Tasha had been having nervous palpitations at the thought of the extended family coming together. It was Max’s sixth birthday and the whole family were gathering in Putney for a barbecue in Tasha and Charlie’s garden. Both the Nelsons and the Hargreaves were descending en masse for the occasion: Tasha’s parents Lizzie and Bertie and her younger sister Chloe had all come from Surrey whilst Charlie’s parents, Stephen and Caroline, had driven from Norfolk. Tasha and Charlie’s sister-in-law, Becca, was also there along with her two children Daisy and Fergus. The only members of the two families who were notable by their absence were Tasha’s youngest sister Ella, who was away travelling, and Charlie’s older brother Andrew, who was in the army and currently on tour.
Tasha knew it was going to be extremely noisy and chaotic. Her fear of being judged ensured that she had broken her back cleaning and tidying the house in preparation for her mother-in-law’s somewhat unforgiving eye. Luckily, Charlie was at his best as the host – generous to a fault and always charming no matter who he was entertaining. He had a lovely self-deprecating sense of humour and was wonderful with children of all ages. He was also extremely good at barbecuing whatever Tasha threw his way. Tasha had been up since the crack of dawn rustling up vast bowls of Ottolenghi-style salads to go with the meat, already marinated overnight and ready to go. She had made a huge pavlova covered in fresh berries and a Spiderman cake for Max, covered in red icing with a carefully drawn web dragged across it. She had positioned Max’s favourite Spiderman toy in the centre as if suspended from dental floss webbing. Despite having been perilously close to throwing the entire work of art in the bin whilst trying to attach the floss to Spiderman’s wrists, she was glad she had persevered and felt pleased with her efforts.
‘Wow, sis, I’m impressed!’ Chloe said as she peered at the cake. ‘Where did you get that idea?’
‘Pinterest. I bloody hope Max likes it!’
‘He’ll love it! I don’t know how you can be so amazing at baking when I am so crap.’
They went out into the garden with a huge jug of freshly-refilled Pimm’s and joined the gaggle of people sprawled out on rugs across the grass. Tasha and Charlie had bought the house when they were first married. They had been lucky to find somewhere with such an enormous garden, despite the fact that it had resembled an overgrown jungle, completely neglected by the previous owners. It was extremely rare in London to have so much outdoor space and it had become Tasha’s pride and joy. She hadn’t realised just how much she would come to enjoy gardening as she had lovingly cleared, dug, sowed and planted every square inch of soil. In fact, she had lavished far more attention on her plants than she had on the house itself. It gave her immense pleasure to watch the garden bloom and unfurl, especially at this time of year, and she loved involving the children with it too. They all had a patch of earth to plant and she had helped them choose their own seeds. The fruit on the apple tree at the end of her garden was beginning to ripen and the roses were out in abundance – proudly displaying their shocking pink petals to the world.
‘Thank goodness the forecast was wrong,’ Charlie said as she gave him the jug of Pimm’s. He added it to the makeshift drinks table they had erected next to the barbecue.
Tasha had had minor heart failure the previous day when the forecast had shown rain all day long. She couldn’t cope with the thought of everyone cooped up inside the house. It was spacious enough for a family of five at a push, but that was about it. Tasha looked up at the sky as a cloud flitted across the sun. ‘I think we’re going to be lucky,’ she said, telling herself off for worrying so much about today. It was going perfectly well so far; everyone appeared to be on their best behaviour.
Soon the garden was filled with the smoky smell of sizzling meat: sausages, burgers and marinated chicken. Tasha’s mum, Lizzie, came bustling over. ‘Darling, I’ve just been inside – those salads look to die for! And don’t even get me started on that incredible cake!’ Lizzie had never been much of a cook herself. She always marvelled at Tash’s culinary ability.
‘Thanks, Mum. I think we’re just about ready to eat actually. Right, everyone, help yourselves!’ Tasha called as she carried through a large dish piled high with meat off the barbecue. They all traipsed into the kitchen to load their plates.
After tea and birthday cake, the various family members piled into cars to drive back home. Max had been absolutely delighted with his cake. His beaming grin covered in chocolate was all the reward Tasha needed to feel that her Bake-Off-worthy endeavours had been worth the effort. It had been a lovely day, but she was exhausted. There was a mountain of tidying, cleaning and washing-up to do, not to mention getting the children ready for the following day at school. Sticking to her resolution, she was determined to get them to pack their bags in advance, identifying possessions and ensuring homework and reading had been duly completed. Charlie had left her in charge of it all whilst he went upstairs to work. She couldn’t help the sneaking suspicion that whatever it was that was so urgent could probably have waited until after the children were asleep.
Determined to snatch at least a quarter of an hour for herself, she left Charlie in charge of sorting out their dinner while she indulged in a relaxing bath.
When she got out of the water she could smell the bacon sizzling; he had clearly decided on bacon and eggs, his speciality. Inspired by her recent sort-out, Tasha went into the bedroom and selected a particularly pretty set of aquamarine lingerie. She almost felt nervous to put it on. As she pulled on her dressing gown she felt worried about Charlie’s reaction. Would he think she was trying too hard? Might he laugh at her and make fun of her for wearing it? She knew it was extremely unlikely but she couldn’t help the thoughts entering her mind. She got halfway down the stairs before she turned around and went back into the bedroom. She took off the lingerie and put her pyjamas on instead, her heart pounding strangely fast. What was she thinking? They just weren’t that kind of couple any more – seducing each other was a thing of the past. She was cringing slightly and glad that she had saved herself the potential embarrassment of Charlie’s reaction.
Later that night, as they lay in bed, she tried to remember the last time they had made love. It had been so long, she could hardly recall it. She snuggled over to Charlie and said goodnight. He kissed her and she moved a little closer, pressing herself up against him, giving him the cue. He ignored her, moving away and turning onto his front, as far away from her in the bed as it was possible to get. ‘Night, babe,’ he said. Within minutes he was snoring lightly while she was left feeling miserable and rejected. Her eyes filled with tears as she tried to go to sleep, a sinking feeling churning at the bottom of her stomach.