The next morning Lucy flung open her bedroom curtains, allowing the daylight to come streaming in, creating a patchwork of sunbeams all over her bed. She smiled to herself, stretching like a cat arousing from a deep sleep. She felt on top of the world as she relived her evening. It was a wonderful feeling to fancy someone who was actually available. The fact that it was the start of the weekend was the icing on the cake.
She wrapped her fluffy white dressing gown around her, luxuriating in the softness. Pulling on her slipper socks, she padded into the kitchen to put the kettle on, reaching for her cafetière and spooning in some real coffee. Opening the freezer, she took a cinnamon bagel out of the packet and popped it into the toaster. This was her standard routine to start the weekend: coffee, bagels and a lie-in.
She decided to text Alex to say thank you for the date, resulting in an instant flashback to the night before, her insides dissolving once again at the very thought of his irresistible kisses. She couldn’t wait to see him again… she hoped that she wouldn’t have to wait too long! She sent him a text:
Morning! Thanks for a wonderful evening. I’m still full from all that yummy food! Hope you’re having a fun day at the zoo with Sarah + fam. L x
Lucy thought of him playing the role of naughty Uncle Alex with Sarah’s little ones. She imagined that he was extremely good at it. Sarah and Nat were in London for the weekend, staying with Nat’s brother and sister-in-law, and Alex had offered to take them all to London Zoo. She chuckled to herself as she imagined the children dragging him around all the different animal zones before no doubt holding him hostage in the gift shop! The fact that as an experienced uncle he was no doubt amazing with children added to her excitement about him as a prospective partner.
After showering, Lucy called Tor, her best friend from secondary school, and checked their plans to meet for lunch. Tor confirmed they were meeting at half past one at their usual cafe in Holland Park, next to the Orangery. Lucy dressed in jeans and a navy and white stripy T-shirt, put on her sunglasses, and left the house, slinging her handbag over her shoulder. She strolled leisurely up Edith Road, revelling in the feeling of the sun beating down on her, soaking up the badly needed Vitamin D, before turning right to make her way towards her favourite park in London. She loved all the different parts that made up Holland Park – the Dutch gardens that were full of tulips at this time of year, the zen Japanese garden with its peaceful water features, the peacocks parading their bejewelled beauty, trying to impress a mate. Lucy and Tor had fallen into the habit of meeting there during the warmer months for lunch and a catch-up, walking around the park afterwards with steaming cups of coffee, putting the world to rights.
As she arrived at the café, she could see Tor sitting at one of the metal tables outside, basking in the early summer sunshine. Her curly blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail, her Ray-Ban aviators keeping the hair off her face to allow for maximum sun exposure. She really is a girl after my own heart, smiled Lucy as she approached the table. Both girls had spent much of their time at school ‘revising’ in the garden of either of their family homes, far more interested in the depth of their tan than anything else.
‘Hi Tor,’ Lucy said as she bent down to kiss her friend on both cheeks. ‘I love your top – very boho chic!’
‘And look at you – very nautical! Aren’t we bang on trend?’ chuckled Tor, placing her sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose to stop her from squinting. ‘I’m dying to hear everything about Claudia’s wedding. How was it?’ she asked.
‘Oh, it was just wonderful!’ Lucy said. ‘She looked amazing, they were the sweetest couple ever and, you’ll never guess what… I met a guy… a real guy!’
‘Whaaaat!!’ screeched Tor. ‘How have you kept that quiet for a whole week?!’she demanded.
Lucy laughed and began to fill her in as they went inside to order their lunch, telling her all the details of the wedding, and, much more importantly in Tor’s eyes, of last night’s date.
As they sat back down at their table, Tor demanded a snoop at his Facebook page. Lucy hadn’t befriended him yet, but she knew that they would be able to look at his profile picture if nothing else. A notification popped up on her homepage, Lucy clicked on it and saw to both of their delight that it was a friend request from Alex. Lucy wondered when he had sent it, was it before last night or since? She responded, befriending him, and they spent the next few minutes munching on their sandwiches and poring over his photos, analysing any that included females, all declared ‘dog-ugly’ by Tor immediately, despite looking as though they had just stepped off the nearest catwalk. Tor certainly couldn’t be criticized for being disloyal!
