Page 14 of Summer at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

‘Okay, okay. So, Jill, how many different people have you kissed – romantically, that is?’

‘Ooh, now then …’ Jill held out her hand as she was thinking, counting off digits. ‘Blimey, some of them will be way back. School stuff and first boyfriends.’

‘Better be before Dad …’

Robert was counted in as number four – Eve spotted Rachel sighing slightly, bless her, as Jill mouthed her dad’s name. And then Jill paused before counting out one more … oh, Dan? She must have kissed Dan. Eve didn’t know too much about Jill’s new romance, but she knew it had been a bit tough for Rachel to come to terms with.

‘Five. Yes, five.’

Five in all her fifty-two years. She’d married young, Eve supposed. Times were different then.

‘Thank you, Jill!’

‘Next, Rachel. Bride-to-be. We need to know your first kiss – when, where and who with.’

‘Really? Okay, so it was at school, in the summer, school field, I was fifteen …’ She pinked up, remembering. ‘It was pretty awful, a clash of teeth and metal braces, in fact.’ Rachel had wondered what the fuss was all about. ‘Hah, yes, his lips were a bit like a washing machine on full spin.’

The group were in fits of giggles now.

‘And … it was with Matty Douglas,’ came Rachel’s confession.

‘Hah, yes.’ Eve smiled, having been privy to this ‘major’ news at the time.

‘Ooh, really?’ Hannah raised her eyebrows.

‘Yes, of course,’ Charlotte chipped in. Matty was still about in the village. He was a nice lad, had improved since the braces had come off. He now had a car-valeting business and was married with a kid.

‘Eve’s turn,’ the girls called out, grinning. They were nearly all done now, bar Kirsty.

Eve felt a flash of concern. She hated this kind of game at the best of times, and now it made her feel a bit queasy … especially with everything that was going on in her life right now. ‘Okay, okay.’

‘So, Eve, last kiss, when, where and with whom?’

‘You didn’t give me the chance to say Truth or Dare,’ Eve blurted out.

‘Hmm … Eve Jones, you are reluctant to tell the truth … interesting …’ Kirsty put on an interrogative tone, then took a big sip of her Irish cream.

‘Okay, yes, it was Amelia when we said goodbye on Thursday morning.’

‘Romantic kisses, we’re talking,’ added Kirsty.

Eve felt herself flush before quickly saying, ‘Ben, of course.’

‘Right then, we need a question for Kirsty now,’ Rachel said, swiftly rolling the game on. Eve saw her friend glance across at her, seeming to sense her unease. ‘Come on, ladies, group confab. It needs it be a good one,’ Rachel continued.

The group whispered between themselves, until Charlotte came up with a great question. ‘Have you ever had a crush on a teacher at high school? If so, which one and why?’

Between them, they pretty much knew all the high-school teachers, having been to the same school (except for Hannah, who’d moved to the village once she’d married), and it opened up a fun conversation with a few cringeworthy teachers’ names thrown in the mix. Kirsty bypassed the obvious choice of Mr Adams the PE teacher, and plumped for Mr Stephens who’d taught Geography. ‘Tall, not bad looking, and he made Geography seem pretty cool.’

‘Fair enough,’ commented Rachel. ‘I can see how he might have some appeal.’

‘Hah, you were too busy looking at Jake to be eyeing up the teachers,’ said Charlotte.

‘Yeah well, look where that led me …’ Eve knew that Rachel didn’t regret having her beautiful daughter for a minute, but her relationship with Maisy’s dad, Jake, had been a bit of a disaster. ‘Maybe I should have been harbouring secret crushes on the teachers at that point.’

With the game over, they relaxed back into the sofas. With Hannah putting some music to play on her iPhone, they chilled out and enjoyed the rest of their last night away. It was just before midnight when Eve found herself yawning. She felt shattered. It was time to crash out. ‘Sorry to wimp out, but I’m going to have to get to my bed, folks …’

‘Yeah, me too.’ Kirsty caught the yawning bug.