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‘Do you still do the church thing?’ asked Trish.
‘No,’ said Hannah. ‘And I do drink, sometimes.’ She held up her wine glass. ‘I’m working a late shift tomorrow, so I don’t have to get up early.’
‘Where is it you work again?’ Gaynor asked.
‘I’m office manager at Upton Country Club,’ Hannah said.
‘Oh yeah, I think I’ve seen you there,’ said Gaynor, like she was a regular. Hannah knew for a fact that she’d visited occasionally as a guest of her sister-in-law but wasn’t a member herself. ‘Do you get free treatments in the spa?’
Hannah shrugged. ‘I get a fifty per cent discount, but I don’t tend to use it.’
Trish perked up. ‘Can we use it?’
‘No. Tell me about this tennis holiday.’
Gaynor smiled and pressed her hands together in excitement. ‘We’ve been loads of times. It’s at this place called Club Colina, it’s a five-star tennis resort in the hills above Marbella.’
‘I wonder why it’s called Colina?’ mused Trish. ‘Maybe it’s owned by a guy called Colin.’
‘Colinais Spanish for hill,’ said Hannah, trying not to roll her eyes.
‘I knew that,’ said Trish quietly.
‘Anyway,’ continued Gaynor. ‘It’s, like, five hours of tennis every day, for six days. Drills, bootcamp, one-to-one coaching. There’s a pool and a spa and really nice bars and stuff. It’s amazing.’
‘And you guys go every year?’ Hannah had noticed the four women disappearing from training every now and then but had never considered where they might go.
‘Most years,’ said Jess. ‘We’ve taken a few off to have kids and stuff. Our husbands trade us a boys’ golfing trip in September.’
‘My mum and sister look after my kids,’ said Trish. ‘I’m single.’
‘And you’re married, right?’ Jess asked Hannah.
‘Actually, I’m separated.’ Hannah hesitated slightly, feeling the word take shape in her mouth for the first time. It tasted strange but somewhat sweet, like a cocktail she’d never tried before.
‘Oh wow, I’m really sorry,’ said Jess, her eyes widening.
‘Don’t be,’ said Hannah quickly. ‘I’m not. So no Carla, which means you’re one short.’
Jess nodded. ‘Yeah. And if we don’t have four, there’s a chance the coaches will lump us with a spare. Somebody on holiday on their own.’
Hannah sucked air through her teeth. ‘That’s risky.’
‘Exactly,’ said Jess. ‘And I don’t want to blow our own trumpet or anything, but we don’t want someone who isn’t up to our standard. Last time we went, there was this group of guys who had seven in their group, someone dropped out at the last minute. The coaches subbed in this random who could barely hit a ball.’
‘So you want me for my tennis rather than my party lifestyle?’ Hannah asked with a playful smile.
Jess laughed. ‘Yeah, but it will be really fun too. Gorgeous hotel, some fun nights out. And the tennis is amazing. We all get loads out of it.’
Hannah gave it some thought while Gaynor topped up her glass. Five hours of tennis every day in the Spanish sunshine, a long way away from this Graham-infested town. It was tempting. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a proper break from work. She and Graham rarely had the chance to go away in the summer because of her duties as ladies’ tennis captain, and Graham didn’t like flying. The idea of spending a week in the sunshine, playing tennis – actually it was more than tempting.
Her mind whirred as she thought about taking a season off from her tennis captaincy, maybe extending her trip and making use of the month-long sabbatical she was owed from work. Perhaps she could even visit her dad, who she hadn’t seen for three years and who only lived a couple of hours from Marbella. Maybe it would be a good way to draw a line under the first set of her life, then start the second with a dramatic change of scenery.
‘What do you think?’ asked Jess, snapping her out of her reverie.
‘When is it?’ Hannah asked.
‘Well, that’s the thing,’ said Jess, looking a little awkward. ‘It’s in three weeks. We fly on the first of May.’
