of money. The people involved are incredibly dynamic. I’m really impressed with their ambition and drive.’
Lucy sounded so excited. I was genuinely happy for her. She had been very up and down since Serge was born (another name my mother constantly gave out about, but Donal had insisted on naming him after the famous French rugby player), and this was the first time I’d heard her sound so upbeat in ages. On the downside, though, I knew Donal wasn’t going to like his wife travelling so much.
‘How are you going to work it all out? Will Donal and Serge move here too? Oh, my God, you could rent a house in Putney. We could be neighbours! What does Donal think?’
Silence. She looked away.
‘Lucy?’
‘I haven’t told him the extent of my travelling yet.’
Christ, was she crazy? How could she tell me and hold out on her own husband? ‘Because you know he’ll go mad?’
‘Yes.’ She threw back more wine and looked uncomfortable. I wanted to say something helpful and sympathetic, but I couldn’t think of a positive spin to put on being away from Donal and Serge four days out of seven.
‘It’ll be tricky trying to juggle everything,’ I said gently, not wanting to rile her. Lucy had a pretty sharp temper when she was annoyed.
She shrugged. ‘I’ll fly out first thing Monday mornings and fly back on Thursday or Friday evenings – it’s only three or four nights a week. Men do it all the time. It’s really not a big deal.’
The thought of being away from Yuri and Lara four nights a week made me feel ill. I could never do it. But Lucy was different. She was quite masculine in the way she was able to separate work from parenthood. She loved her work and Serge, and she didn’t see why one had to negate the other. When it came to balancing work and spending time with him, her stock response was: ‘If I was a man, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’
She was right, but it was different for most women because they didn’t want to be away from their child all day. Lucy rarely put Serge to bed during the week because she always worked late. To be honest, I think she was struggling with motherhood. It hadn’t come naturally to her. She often complained about how boring it was. But Serge was only two and, like Lara, he had been slow to speak. I knew that when he began to talk properly, and became more of a little companion, Lucy would really fall in love with him. In the meantime,her new job meant that Donal would be left holding the baby. ‘It’s still kind of tough on Donal, being on his own all week. You’d have to see that from his point of view.’
‘He’s got the nanny to help out,’ Lucy snapped. ‘Emma, I know it’s not ideal, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make some real money. I could retire in a few years if it goes well. I can spend lots of time with Serge then. I’m not giving this up. No way.’
I reached out and patted her arm. ‘Hey, I’m on your side and I’m happy for you. I’m just pointing out that you taking the job makes Donal’s life more … complicated. So when you’re breaking the news to him, you should probably acknowledge that.’
Lucy turned to me, her mouth set in a determined line. ‘Donal has a great life, Emma. I pay the mortgage and I organize all the childcare, leaving him free to write his sports column and do his rugby commentating at the weekends. During the week he plays golf and does some volunteer work, teaching inner-city kids to play rugby. Not a lot of men have that kind of luxury. My career is the reason he has the freedom to pick and choose the jobs he wants.’
Again, she had a point, but it wasn’t the whole picture. Donal was lucky in some ways. James certainly didn’t have the freedom his friend enjoyed. Makeup artists didn’t earn much money. I barely made enough to cover childcare, transport and groceries. It was hard for men to have that pressure on their shoulders. Even with all the talk of equality
Lucy sounded so excited. I was genuinely happy for her. She had been very up and down since Serge was born (another name my mother constantly gave out about, but Donal had insisted on naming him after the famous French rugby player), and this was the first time I’d heard her sound so upbeat in ages. On the downside, though, I knew Donal wasn’t going to like his wife travelling so much.
‘How are you going to work it all out? Will Donal and Serge move here too? Oh, my God, you could rent a house in Putney. We could be neighbours! What does Donal think?’
Silence. She looked away.
‘Lucy?’
‘I haven’t told him the extent of my travelling yet.’
Christ, was she crazy? How could she tell me and hold out on her own husband? ‘Because you know he’ll go mad?’
‘Yes.’ She threw back more wine and looked uncomfortable. I wanted to say something helpful and sympathetic, but I couldn’t think of a positive spin to put on being away from Donal and Serge four days out of seven.
‘It’ll be tricky trying to juggle everything,’ I said gently, not wanting to rile her. Lucy had a pretty sharp temper when she was annoyed.
She shrugged. ‘I’ll fly out first thing Monday mornings and fly back on Thursday or Friday evenings – it’s only three or four nights a week. Men do it all the time. It’s really not a big deal.’
The thought of being away from Yuri and Lara four nights a week made me feel ill. I could never do it. But Lucy was different. She was quite masculine in the way she was able to separate work from parenthood. She loved her work and Serge, and she didn’t see why one had to negate the other. When it came to balancing work and spending time with him, her stock response was: ‘If I was a man, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’
She was right, but it was different for most women because they didn’t want to be away from their child all day. Lucy rarely put Serge to bed during the week because she always worked late. To be honest, I think she was struggling with motherhood. It hadn’t come naturally to her. She often complained about how boring it was. But Serge was only two and, like Lara, he had been slow to speak. I knew that when he began to talk properly, and became more of a little companion, Lucy would really fall in love with him. In the meantime,her new job meant that Donal would be left holding the baby. ‘It’s still kind of tough on Donal, being on his own all week. You’d have to see that from his point of view.’
‘He’s got the nanny to help out,’ Lucy snapped. ‘Emma, I know it’s not ideal, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make some real money. I could retire in a few years if it goes well. I can spend lots of time with Serge then. I’m not giving this up. No way.’
I reached out and patted her arm. ‘Hey, I’m on your side and I’m happy for you. I’m just pointing out that you taking the job makes Donal’s life more … complicated. So when you’re breaking the news to him, you should probably acknowledge that.’
Lucy turned to me, her mouth set in a determined line. ‘Donal has a great life, Emma. I pay the mortgage and I organize all the childcare, leaving him free to write his sports column and do his rugby commentating at the weekends. During the week he plays golf and does some volunteer work, teaching inner-city kids to play rugby. Not a lot of men have that kind of luxury. My career is the reason he has the freedom to pick and choose the jobs he wants.’
Again, she had a point, but it wasn’t the whole picture. Donal was lucky in some ways. James certainly didn’t have the freedom his friend enjoyed. Makeup artists didn’t earn much money. I barely made enough to cover childcare, transport and groceries. It was hard for men to have that pressure on their shoulders. Even with all the talk of equality
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