering she’d known about his promise all along. Under the circumstances, of course he’d be out and about meeting people. She guessed she just hadn’t expected to witness this forherself.
She insisted that she was adult enough to know things could get messy, especially if he met someone he was interested in. Messy not just for herself, but for everyone concerned and standing there, Annabel had to wonder if the best, in fact, the only solution was to try and get another donor. She didn’t relish the prospect. Finding Dan in the first place had been embarrassing enough. More importantly, she had to admit that she didn’twantto find someone else. It was as if Dan wasn’t only helping her on the pregnancy front, he was helping her along in other ways too. Something in her had changed since she first met him and, despite everyone else’s views, it felt like a change for thebetter.
If only she had someone to talk things through with. Not only did Rebecca fail to understand, she obviously had her own stuff going on. Katy hadn’t agreed with her actions from the start. She also seemed to spend all her time with Oliver lately; Annabel had never seen her so loved up. That only left Tom and even though she could talk to him about anything, going into detail with regards to Dan no longer seemedright.
She suddenly felt guilty. She and Tom had always told each other everything, be it good or bad. Yet here she was wondering whether or not to keepsecrets.
‘Penny for them,’ a voicesuddenlysaid.
Knife in hand, Annabel spun round to spot Rebecca in thedoorway.
‘I think they’re dead now,don’tyou?’
Annabel looked down at the food containers, realising she hadn’t just perforated the two lots of packaging, she’d completelyobliteratedthem.
‘Doesn’t hurt to make sure,’ she said, pulling herselftogether.
‘Is it anything you want to talk about,’ asked Rebecca, hanging her coat on the back of achair.
‘Not really,’ said Annabel. As far as she was concerned, the two of them had enough to discuss already. ‘But you can open this.’ She took the bottle of wine back out of the fridge and handed it over, before grabbing a couple of glasses from the cupboard ready for her sister to pour. Surprisingly, Rebecca set the bottle down after filling just one. ‘Aren’t you having any?’ sheasked.
‘No, just water for methanks.’
Annabel headed for the sink and filled the empty glass with tap water. Disappointed, she hated drinking on her own. It also meant her sister was intent on keeping a clear head throughout the evening, a sure sign that Rebecca also meant business. ‘So,’ she said, handing it over and takingaseat.
‘So,’ said her sister. She followed suit and sat at thetable.
Sipping on her wine, the atmosphere felt awkward. While Annabel wanted to bring up Rebecca’s recent behaviour, she could tell her sister wanted a similar discussion about hers. It was simply a case of who was going to get in therefirst.
Keeping things casual, Annabel decided to bite thebullet.
‘How’s things?’ sheasked.
‘Fine,’ Rebeccareplied.
‘It’s just that the last time you popped in you said you wanted myadvice.’
