‘Sounds bloody brilliant.’ Melissa smiled.
‘That’s great, Flick. I’m super proud of you.’
Felicity picked up her coffee. ‘And you, how was your evening? Did your meal go as planned?’
Lisa smiled. She knew Felicity was asking if she had finally had her conversation with Nathan, but as Melissa didn’t know about Pip, she was saving her further explanations.
‘Not exactly.’
‘Oh no.’ Flick looked at her, frowning.
‘That is, I buggered—’ Lisa stopped, remembering whereshe was before continuing, ‘—I messed up the meal. Slightly burned my hand and slumped to the floor crying when the potatoes fell in the sink—’
‘But—’
‘But after that spectacularly embarrassing moment, I had a very good chat with Nathan.’ Lisa met Felicity’s gaze, confirming it was the chat she and Nathan needed to have. ‘And then we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. I mean, we hadthe most amazing, frenetic and then fabulous S-E-X,’ she spelled the word out as if that made the conversation more appropriate for soft play, ‘we have ever had. It was …’ Lisa paused.
All three women turned to stare at the man on the next table, who had given up all pretence of scrolling through his phone to listen to Lisa’s conversation.
Realising all eyes were now on him, he turnedsuitably red and looked away.
Felicity took a breath. ‘Blimey, Lisa, I am so—’
‘You’re not pregnant, are you?’ Melissa blurted the words without preamble or explanation.
Lisa sat back, stunned, and Felicity jumped in.
‘Don’t be silly. For one thing, Lisa would know that, and for another she and Nathan haven’t been back together long; give them time.’
Not realising her wordsmight be insensitive, Melissa continued, ‘I remember my moods being all over the place, and having the best S-E-X when I was first pregnant – mind-blowing.’
The man on the next table adjusted his position in his seat.
Felicity shook her head. ‘Melissa, it’s not really appropriate to talk about sex—’
‘Mummy, I need a drink.’
‘Oh Christ!’ Felicity jumped at Callum’s words.
Lisasat still, stunned by Melissa’s unknowing words, grateful for Callum’s interruption.
Melissa grimaced and apologised to Flick while the man on the next table was clearly laughing at their expense.
Her cheeks red, Felicity flew into mummy mode. ‘OK, Pumpkin.’ She rummaged in an orange carrier bag by her feet and pulled out four bottles of water.
Fred appeared as if on cue, his hairwet with sweat, his cheeks glowing. Megan and Alice followed, looking slightly less sweaty but equally as rosy. The girls said hello to Lisa before picking up their drinks and gulping down water until their bottles contorted in protest. Once finished, the girls gasped for breath while their bottles popped back into shape.
‘Can we have a cookie now, Mummy?’ Megan wiped the back of her forearmover her brow.
‘I’m hungry,’ Alice added as if seconding the motion for cookies.
‘Cookies!’ Callum shouted.
Fred did what Lisa assumed must be his happy dance, until Felicity questioned if he needed his potty.
Feeling bad for having not just bought the cookies when she saw them, Lisa stood. ‘I’ll go and get them some.’
‘No, don’t worry. Look.’ Felicity slid her hand back intoher carrier bag and took out a bag of Smarties biscuits. ‘These were a pound for five up the road. Slip them in these napkins and we’ll pretend we got them here.’ She winked.
