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The kids are given crayons and pizza-shaped pieces of paper to colour in, and Joe turns to me.
‘Thanks for coming to my rescue. I don’t think I could have handled much more of that bake sale.’
‘What?’ I chuckle. ‘When you were so keen to volunteer?’
‘Only when I thought the other mums wouldn’t be there.’
‘Hang on, let me get this straight, you don’t like the other parents? Because you sure do seem to.’
He pulls a face. ‘They can be a bit much sometimes.’
‘Well, I’d love to know your secret. Everyone seems to love you. Didn’t Celeste say something about cooking for you?’
Joe grimaces. ‘I get casseroles.’
‘Wow. Life is so different for single mums. No one outside my family has offered to cook me anything! I bet you get high-fives just for looking after your kid, right? I see it all the time. People actively praise fathers for literally just being there for their children, like, “oh wow, look at that lovely dad taking his child to the park!” Whereas mums get judged. You should see the looks I get if I dare to pull out my phone at the playground.’
Joe clears his throat. ‘I think it’s a compassion thing. My wife died.’
‘Oh. Shit,’ I blurt, dropping my menu. ‘I’m so sorry, Joe. I had no idea … Shit. Sorry.’
‘Don’t be. It’s been over four years now. Sid was only a baby,’ he explains. My eyes track over to Joe’s son, my heart breaking for him. Lila only has one parent too, but her father and I decided that it would be better that way. Sidney’s mum didn’t get a choice. I realise that their stories are so similar and yet almost incomparable at the same time.
‘I’m not trying to shrug it off,’ Joe continues. ‘Of course it’s awful and sad but Sidney is so much more than the boy without a mum and I have spent far too long being the guy with the dead wife. I can see you wincing as I say that. I don’t mean to sound brutal. I’m so tired of the tea and sympathy aspect of it, that’s all.’
I let his words settle in. ‘I can understand that, I think. It’s a totally different set of circumstances but I find it annoying enough being labelled as the divorced mum.’
‘We’re so much more than that one part of ourselves,’ he says, nodding. ‘Sorry to hear about the divorce.’
‘Thanks. It’s a crap thing to go through but I came out the other side of it a long time ago.’
‘You’re dating again, that’s a good sign, right?’
‘Oh,’ I laugh, ‘god no! I’m only doing that to shut my sister up. She’s convinced I need to date and …’
‘Benedict Cumberbatch hasn’t swept you off your feet yet?’
‘Exactly,’ I say, smiling. ‘Selfish bastard. No, it’s more that I just do not want to date. I have a very busy, very fulfilled life as it is. So even if Benedict did rock up and confess his undying love, it would be a no from me. I decided a long time ago that I’m not getting myself attached to anyone.’
‘That’s a very firm stance.’
‘I’m quite a firm person.’ I grin. ‘So when are you going to tell the yummy mummies you’re over casseroles?’
‘I’m too chicken. They keep asking me to join the parent volunteer group,’ he says. ‘Celeste would eat me alive.’
Lightbulb moment! I mean when it happens, it really happens – a quite fantastic idea literally pops into my head out of nowhere.
I find myself reaching over to grab Joe’s hand in my enthusiasm. ‘Now that is a great idea. Being part of the parent group would be the perfect chance for me to fit in. Do you think they’d take me too? Oh my god, Joe, we should sign up together. I mean, admittedly I was hoping for something simpler, like a group coffee after drop-off, but actually this would be ideal. We could make time for it, right? Although what do we do about the kids while we’re in the meetings?’
‘What’s all this “we” chat?’ Joe narrows his eyes, casting a suspicious yet amused look at my hand, which is still on his. I immediately pull it away.
‘Don’t be annoying, Joe. They want you and I’d just be the by-product.’
‘Hold up, we’ve only just met. Just because you’re sat there in your business suit doesn’t mean you get to call all the shots. This isn’t The Apprentice.’
I suppress a snicker and pull my most persuasive face. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean to be pushy.’
‘You’ve got high-achiever written all over you. Look, there are two big problems with joining this group. One: I don’t want to. Two: as you’ve already pointed out, who looks after the kids? We’re single parents. What will Sid and Lila do when we’re swigging back supermarket wine and gabbing about hot school goss with our new gal pals?’ Joe tosses his hair back in a brilliant impression of Celeste and I can’t help but laugh.
