‘No, not dead, but gone all the same. We were together for ten years, and he dumped me so that I didn’t get my hopes up – yet again – that he might propose over Christmas. I feel incredibly stupid, like I’ve wasted all my good time waiting for a bus that was on a completely different route. My mother never liked him; I should have listened to her.’
‘You arenotstupid. He sounds ghastly, what a mean thing to say. At least he could have pretended to have a less patronising reason. Men can be so tedious. And anyway, what do you mean by your ‘good’ time?’
‘I’m thirty-eight, Bunny, a bit late to find a happy ending when you’ve got to start from scratch.’
She snorted.
‘Nonsense! I suppose you mean too late for babies?’ I nodded miserably. ‘Well, you’re not. All my friends are having them at forty and beyond, you’ll be positivelyà la mode.’
‘Do you really think so?’
‘Yes. I mean, look at me. I’m older than you and as well as the twins – well, I’m expecting again.’
‘You are? Congratulations!’
So that was it. Thank goodness. I had been quite worried about Bunny, but this explained it.
‘Well, I’m not sure congratulations are in order. It wasn’t exactly planned and…’
She screwed up her mouth and stared up at the ceiling. Now it was my turn to go and sit by her.
‘You’re not sure you want another baby?’
‘Not entirely. Is that very wicked?’
‘Not remotely. What does Ben think?’
‘He’s hardly said a thing, he’s just stayed away more and more…Oh Pixie, he might be gone, too, like Tedious Timothy.’
I hardly knew what to say to her.
‘Maybe he simply needs some time to process it?’
‘Well, he should be bloody well processing it here with me.’
I couldn’t argue with that.
‘He should. I wish I could give you a gin and tonic to match mine.’
‘Oh, so do I, so do I!’
We laughed.
‘How have you found Lando since you’ve been here?’ asked Bunny, changing the subject deftly.
‘I haven’t seen that much of him, but he’s been fine.’ I reddened. ‘He did think I was drinking whisky at ten o’clock in the morning when I was looking after the twins, but I promise I wasn’t. It was plain hot chocolate.’
Bunny let out a scream of laughter.
‘He isawful. He used to be dreadfully louche himself, he would have thought nothing of a whisky stiffener with breakfast, if the occasion called for it. Nothing like a reformed sinner.’
I grinned.
‘That’s exactly what the twins said you’d say. Was he…is he…an alcoholic?’
I shouldn’t be asking such personal questions about my employer’s brother-in-law, but, talking of alcohol, the few sips I had taken of the gigantic gin and tonic had already loosened me up. Bunny shook her head.
‘It never went that far, but working in the City in those high-pressured, vastly overpaid jobs – well, it carries a certain lifestyle with it, expectations, and one of those is to be twenty-four-hourfun, making it look as though you’re effortlessly slipping your flawless and lucrative work in around the partying. He ended up having a bad time of it, but hopefully it will work out for the best in the end. Zara walking out was certainly a good thing,Ithink.’
