Georgie texted halfway through the morning, as Poppy was chopping butternut squash for a puree for Daniel.
You around for coffee?
Poppy wasn’t sure. It would be lovely to see Georgie, but after feeling quite energetic first thing she was now struggling to keep her eyes open. It was like the extra sleep she’d had had made hermoretired.
Thought you were going home today?
Staying longer. Tell you why later. See you at 11? Yours or the pub?
Georgie obviously wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Mine if you don’t mind the mess.
Poppy my middle name is mess. See you at 11.
Poppy found herself smiling. Other than Daniel, obviously, Georgie was maybe her favourite person in the world to spend time with right now, with Declan being so weird. You needed friends who made you feel happy.
Georgie rolled up at ten past eleven, and that made Poppy smile too. Georgielovedthe idea ofpunctuality but was terrible at it in practice.
‘Sorry, sorry, sorry, got caught up,’ she said as she always did, as she barrelled into the kitchen and flung herself down at the table.
‘Where’s Max?’ Poppy turned the tap on to fill the kettle.
‘With my stepfather playing FIFA, and we all know that’ll end in tears when Richard walks out in the middle of the game because he’s suddenly bored, but I couldn’t do anything about it. That’s why I was late, trying to persuade Max to come here instead. Anyway, there’s an upside. Obviously Max is perfect, but it’s nice to be able to talk without an eleven-year-old listening.’
‘What do you want?’ Poppy gestured at the kettle.
‘Coffee. Fully caffeinated. It’s about the only resolution Ididn’tmake.’ Georgie gave an exaggerated eye roll and Poppy laughed. ‘Speaking of which, one of my resolutions was taking up yoga and I really don’t want to go alone so I wondered if you’d come with me?’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Poppy said automatically. It was tricky leaving Daniel for too long.
‘We could find one with a creche or we could go in the evening and Declan could babysit. I’m very happy to come over in this direction so you don’t have to travel. I only have to go once a fortnight, thank goodness. Pleeeeease.’
‘Okay, yes, maybe, if I can work things out with Daniel.’ In theory, Poppy would actually like to go, now she thought about it. She’d love to spend the time with Georgie, it sounded like anice, gentle way to get fitand– petty or not, it was how she felt right now – she would enjoy showing Declan that she could very happily enjoy herself without him.
‘Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’ll find somewhere and book it. I’ll try to get Beth to come too.’
‘Have you ever done yoga before?’ Poppy couldn’t totally imagine Georgie doing yoga. Obviously Ankita probably did it all the time but Georgie was less… serene.
‘No, and that’s why it’s such a great resolution. Well, actually it’s a shit resolution because when I’m sober I really don’t want to do it, but there you go. It will be good for me and it will be good for you too because apparently it’s good for all people ever, so we’ll both benefit, so really you should be grateful to me.’
Poppy laughed and reached for a biscuit, but then quickly withdrew her hand and pushed the plate away.
‘Resolution?’ asked Georgie. ‘Do you want to re-do the no-biscuit-taking so I can video you doing it?’
‘Not when I’m dressed like this!’ It wasn’t so much her hoodie and trackie bottoms as the fact that she had no make-up on at all and her hair had gone slightly mad overnight and she hadn’t done anything about it this morning other than brushing it, which had just made it seem even wirier.
‘You look lovely,’ Georgie told her. ‘As always.’
Poppy made a face.
Georgie said, ‘Okay, I’ll video just your hand.’
Video done and posted, she said, ‘Let me tell you a story about a cat with sharp teeth, a tree and A&E.’
The story was a good one, and soon Poppy had actual tears in her eyes from laughter.
‘And that’s why we’re here for longer than expected,’ Georgie finished. ‘I have to go back to the hospital walk-in centre and get my wound checked.’
