She snorted and grabbed the tray of drinks. ‘If that’s true, maybe you can sort Frank out. He’s already put some weird artwork on his office wall this morning. It’s like he never went away.’
My plan to avoid him was ruined when one by one, he called each of us into his office to catch up, predictably leaving me till last.
‘Phoebe, do you have a minute?’
Here we go. I swivelled around in my chair, swiping my notepad and sales folder from the desk. My heart was racing but I managed to keep calm, casually walking into his office like nothing had ever happened.
He closed the door and cleared his throat. It seems he was as nervous as I was. I waited for him to sit back behind his desk.
‘Still a fan of the artwork, I see.’ I gestured towards the painting on the wall. ‘It’s nice that you’ve done that – most parents just hang it on the fridge.’
‘Still a smart-arse then?’ he replied, smiling. ‘It’s good to see you.’
‘Um, yes – you too . . .’
‘I see you had a baby.’
I blinked at him with a blank expression on my face as he became flustered.
‘I don’t mean from the way you look – you actually look thinner than I remember – I just meant from your file here. It mentions your maternity leave.’
I put my head in my hands. ‘This isweird, Frank, I’m not going to pretend otherwise.’
He adjusted the photo of Vanessa on his desk. ‘Oh, calm down, woman. What happened . . . well, it was years ago. I’m not giving it a second thought and neither should you. God, you’re just as infuriating as ever.’
‘Infuriating? I’ve hardly spoken a word!’
‘You don’t have to. You just . . . exist.’
‘Yeah? Yeah . . . well, you got old as fuck.’
There was a moment’s silence before we both started to laugh. The tension was officially broken and Lucy was right. It was like he’s never been away.
Wednesday April 25th
I took Molly to the park after nursery this afternoon and tried to clear my head a little while she played with a couple of her friends. I feel quite unsettled now that Frank has returned, and not because I’ve been pining for him or that I want to sleep with him again, more because it brings back memories of a time when I was still fucked up over Alex. Where my future was bleaker than it is now, but also where I was free to do whatever I wanted. No one relied on me. No one expected anything from me. I don’t feel comfortable living in the past but seeing Frank again has dragged me back there.
Thursday April 27th
Oliver was chirpy enough as we walked into Pam’s office, making me think that his ‘confessions’ weren’t going to be half as bad as mine. This time, I took the tea she always offered and sat down in my usual spot.
‘So, Oliver, why don’t you begin?’ she requested, handing me a cup with a badly-drawn pineapple on it. ‘My niece.’ Pam winked. ‘She made it at nursery. It’s utter crap but I still adore it.’
Oliver uncrossed his legs and sat forward.
‘OK . . . sometimes I wish Phoebe would take Molly away for a few days, just to give me some space.’ He rubbed his forehead and turned to face me. ‘I know it makes me sound like a shit and I love you both but . . . why are you smiling?’
‘Because I was going to say the same thing! I totally get it!’
The relief on his face was priceless. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so awful after all.
As usual, Pam sat facing us, smiling. ‘Well, that one was easy. Phoebe, would you like to go next?’
I took a deep breath. ‘I have a new client at work. And it turns out that I slept with him years ago and I didn’t know whether to tell you or not.’
Oliver laughed. ‘Really? Who?!’
‘Do you remember the guy who lived with his parents and I smashed one of their plates and he lost the plot?’
