‘That’s okay,’ Catherine said. ‘Was that him?’
‘Yes. They’re getting my official offer ready,’ Claire said, as she put her phone back into her bag. Mark’s text had come at just the right time, reminding her why she was putting herself through the ordeal with Luca. It would be worth it if she could be with Mark in the end.
The puppet show ended to a round of applause and the crowd began to disperse, children leaping from their seats and tearing towards the playground while harried mothers were still gathering up all theirparaphernalia.
‘Doesn’t Paddy want a go on the swings?’ Claire asked, nodding towards the buggy.
‘No, he’s a bit tired. It’s been a long day. I’ll bring him home for a nap soon.’ She drained her mineral water and screwed the lid back on, dropping the empty bottle into a plastic bag. ‘Those kids are all hyped up on sugar,’ she said, nodding to the children charging towards the playground while their mothers trotted after them, juggling change bags and juice cups while trying to maneuver empty pushchairs across the grass. ‘The evil geniuses behind this event were handing out free fizzy drinks all day. I didn’t let Paddy have any.’
‘You’re such a good mother.’
‘Well, I’m lucky that Paddy doesn’t put up any resistance. If he was constantly wheedling me like that lot, I’d probably have him on a drip of the stuff.’
‘Is that another freebie?’ Claire nodded to the buggy.
‘Yeah.’ Catherine looked down at the buggy with its space-age design. ‘Bit wanky, isn’t it? But apparently it’s the must-have item for the toddler-about-town, these days.’
Claire scrunched up her sandwich wrapping. ‘I’d better get back,’ she said, dropping it into the plastic bag that Catherine held out for her.
They gathered up their things, and strolled towards the gate.
‘Do you want one of these?’ Catherine asked her, nodding down at Paddington.
‘A teddy bear? I have one at home somewhere.’
Catherine smiled. ‘No, a child.’
‘Oh.’ They paused by a bin near the exit and Catherine threw in the bag with their rubbish.
‘Yeah,’ Claire said thoughtfully, as they continued walking. ‘I guess. I mean, not right now. But I’ve always seen myself having children eventually. You?’
‘No, I don’t think so. I’m undecided, but Hazel is a definite no, so…’
‘What if you were with someone who definitely wanted them?’
‘Then I guess I’d go along with it. I don’t really have strong feelings either way. And I’d already have all the equipment. My kid would never be short of a designer change bag or a state-of-the-art car seat.’
‘Yes, shame to let all that free stuff go to waste.’
‘Well, I’ll pass it along to you if you decide to go down that road. In the meantime, it keeps my eBay account nicely ticking along.’
They stopped on the path outside the gate before going their separate ways.
‘Well, good luck tomorrow night,’ Catherine said. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t—’ She stopped abruptly and laughed. ‘No, that would defeat the whole purpose, wouldn’t it?’
‘It kind of would.’
‘And we already know you won’t be good, so I’ll just say be careful. And have fun.’
‘Thanks. I’ll try.’
On Thursday, Luca kept an eye on the clock as he worked. He knew how easy it was for him to lose all track of time when he really got stuck into working on a piece. But Claire was coming over tonight, so at five on the dot he downed tools and busied himself trying to make his shithole of a flat a bit more cheery and welcoming. It seemed the least he could do when she was paying him so much money. His place had never bothered him before, but the contrast with the comfort of her home could hardly havebeen starker. When he had washed up, he cleaned the table and did a quick run-around with the vacuum cleaner that was stashed in a cupboard by the door. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever used it before.
Then he turned his attention to the bedroom. He turned on the light and stood in the doorway, surveying it objectively. Lit by a bare bulb in the centre of the room – he’d never even bothered to get a shade for it – it didn’t look fit for a dog to sleep in. Maybe he should have taken her up on her offer to go to a hotel, he thought, as he began to strip the bed. But he felt bad enough about taking her money as it was. He didn’t want her to go to any extra expense.
He felt like a shit for agreeing to be paid to have sex with her, especially when he would gladly have done it for free. It wasn’t as if the arrangement didn’t suit him. It would be nice to enjoy regular sex without the hassle of her getting clingy or trying to make him into her idea of the perfect boyfriend. But he could see there was no way she would have accepted a freebie. It would be worse, he reasoned, if she’d blown wads of cash for an hour or two with an escort. It showed how desperate she was that she had even considered it. He didn’t like to think of her throwing herself on the mercy of some rent boy. Claire was a decent person. She deserved better. At least he could console himself with the thought that he was saving her a lot of money, and probably a world of trauma, by agreeing to her arrangement. He would look after her properly and make sure she got value for her money.
When he had changed the bedding and plumped the pillows as much as they would plump – there wasn’t a lot of life left in them – he switched off the ceiling light, turned on the bedside lamp and stood back to survey hishandiwork. It still didn’t look cosy, but it was a bit of an improvement.
