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Authors: Milly Johnson
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driving. The place is a bit off the beaten track so at least if I drive we can go directly there instead of faffing about with taxis when we get off the train at
Whitby.’
‘It’s a long way, Lars. I feel guilty.’
‘Don’t. I’ll drink a lot of coffee. Plus I like driving at night. I find it relaxing.’
‘I hate driving at night,’ said Clare. ‘I hate driving full stop, to be honest.’
‘Well there you go then. We’ll both be happy if I take the wheel.’
Clare needed to get away to a fresh space so much. She hadn’t had a holiday with girlfriends since she was in her early twenties – over ten years ago. She didn’t even know
where those friends were now. Careers and husbands and babies had had too much of a divisive effect on their lives. Some uncomplicated female company was just what she needed – and a glorious
pool, lots of fluffy white bathrobes and air heavy with aromatherapy scents.
‘How will you manage to tear yourself away from your handsome James for ten days?’ asked Clare. ‘And the children.’
Lara almost laughed. She had let her friends think that she had the perfect life in Dorking in that gorgeous big house. When she had shown them pictures of James, they had wolf-whistled. So this
was the man who had whisked her off her feet and into his home like a whirlwind, they had grinned. Lara had also showed them photos of her ‘step-children’ and she hadn’t put them
right when they cooed and said how lucky she was to have such a sweet-looking ready-made family. They presumed the children loved her and she loved them and all was hunky-dory in her world. And
because Lara wanted it to be that way and was sure that it would be, because she was pulling out all the stops to make it be like that, she had smiled and nodded and agreed that she was very lucky
indeed. The lie just got too big to own up to.
‘Well, I’ll be all the better for a battery recharge,’ said Lara. ‘The children are staying with their mum for the week anyway.’
Clare tried not to think too much about children – she couldn’t have the career which had been carved out for her and be a mother as well.
‘I am so looking forward to this holiday. It’s well overdue,’ said Clare. She needed someone to reach into her head and massage everything away so it was just a big empty shell
with no thoughts of work or family or Ludwig.
‘Yes, it will be great,’ replied Lara, hoping she sounded convincing.
‘I can’t even remember the last time I saw you face to face. Five years ago, wasn’t it?’
‘Ha ha.’
It was ridiculous that they all worked for the same company and yet saw each other so rarely. Lara couldn’t remember when she had last spent any quality time with Clare either.
‘Things okay with you, then, Lara?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Lara, injecting a positivity into her voice that she didn’t feel. Her paranoia was ridiculous. How the hell did teenage girls have such a handle on
psychology? And why? Lara had fallen over backwards to join the family home without putting anyone’s nose out of joint in the process. She had never tried to take the main motherly role
although, from what she had learned of Miriam’s maternal skills, she didn’t have a great deal to worry about. Miriam was a barrister; that her nickname was ‘Barracuda
Barrett’ was an indication of her warmth and gentleness. Not. She had left James for a High Court judge who lived in France and they commuted weekly into London on the train, staying at their
very swanky pied à terre in Knightsbridge. Miriam, luckily, had no interest in wasting her time picking fights with her ex-husband’s new partner. Lara suspected she didn’t ever
appear in Miriam’s conscious thoughts. But it wasn’t the brilliant glacial ex-wife that Lara was worried about; no, it was young, ‘spicily sexy’ Tianne. She would try her
best not to think that, as soon as she was out of the house, Tianne would move in. That was a
Whitby.’
‘It’s a long way, Lars. I feel guilty.’
‘Don’t. I’ll drink a lot of coffee. Plus I like driving at night. I find it relaxing.’
‘I hate driving at night,’ said Clare. ‘I hate driving full stop, to be honest.’
‘Well there you go then. We’ll both be happy if I take the wheel.’
Clare needed to get away to a fresh space so much. She hadn’t had a holiday with girlfriends since she was in her early twenties – over ten years ago. She didn’t even know
where those friends were now. Careers and husbands and babies had had too much of a divisive effect on their lives. Some uncomplicated female company was just what she needed – and a glorious
pool, lots of fluffy white bathrobes and air heavy with aromatherapy scents.
‘How will you manage to tear yourself away from your handsome James for ten days?’ asked Clare. ‘And the children.’
Lara almost laughed. She had let her friends think that she had the perfect life in Dorking in that gorgeous big house. When she had shown them pictures of James, they had wolf-whistled. So this
was the man who had whisked her off her feet and into his home like a whirlwind, they had grinned. Lara had also showed them photos of her ‘step-children’ and she hadn’t put them
right when they cooed and said how lucky she was to have such a sweet-looking ready-made family. They presumed the children loved her and she loved them and all was hunky-dory in her world. And
because Lara wanted it to be that way and was sure that it would be, because she was pulling out all the stops to make it be like that, she had smiled and nodded and agreed that she was very lucky
indeed. The lie just got too big to own up to.
‘Well, I’ll be all the better for a battery recharge,’ said Lara. ‘The children are staying with their mum for the week anyway.’
Clare tried not to think too much about children – she couldn’t have the career which had been carved out for her and be a mother as well.
‘I am so looking forward to this holiday. It’s well overdue,’ said Clare. She needed someone to reach into her head and massage everything away so it was just a big empty shell
with no thoughts of work or family or Ludwig.
‘Yes, it will be great,’ replied Lara, hoping she sounded convincing.
‘I can’t even remember the last time I saw you face to face. Five years ago, wasn’t it?’
‘Ha ha.’
It was ridiculous that they all worked for the same company and yet saw each other so rarely. Lara couldn’t remember when she had last spent any quality time with Clare either.
‘Things okay with you, then, Lara?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Lara, injecting a positivity into her voice that she didn’t feel. Her paranoia was ridiculous. How the hell did teenage girls have such a handle on
psychology? And why? Lara had fallen over backwards to join the family home without putting anyone’s nose out of joint in the process. She had never tried to take the main motherly role
although, from what she had learned of Miriam’s maternal skills, she didn’t have a great deal to worry about. Miriam was a barrister; that her nickname was ‘Barracuda
Barrett’ was an indication of her warmth and gentleness. Not. She had left James for a High Court judge who lived in France and they commuted weekly into London on the train, staying at their
very swanky pied à terre in Knightsbridge. Miriam, luckily, had no interest in wasting her time picking fights with her ex-husband’s new partner. Lara suspected she didn’t ever
appear in Miriam’s conscious thoughts. But it wasn’t the brilliant glacial ex-wife that Lara was worried about; no, it was young, ‘spicily sexy’ Tianne. She would try her
best not to think that, as soon as she was out of the house, Tianne would move in. That was a
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