Authors: Clare Lydon
“I am?”
Olivia turned and smiled at Meg. “You are.” She paused. “Anything else I should know?” She swept her eyes up and down her daughter’s frame.
Meg adopted her best innocent face. “No, why?”
Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Because, darling sleepy daughter, those are the clothes you were wearing when you nipped round to mine en route to the party last night. So either you were feeling very lazy when you woke up this morning and just stepped into whatever was on the floor — which is very unlike you — or you never made it home last night. Am I warm?”
Meg looked down at the floor, drummed her fingers on her mug, then looked back up at her mum. “Never work with your family. I should know this, shouldn’t I? I should go around schools warning of the dangers of going into the family business.” She hugged her mug with both hands.
“And?”
Meg smiled. “Yes, you are correct. I went to Nathan’s party last night, and Kate came too, and then I went back to Kate’s flat.”
Olivia put down the scissors she was using to curl some peach ribbon, walked over to Meg and hugged her. Full-on, take-your-breath-away hug. Then she held her at arm’s length and smiled a smile that only a mother can.
“I’m proud of you — well done.”
Meg looked alarmed. “For having sex?”
Olivia laughed. “For getting out there and giving it a go again. I know it hasn’t been easy for you this past year, but meeting someone else is exactly what you need to put a bit of sparkle back in your life — and when I walked in here this morning and saw that goofy grin on your face, I knew what had happened. If Kate was here right now, I’d kiss her myself.”
“That would be awkward.”
Olivia let go of Meg and returned to her ribbon curling. “Nonsense — the woman who’s put the smile back on my baby’s face deserves nothing less.” She paused and her face tensed. Olivia drew in a deep breath and rubbed her chest.
Meg crinkled her forehead. “You okay? Are you having pains?”
Olivia closed her eyes, exhaled and rubbed some more, shaking her head. “Just indigestion I’m sure, almost nothing. Honestly, every time I get heartburn is not a heart attack.” But Olivia still wasn’t smiling.
“Well excuse me for looking out for my mother,” Meg said. “Sit down when you’ve done that, have a break, I can do the rest.” Meg got up and put an arm around Olivia, who shook it off just as quickly.
“Even with heartburn I can do this better than you because I haven’t been up half the night, have I?” Olivia smiled gently, but Meg could see she was still in pain.
Olivia changed the subject swiftly. “And what about the other one — does she know about this? Might knock the smile off her cocky features too.”
Meg shrugged. “Well, I guess she might have an idea if she’s home when I rock up later in the same clothes. Plus, I did tell her I had a date before I went out, and also that we needed to get the house on the market and start moving on with our lives.”
This time, Olivia dropped the scissors. They fell with a clatter onto the polished wooden floor. “You told her that?”
Meg nodded, before hugging her mum to her. “And please don’t drop the scissors like that when you’ve just said you’re having twinges — you nearly gave me a heart attack. I expected you to sink to the floor at any second.”
Olivia laughed in her ear. “The younger generation are so dramatic! You and your brother both.” Olivia rubbed Meg’s back. “But back to Tanya — let’s hope she gets the message into that thick skull of hers once and for all. But it might take a couple of goes, because it is pretty thick.”
Olivia shook her head, then grinned. “Anyway, let’s not worry about her today — you’ve got far happier things to be thinking about.” She turned back to the job in hand, then back to Meg. “But now, we need to get going with these orders — so do you feel like giving me a hand like you said you would when you thought I was dying a minute ago?”
Meg grabbed the order book. “I’m on it.”
25
Monday evening, and autumn had crept up on Meg like a tap on the shoulder. All around, the leaves were turning red and brown and attaching themselves to the pavement, making running treacherous. But Meg wasn’t put off — the evening sun was just going down when she stepped out of the shop and set off running to the park.
Meg loved the feeling of her body clicking into gear when she ran. It was one of those moments she so rarely had in life where she felt suddenly free, her mind clear, and she concentrated on just what was happening to her at that specific moment — the mechanics of running. Her feet pounding the pavement, her legs somehow attached, her upper body processing the airflow. At moments like this, her body felt like a miracle of modern science.
This week, her body had already been put through a workout - Kate had made sure of that. After leaving on Saturday morning, Kate had texted Meg throughout the day, making her smile and blush in happy union. After work, Meg had gone back to Kate’s with the intention of going out for dinner, but they’d never made it out the front door. A rush rumbled from Meg’s head to her toes as she recalled their evening and night spent together.
On Sunday, they’d ventured out to one of Kate’s favourite places for brunch. London had seemed brighter, warmer, fitter and fresher than it had for the past year, and Meg was well aware why. She loved walking down the road holding hands with Kate, breathing her in, feeling part of a couple.
Sure, this was how you were supposed to feel in the first throes of romance, but honestly, Kate threw up other feelings altogether for Meg. More rounded feelings. A flicker that Meg had never truly felt before.
It was something she was well aware of, but also petrified of.
***
After running with her club for over an hour, Meg made her way home through the dusky night air. It was nearly 8pm.
What was Kate doing now?
Having spent Friday and Saturday in her bed, last night had felt quite bereft without her.
As she rounded the corner of her road, Meg’s buttocks tweaked and she cast her mind forward to dinner and a hot bath — her body deserved it. She slowed to a walk to let her heart rate recover as she made her way up her road.
The smell of roast chicken hit her nose as she stepped into the house. Then there was laughter from the kitchen which meant Tanya was entertaining.
Again
. Meg had arranged for the estate agent to come round and value the house today and Tanya had agreed to cover it. She might as well get the conversation over with.
She found Tanya at the stove, fussing over asparagus and green beans, with Chris seated at the dining table.
