‘Busy as always,’ he said, ‘and it doesn’t help that my darling wife has a habit of jumping from one new project to another while expecting me to sort out the paperwork for what is meant to be her company.’
‘But you’re far better at it than I am,’ Sarah said with a playful smile. ‘And there’s so much to do.’
‘Which means I should be back at home sorting things out, but you insisted, and what Sarah wants, Sarah gets.’
‘Well, we’re glad you could make it,’ Nina answered, ‘aren’t we, Bryn?’
‘Most definitely. I know how work can take over your life.’
Miles gave a disinterested nod and it was Sarah who asked, ‘Have you never thought of starting up a business again?’
Bryn seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, only to shake his head. ‘Printing was all I knew, but the industry changed so fast. I wouldn’t know where to begin these days, and I wouldn’t want to try. Taxi-driving suits me fine: not as much stress and more time to spend with Nina and the kids.’
‘Have you been working this weekend?’ Sarah asked.
‘Yeah, and I’ll probably go out for a few hours tonight, although it’s hardly worth the effort on Sundays.’
Scarlett stopped gazing out of the window and turned an arched eyebrow towards Bryn. ‘Could you pick me up later?’
‘Pick you up from where?’ Nina demanded.
‘Eva’s,’ Scarlett said, as if it were obvious.
‘You were there last night and it’s school tomorrow.’
‘Oh, let the girl live a little,’ Miles said. ‘Is there a boy on the scene by any chance?’
Nina was about to come to her daughter’s rescue again, but this was a question she had asked often enough and it was refreshing to hear it from someone else.
‘No.’
‘How about you, Liam?’ Sarah asked.
All eyes turned to Nina’s eldest, who had kept his head down and his eyes fixed on his smartphone throughout the entire conversation. Nina had warned Sarah not to make any remarks if he insisted on using it during their meal; it had been part of the deal to get Liam there in the first place.
‘Yes, Liam, are you seeing any boys?’ Miles said. He was the only one to laugh at his joke.
Nina was about to say that it didn’t matter which of the sexes her son preferred provided he was happy; but saying such a thing would only expose the fact that this was a possibility she had considered. She really didn’t care if he was interested in girls or boys, just as long as he was interested in someone with a pulse. She had shared her concerns with Sarah and suspected her friend had continued to speculate on Liam’s sexuality with Miles.
Liam lifted his gaze and fixed it on Miles. Her son didn’t speak often but when he did, he used his words to full effect. ‘Sorry, Miles, you’re not my type.’
From the corner of her eye, Nina knew Bryn was trying not to laugh, which made it doubly hard to suppress her own smile. She would have liked nothing better than to high-five her son.
After placing their orders, it was Sarah who kept the conversation flowing. And while she was busy telling Bryn how her company supplied the hummus he had ordered for starters, Nina let her mind wander. She looked at her children in turn and wondered how the next critical years in their lives would play out. She was hoping that her marriage would add some stability to their lives; although they weren’t quite there yet, Scarlett appeared more comfortable in Bryn’s company of late, possibly because she had worked out that she had a chauffeur at her beck and call. Except she didn’t look comfortable now, Nina realized when she saw a deep blush rising in her daughter’s cheeks.
‘What’s wrong, Scarlett?’ Nina asked quietly.
‘Nothing.’
Scarlett pressed her chin to her chest. Her sleek blonde hair fell over her shoulders and partially obscured her face while she played with her hands.
Liam was first to locate the source of her embarrassment. ‘It’s Mr Swift,’ he said, tipping his head to the far side of the restaurant.
Scarlett’s form tutor was even more handsome than Nina remembered and, in contradiction to his students’ teasing, his thick dark hair showed no signs of thinning. On the few occasions she had spoken to him at parents’ evening, she had been almost tongue-tied, but it was Mr Swift who looked lost for words at present. He was with a small group consisting of two women and a young child, and was as yet unaware of the attention he had drawn from their table, being fully preoccupied with the two helium balloons that had been tied to the back of his chair. A large silver number three and a matching zero.
‘I remember him, he was one of Charlotte’s teachers,’ Sarah said. ‘Why didn’t we have teachers like that in our day, Nina?’
‘Maybe we should go and say hello,’ she suggested.
Scarlett snapped her head towards her mum. ‘Don’t you dare!’
‘She’s only teasing,’ Bryn said. ‘Even your mum wouldn’t embarrass you that much.’
‘I think the embarrassment is all his,’ Miles said. ‘I spent my thirtieth in New York having a whale of a time.’
‘Would that be the business trip you were forced to take while I was at home caring for our baby girl?’
‘Ah, yes,’ Miles said and cleared his throat. ‘When I said a whale of a time, what I meant was because I was working so hard, dearest.’
Nina bit her tongue. Unlike her oldest friend, who would jump at the opportunity to scrutinize the cracks in someone else’s relationship, Nina preferred to focus on the positives. Sarah’s marriage might have its faults, but it had been strong enough to endure an affair, and if Miles had strayed since, he was a brave man indeed. By contrast, Nina’s first marriage had disintegrated at the first hint of a problem, and Nina would be eternally grateful to Sarah, who had stopped her falling apart by convincing her she could go it alone.
‘Thirty is so old,’ Scarlett was saying.
Sarah choked on the sip of wine she had been taking. ‘God knows what she makes of you then, Miles.’
‘Fifty is the new forty.’
‘And twenty years more than thirty,’ remarked Scarlett.
When the starters arrived, the English teacher and his family were all but forgotten as the grown-ups focused their attention back on their own table.
‘So what are you up to, Liam?’ Sarah asked.
‘Not much.’
‘Have you picked a university yet? I’m sure it was around this time that Charlotte dragged us all around the country for countless open days. Typical of Charlotte, she opted for the first one we’d seen.’
‘She’s at Liverpool, isn’t she?’ Bryn asked.
‘Yes. I can’t believe it’s her final year so soon, and now the little madam has her mind set on a career in advertising. If I’d known she wouldn’t be coming home to work for me, I might have thought twice about paying for all that extra tuition that got her into uni in the first place.’
‘It’s a different generation,’ Nina offered.
‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Sarah told them. ‘By hook or by crook, I’ll rope Charlotte in eventually. I know I take advantage of Miles, but we can’t go on as we are. It’s only going to get busier