‘Actually, I’ve met someone.’
Bryony actually gasped.
‘Where?’
She shared the story to hoots of laughter and realised the girls were genuinely delighted for her. This was genuine, bona fide New News.
‘It’s like a romcom.’ Louise clapped her hands.
‘Come on, come on, girl, show us a photo,’ said Norah
She and Celine zoomed in on the photo on Cassie’s phone, which they were examining in forensic detail.
‘He’s got very long eyelashes,’ observed Bryony.
‘You do know there’s some poor woman going round with bald eyes to compensate for that?’ said Celine, just before a distracted expression crossed her face. She reached down her cleavage and rummaged around, before pulling out a large rubbery spider.
‘Oh, that’s where it went,’ she muttered and shoved it in her handbag without missing a beat.
‘So, what’s he like?’ said Norah.
‘He’s lovely. He’s fun and he’s a great dancer.’
‘Dancer? God, girls, do you remember that?’ said Norah with a detectable edge to her voice.
‘Oh, look, here he is on Facebook,’ announced Bryony.
They went very quiet as she and Celine scrolled through a few photos.
‘Are those his kids?’
‘Er, yes, he’s separated.’ Josie had advised her to come straight out with it.
‘Right.’
After a few seconds of growing discomfort, where Cassie was picking up distinctly judgy vibes, she decided to get all the details out in one go.
‘OK, to be honest he didn’t actually tell me about his ex or the kids until .?.?. actually the middle of our first date,’ she confessed.
‘God, that is scurrilous!’ burst out Norah. ‘I’d hate to be still out there in that shark pool – sorry, but I don’t know how you face it.’
‘Now, now, less of the smug married, Nor,’ broke in Bryony. ‘Anyway, we shouldn’t discount the power of the earth-shattering bonk.’
That shut her up.
‘Oh, for God’s sake, girls,’ said Louise. ‘These things happen all the time. It’s hardly surprising that a man in his forties has children. I mean, if he hadn’t, you might be wondering.’
Norah looked a bit more tight-lipped and started searching on her phone.
‘I think Declan might know him if he works in engineering,’ she said. Cassie squirmed; the last thing she wanted was her new relationship stuck under the microscope of public scrutiny but, as Mam had opined, ‘Sure, what can you do in a place this size? In a week they’ll be on to someone else.’
God, in London nobody would’ve thought twice about it, let alone actually known him. There was only one effective strategy in a situation like this: distract, deflect .?.?.
She turned to Louise and beamed. ‘So, how far on are you now?’
Louise lit up. ‘Nearly sixteen weeks. My morning sickness is about three per cent better. I finally managed to eat toast and a banana this morning.’
Bingo. Within seconds the girls were competing with morning-sickness stories and vying with each other for their most outrageous cravings.