As Lucy talked about their date, she couldn’t help the massive grin that spread across her face.
Tor spotted it, ‘Oh dear, you’ve got that look!’
‘What look?’ Lucy asked, still beaming.
‘You know, that goofy grin that means you’ve met someone special, when you can’t stop smiling like some kind of loon!’ explained Tor.
Lucy knew exactly what she was talking about, she felt so happy and, what was even better, she had none of those nasty feelings of doubt she sometimes got when she was trying to talk herself into fancying someone, knowing they weren’t quite right. This was definitely different. So far, Alex was faultless. Charming, funny, polite, fascinating to talk to, interested in her and the world in general. Kind, sexy… the list could go on!
‘God, you are lucky!’ Tor said. ‘After my first date with Will I wasn’t so sure. He was ill and I was exhausted and we ended up going home after a couple of drinks. The only reason I gave him a second chance was because I was desperate and you told me I might as well!’
‘Whatever, Tor! You might have had a bad first date but look at you now!’ chided Lucy.
‘I know,’ Tor shrugged. ‘Ten years! Oh my god! How did that happen?’
They went and ordered coffees in takeaway cups and began to stroll through the fragrant, flower-filled gardens. Lucy checked her phone surreptitiously to see if Alex had replied… nothing yet, she noticed with a pang of disappointment.
As they walked, Tor filled Lucy in on the latest trials and tribulations of her battle with IVF. She and her husband Will had been told they couldn’t conceive naturally due to a blockage in her fallopian tubes. Tor had been utterly heartbroken when she had discovered that their only hope lay with IVF. She was at the final stages now and would soon be going in for the last procedure where her fertilized eggs would be implanted back inside her. She was clearly very nervous about this, having already had one failed attempt, not least because of the cost of each round of treatment. Lucy reassured her that what was meant to be would be and that she would be okay no matter what, not wishing to raise her expectations with empty reassurances that it would definitely work. Tor and Will were rock-solid; their relationship had grown much closer during their struggle to conceive. It must be hard, thought Lucy as they talked, to hear of so many school friends falling pregnant during their first month of trying. She had been standing next to Tor at a wedding recently when a friend had asked, ‘So, you’ve been married quite a long time now, any children yet?’ and Tor’s eyes had filled up with tears.
‘No, not yet,’ she had replied, smiling with false cheerfulness. Lucy had wanted to kick the man for his insensitivity. She had been the sounding board for Tor as she waded her way through the many possibilities before finally settling on IVF. Lucy found it comforting to know that science could always lend a helping hand, should she fail to conceive naturally – either through lack of a suitable partner or fertility problems of her own. Lucy had everything crossed that this round of IVF would work out for Tor and Will. She knew that Tor wanted a baby just as much as she did.
They ended up walking to the cinema on Kensington High Street, Tor wanted to watch a chick flick that Will had put his foot down about seeing. He was playing golf all day, so Lucy had Tor to herself for the whole afternoon. As Lucy settled into the comfortable chair, swapping her sunglasses for her actual glasses to help her see the screen, she reached for her mobile to turn it onto silent. She saw a message from Alex and elbowed Tor, who yelped and was swiftly hushed by the surrounding cinema-goers. Lucy loaded the message onto the screen and saw a photo of him with his nephew and niece, arms full of candy floss and stuffed animals, laughing and looking up at their uncle adoringly. Knowing exactly how they felt, Lucy read the message underneath:
Glad you enjoyed it. I loved it too. Having a great time, too much candy floss = hyperactive children = bad idea – note to self. What are you up to? Ax
Lucy hugged herself with glee at the encouraging text and settled back into her seat, popping popcorn into her mouth and slurping her Diet Coke contentedly as the opening credits rolled.