‘That’s hard to unpick,’ is the best I can do.
She gives me a sympathetic look. ‘I can imagine. Well, you know where I am if you need me. I’m serious. Just pick up the phone.’
‘Thanks Nora,’ I say. ‘I really appreciate that.’
She gives a short nod and heads over to get down to business.
‘So, I thought we’d focus on the lob today,’ she tells us all. ‘If you get it right, it’s a good weapon to have in your arsenal in doubles. But it does have the capacity to go wrong.’
‘I think we can safely say that about every part of my game,’ Lisa mutters.
Nora asks Rose to stand opposite her at the net as she demonstrates the shot, hitting it high over her head until it lands in an impossible-to-reach corner. We take it in turns throughout the session, and by halfway through, only one of us has entirely mastered it.
‘Oh my God . . . have I finally found something I’m good at?’ Lisa says in disbelief, as she fires another perfect rainbow over my head. There’s no way I can reach it.
‘That’s clearly your signature shot,’ I tell her.
‘In the final match, dothat. Constantly,’ Rose adds. ‘Seriously, if you can repeat this then I’m genuinely hopeful about our prospects of staying up next year.
Lisa grabs a ball and looks up at me. ‘Still won’t be the same without you though, Jules.’
I smile back. But for some reason, the lump in my throat makes it impossible to answer.
Chapter 55
‘Hi Jules, lovely to hear from you. Wow, it’s been years! So happy to hear things are going so well for you work-wise and that Frankie is having such a great time. She was always such a sweetheart. I can’t believe you’re heading back to London! I’m excited for you! This is slightly embarrassing and probably a sign of how long it’s been, but John and I actually relocated to the Cotswolds eighteen months ago. Took me a while to settle into country life but I love it now. If you fancy a visit, let me know! Are you still in touch with Gina? I’m on Facebook with her and I think she’s in Edinburgh now? Anyway, take care and let’s make sure we’re better at staying in touch from now on! Lots of love, Maddy xxx’
I had sent the text in the hope that I could meet up with some of the old gang from Balham next time I was in London. But it seems Maddy isn’t the only one who’s left. Everyone has. The only person whoisavailable is Ed’s mum, Terri, which suits me fine because she is one of my favourite people on earth. So we arrange to meet when I’m in London next week for a crucial meeting in which Jacinta and I will be standing side by side to deliver a major presentation to the Barisian board about The Neutral Company rollout.
Half the time, I feel slightly sick to my stomach to be so heavily involved with a process that has already put so manycolleagues out of work. But what else can I do except pull on my big girls’ pants and remind myself that this is business? No, frankly – this is survival.
I take the same approach to my house sale, which obviously I jinxed the moment I said it was going well.
‘I have spent every day this week chasing the woman doing the conveyancing,’ I tell Jeff, as he hands me a cocktail. ‘She literally never answers her emails, so I phoned the office. She was dumbfounded, appalled that I wanted to have an actual conversation.’
‘Was she young? Gen Z hate making phone calls. I was reading about it inThe Timesthe other day. Brings them out in hives.’
‘That’s what Frankie said! Or, to use her exact words: “You didn’t phone her, did you? That’s such a boomer thing to do.”’
He chokes on his drink. ‘Excuse me? We are Generation X all the way. Though apparently, that’s nothing to be proud of these days.’
‘Why, what have we done?’ I ask.
‘Gen X are regarded as cynical, closed-minded and prone to terrible parenting choices,’ he tells me. ‘If you ask me, they’re just jealous because we’ve got the coolest name. So what did this young solicitor have to say in the end?’
‘She’d actually done more than I gave her credit for.’
He closes the fridge with pursed lips. ‘It’s definitely going through then?’
‘Yes,’ I say, ignoring his disapproving tone. ‘The searches are complete. Buyers are all ready to go. We exchange contracts on 20 August – which means there will be no going back – then complete the sale on 6 September, which is the day I’ll move out. Initially, they wanted me to move at the start of August, but that’s out of the question. Not least because the final match of the season is then.’
‘Last oneeverfor you, isn’t it?’
‘Exactly why I can’t miss it. What’s in this cocktail, by the way? It’s amazing.’
‘Champagne, cognac, two dashes of Angostura bitters and a maraschino cherry.’
‘Sounds expensive. And also very alcoholic.’
