She always picked up when her friends phoned.
She really didn’t want to this evening.
She actually wasn’t going to. It felt like an evening for being alone, wearing pyjamas and eating comfort food.
She stood up to go into the kitchen, pushing away a slight feeling of guilt for not having answered the call.
Her phone was ringing again. She went back to the sofa to see who it was. Aaliyah again.
Lilyreallywanted to be alone this evening.
But what if something bad had happened?
‘Hi, Aaliyah,’ she said.
‘Hi. Can you meet for drinks this evening?’
‘I’m so sorry but I kind of need a night in.’ The absolute last thing she wanted to do this evening was go out. Actually, why did Aaliyah want to go out on a Monday evening?
‘Okay, I wanted to tell you this in person but I’m just going to say it now. I have news,’ Aaliyah said. ‘Patrick and I gotengagedyesterday. Can you come for a drink to celebrate? Just us and Tess and Meg. Patrick has to work late this evening. Pleeeease.’
‘Oh wow.’ Lilyso muchwasn’t up for a celebratory evening but you couldn’t say no to someone when they had news like that. ‘That’s huge. So many congratulations. Give me an hour and I’ll be there.’
A couple of hours later, she and Aaliyah and Tess were onto their second bottle of the house Prosecco at the wine bar round the corner from Aaliyah’s flat.
‘Wonder where Meg is,’ Tess said, looking at her watch. ‘I have a bad feeling about her being so late.’
Tess was right. Within five minutes, Meg had arrived, clutching a congratulations card but visibly tear-stained.
‘Congratulations. I’msopleased for you,’ Meg said in a wobbly voice. She hugged Aaliyah and gave her the card. ‘Sopleased. Really, really pleased.’ She sank down next to Lily on the banquette she was sitting on and pulled her jacket off.
‘Here you go.’ Tess pushed a very full glass of Prosecco over to her.
Meg downed it in one.
‘Wow,’ said Aaliyah. ‘That opening the throat thing impresses me every time.’
Meg wasn’t talking; she was just pouring. And downing.
‘Wow,’ all three of the rest of them said this time.
Meg slammed her glass down on the table when she’d finished it and said, ‘So Rupert dumped me. Because he has someone else. Who he’s been sleeping with for months.’
‘Ouch,’ Tess said.
Lily looked at Aaliyah, who was looking at her engagement ring andclearlyweighing up whether it was okay to show it to Meg. What a bloody nightmare.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said to Meg. ‘I think we should look at Aaliyah’sgorgeousengagement ring and talk about her wedding plans and then you can tell us about the bastard.’
Meg reached out for the Prosecco bottle again and Tess scrambled to pass it to her.
‘You’re right,’ Meg said. ‘We’re going to focus totally on Aaliyah this evening.Congratulations.’ She picked up her third glassful and started more speed-drinking. ‘Congratulations,’ she said again when she’d finished that glass. ‘Show me the ring. Talk to me about wedding planning and honeymoons and sex with the same gorgeous man for the rest of your life, and the gorgeous children you’re going to have, and the lovely house you’ll live in with your lovely, rich husband-to-be.Show me the ring.’
‘Er, Meg,’ Tess said.
‘I’m fine. I’m sorry. I really am so pleased for you,’ Meg said. ‘I love Patrick and the two of you are so good together and it’s wonderful.’
Within under an hour, Meg was slumped silently comatose in the rounded corner of the banquette and, actually, Aaliyah, Tess and Lily were having a lovely conversation.
