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‘But you were a mess,’ she goes on. ‘You had to work through a pregnancy, a relationship breakdown and untangle yourself from the business all at the same time. I think it has changed your outlook on life forever.’
There is truth in this. For me, it’s a source of pride that I got myself back up and running after that dark time, and a lot of it is thanks to Poppy’s endless support.
Still.
‘You’re being extremely dramatic,’ I argue. ‘I did not know that you felt so strongly about Mark.’
‘Mark was an horrific bore, Sophie! You always have deserved so much better.’
‘Is this about the proposal again?’ Poppy has remained incandescent with rage over the way Mark asked me to marry him.
‘Where’s the romance in proposing after a meeting IN A LIFT?’ she simmers, hunching her shoulders up to her ears. ‘You were both wearing suits from Reiss, for goodness sake! He didn’t even have a ring and he actually used the words “convenient timing”. He might as well have just sent you a calendar invite and have done with it. Can’t you see that it was all incredibly lacklustre?’
‘I was happy.’ I shrug. And I was. ‘We all go through hard times, that’s part of life. I’m in a good place now and I’m happy on my own.’
‘Well, I’m not having it. Mum isn’t either.’
‘You’ve spoken to Mum about this?’
‘Obviously. And Dad. And the Aussie Aunties.’
I groan. Suddenly she springs up and kisses me on the forehead. ‘Don’t worry, sis, I’m going to fix this for you.’
‘I don’t need fixing!’ I protest, throwing a cushion at her.
She dances out of its way and gives me a sympathetic look. ‘You definitely do. Seriously, it’s a good job you’ve got me. As from this evening, I’m making it my mission to find your perfect man.’
Why do I feel like I’m banging my head against a sweet and irritatingly persistent wall?
‘Hang on, I thought the three blind dates I’ve already endured were your mission?’
Her eyes twinkles as she grabs her phone from the arm of the sofa. I watch warily, my energy truly flagging. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Getting you out there.’
‘That’s a hard no, Poppy.’
‘Online dating.’ She smiles. ‘It’s time.’
‘Absolutely not.’ I shake my head. Why is she grinning at me like I’m the hapless lead character at the start of a sweet romantic comedy? I’ve got plenty of hap!
The beginnings of a headache bloom behind my left eye.
Chapter 4
Hate to brag, but I’m actually killing it this morning. I’ve made a stack of pancakes even though Poppy, who requested them, is still snoring. Lila dive-bombed the two of us at the crack of dawn, as per, but Poppy rolled over and went back to sleep. So we left my sister snoozing and I decided to use my time wisely, whipping up pancakes and a batch of raspberry oat muffins because I’m basically next-gen Mary Berry.
Lila’s wearing her little chef’s hat and happily dolloping raspberries into the mixture, which gives me this lovely sense of satisfaction. Maybe I’m doing an okay job at motherhood after all? Today St Barnaby’s is having a bake sale to raise funds for a new playground. An email came round a couple of weeks back, and I actually read it and made a note in my calendar to send in a bake.
‘What’s going on here?’ Poppy pads into the kitchen with a yawn, eyeing up the mess of pots and pans. She has a silk sleep mask pushed up on her head which she wears to stave off early signs of wrinkles, she told me last night as she climbed into my bed. Given that she’s still in her twenties, you can imagine how I felt about that.
‘School bake sale!’ Lila cheers while her auntie helps herself to the pancakes.
‘Would you mind taking these muffins to reception once you’ve dropped Lila off?’ I ask.
Poppy’s face falls. ‘I forgot to tell you last night, I’ve got a class first thing this morning so I can’t do drop-off.’
After quitting her high-flying job, Poppy moved back here to live with her old friend Adam and is now studying photography. She wants to be a wedding photographer because, naturally, my little sister LOVES weddings, romance and mooning over Keats poems. Which makes it all the more ridiculous that she has yet to figure out that she’s living with the love of her life. Mum and I are convinced that she and Adam will eventually get together because they make the cutest pair. But we know Poppy. And we know not to push.
