Page 8 of So Thrilled For You

‘Perfect, I know.’

We smile at one another in the pinky glow of our kitchen. His dark hair perfectly offsets the dusty tiles I picked. They suit both our colouring perfectly, in all different lights.

‘I’m so excited to have everyone together,’ I say. ‘I’ve hardly seen Lauren since she had Woody. Only that one time after he was born. And Steffi’s so busy launching this agency.’

‘The Little Women.’ Seth smiles. He finds it hilarious our group is called that when I’m the only one who actually read it at uni.

‘We’re never together anymore. It’s literally like the novel.’

‘Not that the other three would know that.’

‘Steffi read some of the book, I think. And, seriously, I miss us. As a group. It’s not been the same for ages.’

Seth drains his tiny cup and reaches out to rub my stomach gently. Profound bliss blooms through me and I allow myself another ten seconds.

‘Well didn’t they have a falling out?’ he asks, taking our cups straight to the sink and washing them right away, feeling my eyes on him. He uses the special sponge to ensure there’s no coffee residue at the bottom. He knows I’ll creep back and do it myself otherwise.

‘That’s not true,’ I say. ‘We’re still all best friends, we’ve just all got our own stuff going on. You know what it’s like at this age when everyone starts having kids.’

He raises his eyebrows at me. ‘Everyone,eh? Typical.’

I raise my eyebrows back, and we giggle at one another, and I can’t believe we’re able to joke about this. I allow myself a further ten seconds to be mindful of this feeling of gratitude and then return to planning today.

‘I’m going for a shower,’ Seth says, calling over his shoulder. ‘And don’t worry, I won’t forget to count the doughnuts.’

‘I just want it to be perfect,’ I call after him, and then mutter it one last time to myself.

Evidence item no.7

Consider this your . . .

BOOTIES CALL

Nicki Davies has a baby on the way

Hope you can join us for her baby shower

When: July 17th 11am-3pm

Where: Vista Cottage, Honeysuckle Lane, Surrey

RSVP: [email protected]

Nicki

I lay naked on my bed staring at my cracked phone screen in horror. It’s been over a year since Phoebe last messaged me, and the relics of our last conversation hang awkwardly above this morning’s new one.

Phoebe:

I can’t believe this

You’re betraying yourself

Fine then. Be like this. Have a great life.

The messages weren’t replied to, but two ticks reveal they’d been read. Oh, how I’d read those final words until they were branded onto the back of my eyelids – crying whenever I re-read them. But, gradually, month by month, the scar of them softened as Matt and I healed and rebuilt and tried to forget about Phoebe. Now, here sits a fresh message to reignite the chaos she brought into our lives.

Phoebe:

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