Diana gave a little grimace. “Okay, I suppose.”
“That doesn’t sound all that okay.” The last time Lucy had talked to Diana about Andrew being in Manchester, her friend had seemed upbeat. “What happened?”
Diana blew out a breath. “We looked at some of the flats and they were . . .” She hesitated, her distant gaze on her two teenagers, waiting in the line for hot chocolate.
“Small?” Lucy suggested, and Diana shook her head.
“No, it wasn’t that. They were . . . bachelor pads.” She let out a slightly bitter laugh. “Sleek, modern places with tiny kitchens and one bedroom and everything made of chrome and glass. And thebuildings. . . let’s just say there weren’t many married couples in those places, and absolutely no families.”
“But you wouldn’t all be living in a place like that,” Lucy said after a moment. “Would you? I thought it was just meant to be a weekday place for him.”
“Yes, it was. Is. But the thought of Andrew having a life down there, in a place like that, while I’m cooking sausages and mashand going to teachers’ meetings and all the rest of it . . .” Her gaze swung back towards Lucy, and she was discomfited to see the depth of bleakness there. “We might as well as be divorced.”
“Don’t say that, Diana—”
“Why not? It’s true. Andrew hasn’t been back for a weekend since early October.” She shook her head, her gaze turning even grimmer. “He’s got his own life now, and it doesn’t include us. That’s what the week down there showed me.” She moved off to join her children before Lucy could answer.
“What’s wrong with Diana?” Rachel asked as she came over, her hands cradled around a cup of soup. “She looks positively thunderous.”
“Just the usual,” Lucy said, and Rachel nodded knowingly.
“The husband in Manchester? Bad news, if you ask me.”
“I think Diana’s coming to that realization.” She took a sip from her own cup of soup. “What about you? How was the tour of universities?”
“Well,Iliked them.”
“Lily not so much?”
Rachel’s face tightened. “She refuses to give anything a chance. She says she doesn’t even want to go to university, which is enough to make me tear my hair out.”
Lucy had heard this sentiment before, and when she’d met Lily a couple of times, she’d sensed the tension between the two sisters. “Why do you want her to go to college so badly?” she asked cautiously, because she knew this was a touchy topic for Rachel.
“Why wouldn’t I? You sound like Juliet. She asked the same thing—”
“Juliet didn’t go to university—”
“I know that, and she’s done well for herself, but that’s not the norm. Education is power, Lucy.”
“It wasn’t for me. I have a BA in fine art and it’s practically useless.”
Rachel shrugged impatiently. “Well, Lily isn’t going to study art.”
“Isn’t she interested in graphic design?”
“That’s just a phase. She’s predicted to get an A star in biology. She could do so much with that. Medicine, research—”
“But if she’s not interested—”
Rachel gave her a quelling look. “I think I know my sister better than you do,” she said shortly.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to push.”
Rachel ran a hand through her unruly hair, leaving it messier than before. “I know. I’m sorry to sound so bitchy. It’s just that I’ve practically raised Lily. My mother broke her back when Lily was three years old and I took up the slack. She means more to me than anything, and I want to make sure she has the kind of opportunities I couldn’t take advantage of.” Rachel pressed her lips together, looking like she regretted admitting so much. “I should go check on her,” she said. “And Meghan, my other sister. She’s brought her little boy, Nathan, and he’s likely to jump into the fire if someone doesn’t watch him.”
Lucy watched Rachel move off and wondered how long she would be able to carry all of her family’s burdens. Her gaze moved around the crowd; she saw Dan Trenton standing by himself, nursing a beer, and Abby on the other side of the bonfire, holding Noah’s hand. Oliver Jones had come with his mother, who was still looking shadow-eyed and anxious, but she held Oliver’s hand and laughed at something he said.
So many people.Friends.She really had made a life for herself here. Then Lucy saw Alex coming towards her with his two daughters in tow. He caught sight of her a second later, and she thought he might veer away and avoid her completely, but Poppy tugged him towards Lucy.