“Hey! You’ve been running — you always make me feel bad when you go running.” Tanya smiled a wide greeting at Meg, which threw her off her game slightly. She’d come in prepared for a fight.
“Lovely night for it.” Meg walked over and grabbed a glass from the cupboard, before filling it and gulping down the water in one. She needed that. “Anyhow, how did today go?” She refilled the glass and waited for an answer.
Tanya turned her head. “Today?”
Meg nodded slowly and took another sip of water. “The estate agent.”
Tanya’s eyes widened.
Meg’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”
Tanya screwed up her face. “I knew there was something. Shit, I’m sorry.”
Meg exhaled and tried not to throw her glass of water all over Tanya. It took supreme effort. “I told you last night and I texted you — what happened in the interim?”
“Sorry — I really am. I did mean to be here, but there was a last-minute schedule change…”
Meg banged her glass on the counter-top with more vigour than she intended, which made Chris jump.
“It’s funny how there always seems to be a schedule change whenever something important needs to be done, isn’t it?” Meg turned to Chris, who at least had the good grace to be looking away.
“And you.” Meg was pointing. “I hope you know what you’re letting yourself in for. Because this is it. Work comes first, and life always has to revolve around what Tanya wants.”
Meg turned back to her ex. “I’ll reschedule and make sure I’m here next time. This is going to happen, T, whether you like it or not.”
She left the kitchen and clattered up the stairs, a headache limbering up, every muscle clenched. So much for her relaxing run and leisurely dinner. She’d have to do that when the kitchen was clear and she’d calmed down somewhat. For now, a hot bath and much exhalation was needed.
26
The current issue of Female Health & Fitness was in its final stages of production, with most pages laid out and the cover nearly done. Kate was attempting to line up the picture of Princess Emily in sports gear beside their ‘30 Ways To Lose Those Pounds’ feature, but getting the princess’s head to work around the ‘30’ was proving tricky. She’d have to consult Dawn.
Kate swivelled in her chair but couldn’t spot her editor — she must have slipped out for lunch. Kate had tried to get a picture of Meg on the cover, but it hadn’t really worked, so she’d settled for Meg’s dazzling bone structure inside instead.
Meg had done a sequence of early starts this week, all of which meant they hadn’t seen each other since Sunday — and today was Thursday. Which must mean Kate was getting more mature, not spending every second of every day with the person you’d just slept with. She’d been there, bought the T-shirt. Now, she was ready to take things slowly. Well, slowish.
Today was a good day, though, because Meg was coming in to meet her from work and also to finalise some quotes with Hannah — that was the last feature to lay out tomorrow and Kate was going to take extra-special care with it.
A noise from behind startled her — she turned and there was Dawn, just plucking a Kit Kat from her drawer to have with her cup of tea.
“There you are.” Kate spun round in her chair, rolling her shoulders after all that hunching over her screen. She let a momentary dizzy spell pass before she spoke again. “I wanted to chat about the cover lines — the ‘30’ keeps hitting the princess in the nose.”
Dawn peered at Kate’s screen. “Can’t you make her nose smaller?”
“Not without making her look demented.”
“Can Harry not help?”
Harry was the company’s go-to wonder boy when it came to massaging images. If you needed to cover up a spot, add some make-up, lift someone’s bust or add some highlights, Harry was your guy.
“I don’t think so,” Kate said. “I don’t want to stray too far from the truth, seeing as it’s royalty. Plus, I think her PR might reject it at approval stage. Can’t we just change the words?” Kate turned back to her screen to assess the image.
Behind her, she heard Dawn sigh dramatically. “Okay. Let me just finish my lunch, then we’ll get right on it. Honestly, you’re an award-winner, you think you’d be able to fix this…”
Kate spun back to her, sticking her tongue out at Dawn.
Dawn smirked in reply.
“And that’s your lunch?” Kate wagged a finger at Dawn’s Kit Kat.
In return, Dawn lifted her middle finger. “Bite me,” she said. “As far as everyone else is concerned, I follow all our magazine’s advice to the letter. And if there ever comes a day where it shows otherwise, there’s always Harry to make me look gorgeous.” Dawn winked at Kate as she prodded her in the back. “Anyway, isn’t the famous florist due in today? I can’t wait to meet her!”
Kate sighed. “Due later, so the wait is nearly over. And please don’t call her the famous florist.”
***
Meg breezed through the doors of the magazine company just after 5pm, black handbag hitched over her right shoulder, a frisson of excitement flashing through her veins. She’d spent all day looking forward to seeing Kate again, but now it was here, she had to admit to feeling some anxiety. The idea of being in a national magazine was a bit daunting after all, but she tried to allay her fears.
The building was everything she’d anticipated: cool, white and modern, with floors so shiny it was almost a shame to walk on them. She informed the receptionist who she was here to see, and he instructed her to wait in an uncomfortable-looking armchair. Meg perched delicately, taking in the constant comings and goings of this vast company. It made a busy day at her shop look anything but.
A few minutes later, one of four shiny lifts spat out Kate, and she walked towards Meg, beckoning her over to the barriers. Kate used her security pass to tag Meg in, getting a withering look from the security guard in the process. She gave him a wink, then turned her attention to Meg.
“You look lovely,” she said, kissing Meg on the cheek.
Meg looked down at herself: ripped black jeans, black boots, white top and a tuxedo jacket. She should look lovely, she’d spent a good hour putting this outfit and its accessories together.
“So do you.” Butterflies rose in Meg’s stomach as she smiled at Kate.
They might have stood like that for some time too, had there not been a queue developing at the barriers behind them. Kate tugged on Meg’s hand and led her towards the lift, which Meg was disappointed to see they had to share with four other people. No sly snogging in here, then.