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‘Oh no, not another one on the “something not right about them” list,’ Shay chuckled. She had never heard her mum say this about Les before. Perhaps she’d got her mixed up with someone else – Paula, maybe.
‘I always thought she looked like someone who’d be all smiles to your face but wasn’t so nice behind your back. Sly.’
Shay’s features creased in consternation. ‘Are we talking about the same person?’
‘Yes. The one who could barely fit up the aisle when she got married.’
‘Mum. She did give birth about two weeks after the wedding.’
‘And she picked the most hideous bridesmaids’ dresses for you and… Tanya that I’ve ever seen in my whole life. She didn’t want you to outshine her.’
Shay laughed. ‘You’re biased.’ But still, she was right about the dress. Angelina Jolie would have looked a munter in it.
‘Three will always be a crowd where friends areconcerned,’ Roberta said then. ‘And the odd one out always knows who she is.’
Her mum was wide of the mark there. They were an equal three. Shay might have confided in Tan more but she loved them both the same. She’d never questioned their parity. It made her wonder, though, if the other two ever had.
Chapter 9
Shay walked into the restaurant and saw the woman stand up at a far table and wave but it wasn’t Lesley. The woman waved again. A double-take. Yes it really was Lesley, but not Lesley as Shay knew her. This Lesley had a waist and thick caramel hair falling down to it; she looked like something offThe Only Way is Essex. Close up, after she had weaved her way through the tables to get to her, there were even more differences from the old Les: fuller lips, enormous black lashes and a tan that suggested Lesley must have spent the time between Shay seeing her last and now skewered on a rotisserie spit. She even smelt differently as they greeted each other. Gone was the Poison she had worn since she was a teenager and in its place was something spicy and exotic and very overpowering. Shay imagined it would act like mace if it were sprayed in someone’s eyes.
‘My God, Les, I didn’t recognise you.’ Shay’s eyes fell onto the bag that sat on the table, focused on the upturned triangle motif. ‘Wow, is that real Prada?’ she mouthed.
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Lesley, ‘it’s a good copy from Turkey.Someone from the office brought it back for me. It was still dear, mind.’
Lesley whipped the bag off the table and put it under her chair. Shay noticed her nails as she did so, like eagle talons, painted pearly white with swirly patterns on them. They’d be impossible to type with and Les did a lot of keyboard work in her job.
‘You look absolutely fabulous,’ said Shay, trying not to stare too much at the many differences between this version of Les and the one she’d seen four months ago. She’d been dieting hard and had lost two stone, but this was one hell of a serious update since then.
They sat and before Shay could even ask what Les’s big news was, she revealed it.
‘I might as well tell you, I’ve left Morton.’
Shay’s jaw dropped; she really hadn’t expected that. Not after all those years of threatening to but never doing it and ‘No…!’ was all she could articulate by way of response.
‘Choose what you’re having in case the waiter comes and then I’ll fill you in.’
Shay glanced at the menu but her brain was far from engaged. She picked the first thing she saw that sounded nice because food was secondary at this lunch and she just wanted to get quickly to the juice.
As Les was relaying her salad niçoise and Shay’s buttermilk chicken steak choices to the waiter, Shay tried not to scrutinise her face but couldn’t help it. She’d definitely had something done to it apart from the poutier lips. Her forehead was smooth enough to ski down and her eyes didn’t move when she flashed a smile; it looked a bit odd if she was honest. Her client Colin used to have lovely crinkles around his eyes before he went to Poland and returned looking as ifhe’d been dipped in wax. Shay wouldn’t have been surprised to find a wick protruding from the top of his head whenever she saw photos of him in trade magazines.
Lesley, who would have ordinarily ordered a pint of lager at this point, plumped for a sparkling mineral water. When the waiter melted away, Shay could hardly wait for her to begin.
‘I bet you thought this day would never come,’ said Les.
‘Well, I’m… I’m shocked,’ replied Shay, which was an understatement. ‘What made you finally do it?’
Les dabbed the corners of her mouth delicately with her napkin. Les and delicate fitted together as much as Les and salad did.
‘Nothing I can put my finger on. I was woken up by his pig-like snoring, as happens most nights, but this time instead of ramming my elbow into his back, something in me snapped. He went out to work and I packed my stuff, got in the car and booked into a hotel. Simple as that.’
The waiter arrived with the water and a small Pinot Grigio for Shay, who wished she’d ordered a large one now. The ice rattled cheerfully in Les’s glass as she lifted it to her inflated lips which looked as if they might pop at any moment.
‘Then?’ asked Shay, intent on hurrying her along.
‘Let me just say, it’s surprising what you choose to take with you when you’re in the zone; your brain goes into a very strict essential/non-essential mode. Two suitcases full, that’s all I took. I filed for divorce the same day and that’s that.’
‘When did all this happen?’
