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“I don’t know. Things can never be how they used to be, can they?”
“No, of course not, but there’s no reason they can’t be good.”
“Hmm,” said Kate. Her feelings towards Maddie had softened over the years, mainly thanks to Rissa’s counselling sessions and Bob’s calm logic. But so far, their only contact had been via email. This would be the first time Kate had laid eyes on Maddie in five years.
*
Kate stepped out into the beautiful hotel garden and spotted Maddie straight away. She was standing on the manicured lawn, legs spread wide as a small boy weaved a remote-controlled car back and forth through her legs. Maddie looked up and Kate gave her a wave.
“We’ve got a table over there,” said Maddie, jogging up to Kate and pointing to the far side of the terrace.
Kate followed Maddie to the table and sat down opposite her oldest friend.
“You look well,” they each said, laughing and smiling nervously at each other.
Maddie did look well, thought Kate. She had tell-tale purple crescents under her eyes that came with being a mother to a young child, but she’d grown out her hair and more than anything, she looked happy. A small boy ran over to them.
“This is Fred,” said Maddie, pulling the boy onto her lap. “Fred, this is your Aunty Kate.”
“Hi,” he said, before burying his head in his mother’s neck.
“Sorry,” said Maddie. “He’s really shy around strangers.”
Strangers. The word made Kate catch her breath. Why had she allowed her resentment to go on so long?
“It’s lovely to meet you at long last,” Kate said to the boy. He peeped out from behind Maddie’s hair. He’d inherited the best qualities from each of parent. Alex’s clear blue eyes, Maddie’s beautiful blond curls.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” A smart waiter stood holding an iPad poised to take their order.
“I’ll have a diet coke please,” said Kate.
“Same for me, plus a small orange juice.”
“You’re not drinking?” Kate asked, after the waiter had left.
“No, I hardly touch the stuff these days. Between work and Fred, there’s not much time left for a social life.” Kate detected a slight hint of regret in Maddie’s voice.
“Do your parents help with babysitting?”
“Yeah, sometimes. But they’re a couple of hours away so I mostly rely on the childminder.”
“Does Alex help out much?” Kate felt relief that it no longer hurt to say his name.
“Didn’t I tell you? He’s moved to Dubai.”
“Yes, you said, but I assumed he’d be coming back regularly to visit his son.”
Maddie let out a joyless chuckle. “He’s seen Fred once in the past three years. Fred’s lucky to have his Gramps, or he’d have no male role model at all.”
“What a bastard.”
“Yeah, he is.” They shared a knowing smile. “Look, Kate, I’m so sorry for what I did. I was a bit off the rails back then, but I know that’s no excuse. I have to be honest though, I don’t regret what happened. How could I?” Maddie looked at the beautiful boy on her lap and Kate understood exactly how she felt.
“To be honest, Maddie, it’s me who should be saying sorry. I wasn’t there when you needed me. I was so angry, but I think everything got a bit jumbled up, you, Mum, Dad, Alex. I’m much more sorted now.”
“So I see,” said Maddie, nodding towards Kate’s wedding ring. “I always thought there was something going on between you two.”
Kate laughed. “There wasn’t really. Not for a long time. We both had so much to sort out in our own heads, we stayed friends for ages before anything happened.”
