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‘Why, sure,’ Ted replies. He doesn’t seem to mind that she’s not answered his question.
Belle changes position a few times – one arm behind her head, hands on hips, a wistful gaze to the side, a cheeky grin as she bends forward.
‘There,’ Ted says. ‘I took a few.’ He looks at the screen. ‘Looks like Mom’s worried about you,’ he adds with a laugh, handing her back the phone.
Belle whips it away from him and sits down again, opening the message.
Darling, what’s going on? Are you in trouble? Please call me again. Love, Mum xxx
‘So whaddya say, hon?’ Ted asks. ‘We finish these drinks and then go back to my hotel?’
Slowly, Belle turns to face him. ‘You want me to have sex with you, don’t you?’ She raises her eyebrows as she sips her wine.
‘Well—’
‘No. No thank you. I’m meeting my fiancé. Anyway, you might have another heart attack.’ She keeps her voice sweet. Not a hint of aggression, which she knows he deserves.
‘Don’t know about that, darlin’, but you’rebreakingmy heart.’
Belle laughs, looking at the pictures he’s taken.That one, she thinks.And that one too. Time away has done her good. She adds a filter and a cute caption and hashtags and uploads them to Instagram. Then she flips the camera to face her and twists around in her chair, so her back is to the square. She films a short video clip of herself taking a drag of her cigarette, eyes hidden behind her sunglasses, adding it to her stories.
Then she switches off her phone.
CHAPTER FOUR
HANNAH – NOW
‘I still think one of us should have gone to the airport to meet her,’ I say to Rob as I get myself ready for the party. ‘I mean…after what happened yesterday, I’m not sure her getting the train home is a good idea.’ I shake my head, still disbelieving that Belle wasn’t on her original flight.
‘She’ll be fine,’ Rob replies. ‘She’s eighteen now, after all.’
A little stab of pain hits me. ‘So much for her birthday breakfast,’ I say, sad that Belle hadn’t woken up at home. I’d had it all planned out – croissants and orange juice followed by present-opening. Then I was going to make eggs Benedict. Her favourite.
Instead of which, Amber had a bowl of Cheerios in front of the TV and Rob shoved some bread in the toaster. I was too stressed to eat. ‘What if she’s not on today’s flight?’
‘She will be. Let’s not make a thing of it. Not on her birthday.’
He’s right, of course. I stare into my dressing table mirror. My wet hair hangs limply around my shoulders and my unmade-up face looks tired. Nothing a few good products won’t sort out, but it makes me wonder how I’ve gone from young woman to what feels like approaching middle age in such a short time that I didn’t even notice. I’m older than I feel inside. It doesn’t seem possible that I’m nearly forty.
I blow-dry my hair then moisturise my face and body, ignoring the tattoo on my thigh as my hand skims over it. Years ago, I investigated laser removal, but opted to get a flower tattoo to cover it up instead as I was concerned about scarring. Part of me still believes I deserved it. Branded for life. Rob thinks it was a drunken mistake on a girls’ holiday to Ibiza before Belle came along.
Once I’m dressed, I stuff my ballerina flats in my tote bag for later. There’s no way I can keep these heels on until the party ends. Then, as I’m doing my make-up, my phone pings, making me jump and smudge my lipstick.
Flight delayed by half-hour. Will be home about seven xxx
I close my eyes briefly. Seven is cutting it fine. By the time she’s got in and changed, and Natalia has persuaded her to get in the car so she can drive her to the venue – pretending she’s meeting us for dinner – it’s going to be going on eight o’clock at the earliest. And that’s assuming there are no delays with the trains.
Happy birthday again, darling!I type back. Of course, I messaged her birthday wishes when I woke, but this is the first time I’ve heard from her all day. I’ve been checking our family location sharing since she went away, but she’s had it turned off, ignoring my requests to change it back.Can’t wait to see you. Keep me posted xxx
Keeping this surprise under wraps is getting harder and harder. Some of Rob’s relatives have come a long way for the party and spent money booking into nearby hotels. Then I feel the usual pang when family crosses my mind. What would my mother make of everything? Would she be proud of me, Rob and the girls? Would she give me a hug and tell me she always knew I’d make a success of my life, despite everything? Would she want to be part of Belle and Amber’s lives, coming to visit and taking the girls on shopping sprees and treating them to cinema trips and weekends away?
‘Would she fuck,’ I say just as Rob comes into the bedroom.
He gives me a funny look but doesn’t ask why I was muttering to myself. If I confessed to thinking about my mother, then he’d know to change the subject. We don’t talk about her.
I stuff a couple of essentials into a clutch bag along with my phone then grab my tote containing Belle’s present and a few other items I’ll need.
‘You look gorgeous,’ he says.
