And, on the whole, Aunt Vi had done a good job, certainly the best she knew how, considering she’d never married or had children. There was no doubting Vi’s love for Sarah and Becky, nor her compassion – she had given up her job as matron in Coleraine hospital to help her brother raise his two motherless daughters.
‘Lots of kids cycle to the high school, Aunt Vi,’ she said cheerfully. ‘She’ll have good lights and a helmet and a fluorescent vest for when it’s dark. And she’s done her cycling proficiency.’
Molly nodded vigorously and a look of genuine fear crossed Aunt Vi’s face as she gazed upon her great-niece. Sarah felt a wave of compassion for her. ‘Honestly, Aunt Vi, we wouldn’t let her do it if we didn’t think it was safe.’
After they’d eaten, Dad gave the children two pounds each and they went off in search of Yellow Man. It wasn’t long before they came running in, clutching bags of mustard-yellow toffee that shared a close resemblance in appearance, if not in texture, to natural sponge.
‘We just saw Daddy!’ cried Lewis.
‘With Raquel,’ said Molly, breathlessly.
‘Where?’ said Sarah, glancing at the door.
‘In Daddy’s car,’ said Lewis.
‘They waved but they didn’t stop,’ added Molly.
Inside, Sarah bristled. How could Ian drive past his own children without pulling over, if only for a few moments? That would be down to Raquel, of course. She had no time for Molly and Lewis.
‘I can’t stand that woman,’ said Aunt Vi; Sarah shot her a warning look. She was no fan of Ian’s new wife either but, for the children’s sake, she tried to hide it.
Dad asked to see the hoard of Yellow Man and pinched a bit out of Molly’s bag, which resulted in lots of loud laughter and good-humoured recriminations.
‘She’s so common,’ mouthed Aunt Vi to Sarah over the noise.
Sarah leaned across the table to Aunt Vi and said quietly, ‘Like it or not, Raquel’s their stepmother now. We all have to make the best of it.’
Her aunt snorted. ‘Some stepmother. She’s never there half the time they’re at their Dad’s. Honestly, Sarah, I don’t know what Ian ever saw in that woman.’
‘I hope this ATS conference is a one-off,’ said Jessica, referring to the Australian telecommunications giant that had just bought over Vision Telecommunications Services, or VTS, for whom she and Sarah both worked. ‘I don’t fancy organising this every year.’ Jessica was a very pretty redhead with pale skin and green eyes – and Sarah’s friend.
They were standing at the entrance to the banqueting hall in the glamorous Europa Hotel on Great Victoria Street, Belfast’s ‘Golden Mile’. Outside, the February cold had given way to a wet and windy March. Jessica peered into the room, ticked something off the list on her clipboard and tutted crossly to herself.
‘If I don’t get a drink inside you soon, you’ll turn into a gremlin,’ said Sarah. ‘Come on.’
Jessica looked at her watch, hugged the clipboard to her chest and pulled a disappointed face. ‘I can’t, honey. I have to check the visual display equipment is working,’ she said, pointing with the biro into the banqueting hall.
Sarah looked down at her rose red satin pencil dress, all folds and pleats, which clung to her figure like it was sprayed on. She screwed up her face doubtfully. ‘Do you think this is okay? I bought it for a wedding last year and thought it would do for cocktail parties, but now I’m thinking it’s a bit OTT.’
‘Nonsense,’ exclaimed Jessica with an approving nod of her head. ‘It’s gorgeous. Adds a bit of glamour to an otherwise rather dull occasion.’
Sarah smiled gratefully and Jessica added, ‘You might even catch the eye of one of the Australian change management guys. They arrived an hour ago.’ She raised her right eyebrow like a challenge and said huskily, ‘A couple of them are rather tasty. Kind of makes me wish I was single.’
Sarah laughed off the suggestion and made her way to the drinks reception alone. As soon as she stepped into the wood-panelled room, the soft buzz of civilised conversation closed around her like a blanket. A beaming waitress held out a silver tray of champagne flutes, filled with fizzy, straw-yellow liquid. ‘Prosecco, madam?’
She took a glass and, spying a group of familiar faces, threaded her way through the crowd, holding the glass aloft to avoid spills on her precious dress. ‘And here’s Sarah,’ said her boss Andy, with affection in his deep Home Counties voice. ‘Looking absolutely gorgeous.’
‘You don’t brush up too badly yourself,’ teased Sarah, who regarded portly, grey-haired Andy as a kindly father figure.
‘We were just talking about whether or not ATS might centralise HR,’ said a worried-looking, slightly breathless Trevor, his slightly too-big suit hanging off his shoulders.
‘If they do, they’ll put us all out of a job,’ said Lizzy, one year out of uni and dressed in a royal blue bondage dress that suited her dark colouring but could’ve covered more of her well-built modesty.
Sarah considered the possibility of redundancy and took a gulp of bubbly. Then she glanced at Trevor and Lizzy’s solemn faces and said, ‘I don’t think we’ve anything to worry about. I reckon they’ll need us more than ever once these change management consultants have finished.’
She looked at Andy for support. ‘Sarah’s right. If there’re going to be job cuts, you guys will be busier than ever.’ Lizzy nodded in grim understanding and everyone looked glumly at the floor.
In an effort to lift the mood, Sarah said, ‘Don’t be so downhearted. Change can bring problems, but it also brings opportunities.’
Andy said, ‘Here, here! Listen, kids, it’s not often we get a free jaunt on the business, so let’s stop imagining the worst. Here’s to free bubbly and a good dinner!’ He raised his glass, radiating bonhomie like heat from a fire.
The mood immediately lifted and Sarah took a big gulp, determined to banish the blues and have a great time.
Trevor said, ‘God I’m starving. I could eat a horse,’ and everyone laughed for, in spite of his slight frame he was always hungry.
‘I wish I had your constitution,’ said Andy patting his big, round stomach. ‘If I so much as look at cream cake, it goes right on here.’ He pulled a face, distorting his mobile features into a caricature, making everyone roar with laughter.
Sarah tossed back the rest of her drink, her way of indicating to Lizzy and Trevor that it was okay to relax and have fun tonight, maybe even get a little drunk. Andy took Sarah gently by the elbow and steered her away from the other two. ‘There’s someone you must meet over here,’ he said, business-like all of a sudden.
‘See you at the table, guys,’ Sarah called out over her shoulder.
‘Love your dress,’ mouthed Lizzy, her eye running down Sarah’s figure.
‘Yours too.’
‘Now,’ said Andy peering through the throng, which was becoming more animated by the minute as inhibitions took flight along with the steady consumption of alcohol. ‘This guy’s in charge of the change management team, external consultants brought over from Oz to realign us with the VTS way of doing things. They’ll be here for six months, maybe longer.’
Sarah sailed across the room in his wake, the crowd parting like a sea in the face of his enormous bulk. She’d drunk the wine too quickly on an empty stomach. It had gone to her head making her feel slightly giddy.
Andy called out