‘Was there some kind of trigger?’ Gail asks, seemingly oblivious to kind, sensitive Dr Kemp shooting her a look. ‘I mean, were there any signs that she wasdeeplyunhappy?’
‘Erm, I’m not sure,’ Vince starts.
‘Was she depressed?’ barks Radish Sue.
‘I, er, don’t know—’
‘Maybe Vince doesn’t want to delve into the details right now?’ Lenny Kemp says quickly.
‘No, of course,’ Gail says, fork poised with a fat chunk of lamb on it. ‘So, d’you think you’ll be able to work it out? I mean, is it just a break, or a permanent separation—’
‘Shall we talk about committee business now?’ Lenny asks in his reassuring yet authoritative doctor’s voice.Take these twice a day and come back in a week if there’s no improvement.
‘After dinner, Lenny.’ Deborah smiles tightly and turns back to Vince. ‘So whereisKate?’
‘Erm, she’s staying with a friend in London,’ he mumbles. ‘At least, I think she is. I guess so.’ He shrugs.
‘Well, this is really good tagine!’ Lenny announces, and Mehmet murmurs in agreement.
‘Vince’s recipe,’ Deborah announces brightly. And finally, everyone resumes eating, making a great show of how flavoursome it is, and how clever Vince is to know the recipe.
‘Well done, Vince,’ Agata offers, patting his hand. He didn’t even make it!
‘It really is very good,’ adds Radish Sue. ‘And I don’t normally do spicy food...’
Spicy food? Vince thinks derisively. There’s probably one particle of cumin in it. And suddenly he’s overcome with an overwhelming desire to jump up from his chair in this savagely coordinated dining room, which looks like a John Lewis room set, the kind his parents would admire at the Milton Keynes branch when he was a child and he’d stand there, desperate to leave as it felt like they’d been admiring that coffee table for eight hundred years and they’d promised him that they’d pop into Thorntons before going home.
And now here he is, literally a three-minute walk from the house he grew up in, with people who think a lamb stew that, frankly, tastes only of gravy, is ‘spicy’. People whose apparent concern over his collapsed marriage is actually barely disguised glee.
Because finally something has happened around here! It’s more exciting, even, than the Walkers’ new conservatory or a new bin collection system being implemented by the council!
‘Always thought you two were rock solid,’ announces Gail, even though she’s barely known them for two minutes.
‘Me too,’ Colin agrees. ‘D’you think it’s her age or something?’
‘What d’you mean?’ Vince stares at him. Deborah is up out of her seat now, clearing away serving dishes and the remains of the salads, with sidekick Agata gathering up the bowls. But all the movement and clattering seems to fade away as Colin goes on.
‘Well, it is quite a tricky life stage for women with their oestrogen going off.’
‘Really?’ Vince blinks at him. ‘Does it go off, then? Like milk?’
‘Hope you all have room for brownies,’ Deborah trills, sweeping off to the kitchen with the diminutive Agata at her heels.
‘Well, yes,’ he blusters. ‘You do hear of it happening.’
Vince blinks slowly. ‘You hear ofwhathappening, Colin?’There’s a doctor in the room, he wants to shout. If anyone’s equipped to talk about menopausal symptoms, shouldn’t it be him?
‘Youknow. The emotional side of all the changes-type stuff...’
‘Erm, d’you think we should move on now?’ Lenny suggests, twiddling the stem of his wine glass. ‘This is all very personal stuff and I really think it’s between Vince and Kate—’
Why am I here?For the second time tonight Vince has an overwhelming craving for their old Bethnal Green life.Why did I drag Kate away from the job she loved and all her friends? Where we brought up Edie and it was all so diverse and accepting and you could go about your daily business without the laser beam of the whole sodding neighbourhood on you, whereas here you only have to wear a fucking hat and it’s on the front of theShugbury Gazette—
‘So, how about we discuss what went well with the festival this year?’ Lenny suggests in a louder voice. ‘And then the aspects that maybe didn’t work so well?’ He turns, beaming, to Deborah and Agata as they reappear in the dining room. ‘Deborah, you were saying we could probably charge more for teas and coffees next year?’
She doesn’t seem to care about hot beverage pricing. No one is even registering that he spoke. Because the entire focus of the planning committee is on Vince, who has turned to Colin and said, in an eerily mild tone, ‘D’you mean it might be Kate’s menopause? Is that why she’s left me?’
His neighbour reddens and looks down. ‘I’m just thinking, you know. With the right hormonal treatment—’
