‘Yeah, it makes it so easy,’ Esther pipes up, arriving at his side and beaming up at him. I want to ask,But don’t you have treats? Don’t you crave a big slice of pie sometimes?But now, with an air of obligation, Miles has moved on to ask Kim what she does.
‘I’m a maths teacher,’ she tells him.
‘Riiiiiiight,’ he drawls, glancing at the window as if considering throwing himself through it.
Still, the mood seems to be easing as everyone helps to carry things to the table. Everyone except Miles, that is. He just stands there sipping his red wine, observing all the activity going on around him as if watching a play. Obviously a former pop star is far too important to slice bread, fetch cutlery or carry a stack of plates. As we all take our seats, he virtually barges Kim out of the way with his skinny hip as he bags the place next to Esther. God, this guy is rude. Sitting next to Charlie, I catch him watching Miles across the table as if fascinated to see what he’ll do next.
‘Your house is lovely,’ Esther offers, perhaps in an attempt to compensate for her boyfriend’s behaviour.
‘Oh, thank you,’ I say in surprise.
‘And your garden,’ she adds. ‘You’re so lucky to have one.’ I’m wondering now if, like Charlie, she is actually a little shy beneath the poised exterior.
‘I love it,’ I tell her. ‘Charlie and I made it from scratch when we moved here.’
‘I’d love to be able to grow things,’ Esther adds.
‘It’s really not difficult,’ I say.
She smirks. ‘Tell that to my dad. He managed to murder a cactus—’
‘Not deliberately,’ James protests, in mock outrage.
‘How’s that even possible?’ Esther asks, and she and Miles whisper and giggle about something (her dad’s plant-killing tendencies perhaps?). She’s just young, I remind myself. She’s been thrown into a new situation and perhaps isn’t quite as confident as she seems.
Perhaps she even feels odd about her dad seeing me – even though James has insisted that ‘she’s fine, of course she is. She has her own life. She’s not really interested in anything I’m doing …’ Even that struck me as a little odd. Cold, actually. Wasn’t she pleased that he’d met someone and was happy? I’ve gathered that James is an extremely caring dad who’d do anything for her. The way he talks about all the stuff they’ve done together – the camping trips, the archaeological digs they went on when she was little – has made me love him even more. Charlie’s dad barely did anything with him. One year he’d even gone missing for his birthday party. Charlie had tried to be brave when I’d explained that his dad had had a sudden ‘work meeting’ to go to – although God knows where Frank had really been.
The talk has turned to Esther’s work which, admittedly, I still haven’t quite managed to get my head around. While I know it’s social-media-focused, I’m not sure how itworks.‘We’ve been having a look at your Instagram, Esther,’ admits Kim.
‘Oh, have you?’ she asks, looking pleased.
‘Yes, it’s all so gorgeous and dramatic …’
‘I s’pose it’s all right …’ Esther says with a self-deprecating laugh. ‘And it’s gone a bit that way – a bit darker – since I moved in with Miles.’ She casts him a fond glance. ‘It’s all antiques and deep, rich colours, isn’t it, Miles? That’s your taste, really.’
He nods, drains his glass and grabs at the bottle ofred wine. I’m not the booze police; I don’t care how much he drinks. But I do notice that he pours himself a giant glass, like a teenager might in case they’re not offered any more. A ‘get it in while you can’ approach.
‘So, d’you advertise things?’ Kim asks Esther. ‘I hope you don’t mind me sounding so dumb. It’s just, I don’t do social media at all. I don’t want the kids seeing me on it – my pupils, I mean. So it’s a world I know nothing about.’
‘A lot of it’s collabs,’ she explains. ‘Collaborations, I mean. Or paid partnerships with brands I’m working with. So they’re kind of like of ads but less blatant than that. More of an endorsement …’
‘Who are you working with?’ I ask.
‘Quite a few at the moment. Some clothing brands, fashion and accessories. My main one – the one I’m most excited about – is a jewellery brand called Bethani … D’you know it?’
‘Erm, no, I don’t think so …’
‘This is one of their pieces.’ Esther indicates the pendant – a spiral of gold encrusted with tiny gems – at her neck.
‘That’s gorgeous,’ I enthuse.
‘It’s really special,’ she adds, seemingly in her flow now. ‘Every gemstone has a powerful effect on the wearer and balances the chakras.’ She leans forward, offering me and Kim a closer look.
‘Lovely!’ we both coo.
‘Like this tourmaline evokes calmness and wellbeing, and the moonstone creates feminine energies …’ I catch Charlie watching Esther across the table as if transfixed by a particularly riveting scene in a film. ‘And the amazing thing is,’ she continues, ‘every piece is personally blessed in a ceremony by a Balinese priest, inactualBali, so it brings joy and good fortune and makes wishes come true.’
I’m trying to banish all traces of scepticism from my face. By now Kim, Esther and I have created a little sub-group while the guys – apart from Miles, who remains almost silent – have fallen into a chat about TV, with Lorenzo mentioning a documentary he knows Charlie will have seen, and soon they’re discussing it in immense detail. Finally my son seems to have relaxed. This morning I was trying to convince myself that it didn’t matter, that ‘everyone meeting’ was just a step James and I had to take, and if it didn’t work out, then what was the problem? But of course, it’ll be so much easier if everyone gets along.
