‘I don’t know how you do it all,’ said Anna. She was knackered when she got in from work and some nights was barely capable of heating a ready meal; how Sophie turned around and took care of three other people amazed her.
Sophie shrugged. ‘Anyway, how are you feeling about tomorrow?’
Anna gave a pout worthy of a sulky teen. ‘It’s not ideal, but I guess it’ll be okay.’ Anna and Sophie worked for the same insurance company who had recently taken over another company and Anna had banked on getting the job of managing the integration. However, the other company had negotiated hard and she now found herself in the odd situation of having to jointly manage the project with whomever the other company appointed. ‘To be honest, as they’re integrating into our processes I’ll be leading it by default.’
‘As long as they see it like that,’ said Sophie.
Anna badly wanted a big project on her CV, and she was willing to ruffle a few feathers to get it. ‘Yeah, let’s hope they’re a reasonable sort of person. But before that I’ve got Liam coming round to collect his stuff.’
Sophie pulled a face. ‘You know it’s times like this you really should give alcohol another go.’ Anna chuckled but there were too many demons guarding the reasons why she would never touch a drop again.
They followed the path silently until they reached the furthest oak and then turned around. From here they had a great view of all of Wildflower Park. There were a few dog walkers crisscrossing the large expanse of green in the middle and a jogger in a bright orange top circling the pond, but other than that it was just them. The sky was the palest blue edged with pearly grey clouds – like a scene escaping from an open book. It was the prettiest place and a stone’s throw from Birmingham, making it an oasis of colour on the edge of the Black Country. Anna felt a sense of calm wash over her and she knew moving here had been a good decision.
Liam was never going to be her first choice for a fun evening but he needed to pick up his stuff and she would be as amicable as she possibly could. She plonked the box marked Arsehole’s Stuff onto the sofa and noticed the velvet ring box perched on the top. She gave it a hard stare before picking it up; it had promised so much and then let her down so badly. She thought of the moment when Liam had unimaginatively pushed it across the breakfast table to her. At the time she’d hoped it would be a story she would tell her children and grandchildren – how she’d asked what it was but secretly had guessed, and how she told him he needed to be on one knee and he’d laughed at her because that was what they did in the schmaltzy films she watched but he’d done it anyway. She now remembered the begrudging look in his eyes as he did so and the lack of any romantic precursor to his offer of ‘Let’s get married.’
She realised now it hadn’t even been a question. He hadn’t asked her as such, just merely suggested it as he would a casual trip to the cinema. Yes, this box had a lot to answer for. Anna didn’t open it; she knew the ring inside. It was the classic claw setting – the ring she had always wanted, the one she had dropped into conversation with Liam many times. Seeing it again was not going to help.
Seven o’clock came and Anna checked her mobile. She wanted this to be over. She wanted Liam to come in, take his things and go with as little small talk as possible. She was moving on with her life and this was a key milestone along her journey. The knock on the door made her jump and she shook her head at her own silliness.
‘Hi,’ she said, opening the door. Liam appeared relaxed and casual, the polar opposite of how she was feeling. ‘Come in.’
They walked through to the lounge and Anna pointed at the box of random items. ‘Here you go. I think that’s everything.’
‘This is nice,’ said Liam, having a good gawp around the room.
‘Thanks,’ said Anna. She wanted to pick the box up and thrust it at him but she wouldn’t be so rude.
‘So,’ said Liam, rubbing his hand across his chin. ‘Have you been okay?’
‘Yes, terrific, thanks.’ She said it too enthusiastically and Liam looked a little taken aback. Or was that hurt?
‘Oh, that’s good.’ He pursed his lips. Liam wasn’t paying attention; he was still inspecting the room and it annoyed her.
She wondered why he wasn’t just taking the box and leaving. He sat down on the sofa. Her sofa. Anna folded her arms. ‘Did you want a coffee or something?’ she asked out of politeness, which irritated her further. She was so British.
He smiled and she wondered why. ‘A coffee would be great – or something stronger. Have you still got the bottle of Châteauneuf you took?’
Anna knew her annoyance was disproportionate but really – how rude was Liam to walk in and think he could dictate to her in her new home! ‘No, I gave it to Dad. I’ll get you a coffee.’
Anna was standing next to the kettle and boiled inside as the plumes of steam escaped around her. She only put one sugar in his coffee when she knew he liked two – it was a silly thing but it made her feel a little better, until he tasted it and asked for more. Then she really could have screamed at him.
Finally, they were sitting next to each other – well, on separate ends of the sofa, which showed how much things had changed, and how uncomfortable they both now felt. Anna looked at Liam in a similar way as she had the ring box. He had once held so much promise too. Everybody liked Liam with his boyish good looks and confident air. Her mum had been particularly fond of him. Who could have known that proposing was going to be the trigger to make him question their whole future?
‘I wanted to talk to you about how we decide who gets which of our friends.’ This was all he said that started it off. Such a simple sentence, and yet two hours later they would still be locked in a head-to-head battle …
Anna looked up. ‘I’ll give you Tom and Alice for Darnell and Shanice.’
Liam shook his head. ‘Tom was my friend from uni and you never really liked Alice, so that’s not giving me anything. How about Matthew and Matt for Darnell and Shanice?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. No way! The two Matthews are worth ten Darnell and Shanices. And you hate it when Matt beats you at Ping-Pong – you get all stroppy,’ said Anna, knocking back another gulp of coffee. It had taken a lot of caffeine to get through this evening and she knew she’d have even less chance of sleeping tonight now.
‘It’s called table tennis. Only children call it Ping-Pong.’
She liked it when he got all picky because it made her loathe him a little bit more, which made things easier. ‘The two Matts are non-negotiable.’ They had been totally brilliant since the split and were definitely in her camp. Camp being the operative word.
He sighed deeply and crossed them off his list. ‘Any other non-negotiables we should get out of the way?’
Anna scanned her list quickly. ‘Stacey and Paulo?’ She bit her lip because they were the coolest couple they knew, and she knew Liam would want them. They had the best jobs, the jet-set lifestyle and the most amazing dinner parties. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t want to lose them as friends but as the antidote to her small simple life they were an addiction she wasn’t ready to kick.
He shook his head and gave her a pitying smile. ‘Yeah, okay. Tabitha isn’t keen on them anyway.’ As soon as the words were out Liam looked like someone had stuck a pin in his genitals, which was something Anna would have relished doing at that precise moment.
Before she could stop herself, she’d already asked the obvious question. ‘Who’s Tabitha?’
Liam rubbed