He chokes out a dry snigger and twitches in his seat. ‘You don’t need to know everything about me, Mum,’ Lyla chuckles.
‘No. Obviously.’ A wry smile from Suki. ‘Hope you didn’t mind coming here,’ she adds.
‘Not at all,’ Frank says with forced enthusiasm.
‘It’s my ex’s club.’ Suki grimaces. ‘Used to bring all his girlfriends here …’ She chuckles again and I glance atLyla, wondering if that’s her father she’s referring to. ‘Not Lyla’s dad,’ Suki clarifies. ‘Jonathan was far too dull for that. Left him down in Gloucestershire with his hunting, shooting, fishing buddies. And Sebastian never comes here anymore because I’m never out of the place …’
She laughs again huskily. Everything about her suggests old money and ponies and a house in the country with soil-encrusted wellies lined up in the porch. And now she’s telling us, ‘I bought Lyla a little place just round the corner from here when she came up to study. And I was so jealous, because it’s such a beautiful city, that I ruined it all for her by renting out my house down south and buying myself a place five minutes away! Didn’t I, darling?’
Lyla nods and laughs. ‘Absolutely ruined it,’ she jokes. ‘Mum would’ve enrolled on my uni course if she could.’
‘So are you still studying, Lyla?’ I ask because clearly, neither Frank nor Eddie are planning to say anything.
‘No, it wasn’t really my thing,’ she says breezily.
‘It’s not for everyone,’ I concur.
‘Lyla was keen to get out in the real world,’ her mother goes on. ‘Wanted to start working and earning, didn’t you, darling?’ Lyla nods. ‘… So she started a freelance copywriting business, all by herself. Does all the marketing, client liaison, everything. Inundated with work, aren’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Lyla agrees. ‘It’s crazy hours sometimes.’
‘I’m so, so proud of her. She’s so driven—’
‘Mum, you’reembarrassingme,’ Lyla announces, looking pleased and not embarrassed at all. And I wonder how Eddie would react, if I were to gush about his achievements like this; how apparently he can pan-fryscallops perfectly and make a roulade. How just weeks ago he was sweeping the kitchen floor and how very proud we are.
I flick my gaze towards my son who’s supposed to be familiar with Lyla’s life and her wildly successful freelance business. How will a baby fit into all of this? Will Suki sweep in and take care of everything? I’ll help, of course, if they’ll let me. But what about Frank? How will he slot into a granddad role? I glance at him now, sitting there mutely in his yellow bear T-shirt, as if carved out of rock.
‘I hear you’re from Glasgow, Carly?’ Suki says.
‘Yes, that’s right.’ So Eddie and Lyla have exchanged a few basic facts as well as the other stuff. ‘We live on the Ayrshire coast now,’ I add, thinking: isn’t it glaringly obvious that they’re not a couple? They’re both attractive young people but there’s no chemistry, no spark between them. They could be strangers sitting together on the bus.
‘And you’re Portuguese, Frank? Is that right?’
‘Yes. Yeah, that’s right.’ He nods grimly.
‘My ex, Sebastian, has a place on the Algarve. A beautiful part of the world …’
Whenare we going to talk about the baby? Not yet, as now Suki is telling us about her childhood in rural Gloucestershire (‘So, so, dull, I basically spent my first ten years swinging on a farm gate’), and how her current boyfriend – ‘anincredibleplumber’ – is refitting her Edinburgh bathroom. ‘Finally, a regular guy. Isn’t he lovely, Lyles?’
‘So lovely,’ Lyla agrees.
‘Nightmare, though,’ Suki declares with an eye-roll. ‘I know which taps I want. It’s onlymyflat,mybathroom. Butno, Tom knows best. But he’s a sweetie really, I shouldn’t complain, should I, Lyles? After all the duds I was due a good one …’ All of this is delivered in a breathless stream while Frank watches her, agog, as if he’s never encountered anyone quite like her before. Admittedly, there aren’t many Sukis in Sandybanks. While sweat pools on my chest beneath my second-hand sweater, she looks as fresh as a daisy in a pale blue linen dress.
Finally, she stops to draw breath. ‘We should order, Mum,’ Lyla remarks, glancing around for a server.
‘Yes, darling,’ her mother says. ‘They’re awfully busy today, aren’t they?’ As if all this is normal and no one is pregnant and Eddie are Lyla are madly in love.
‘So, um, Suki,’ I start, grabbing at my chance to jump in. ‘I wondered … I mean, I’ve been thinking, with this situation with Lyla and Eddie …’ I catch a wave of horror crashing across my son’s face.Well, it’s happening,I transmit back to him.We might as well face it instead of pretending we’ve all been thrown together to discuss Suki’s bathroom fittings!‘So I was thinking,’ I go on, my heart thumping as I look around the table, ‘that we should probably talk about how we’re all going to—’
‘—How we’re going to celebrate?’ Suki cuts in. ‘Yes, of course. Excellent idea!’ She cranes her long, slender neck and waves to a young waitress. ‘Nina, love? When you have a minute?’
‘Oh, Suki.’ The girl hurries over. ‘Sorry, it’s nuts in here today …’
‘No worries, darling. No worries at all. But when you have a minute I think we’d alllovesome champagne.’
Chapter Fourteen
Bollinger arrives and glasses are poured for Suki, Eddie and me. ‘Have a tiny glass, Lyla,’ her mother urges her. ‘I drank all through my pregnancy and look how well you turned out.’
