Page 100 of The First Mistake

‘Look what Phoebe did to me,’ she wails, holding her arm out.

Alice throws Nathan a look that says,If that bitch of a girl has made my daughter cry at her own birthday party, I’m going to kill her.

He glares back at her, silently saying,Okay, calm down. I’ve got this.

‘Look, there. She scratched me. Ow,’ cries Olivia, though no real tears are yet to materialize. Alice gives her arm a rub and a magic kiss.

‘Okay girls, can we please be kind to each other,’ says Nathan, going through to the conservatory and ushering the sea of blue polyester floating and spinning in front of him out into the garden. ‘If you carry on twirling, Phoebe, you’re going to make yourself sick.’

Alice hopes she might, though not on the polished wood floor.

‘Is that the little girl you think’s bullying Olivia?’ asks Linda, as the two girls link pinkies and vow to be friends again.

Alice rolls her eyes. ‘I honestly don’t knowwhat’sgoing on. One minute they’re at each other’s throats and the next they’re making up again. I didn’t realize I’d told you.’

‘You didn’t,’ says Linda. ‘I was talking to Beth when you were away.’

Alice’s stomach lurches at the sound of her name, knowing that she’s going to be here any minute.

‘Well, believe it or not, it’s now being suggested that it’s actually Livvy that’s being mean,’ says Alice.

Linda folds her arms and takes a territorial stance, like a mother hen ruffling her feathers, ready for battle. Alice can’t help but laugh. ‘She might not be the angel you think she is.’

‘Absolute rubbish,’ says Linda. ‘And I’ll take on anyone who says otherwise.’

The doorbell rings and Alice immediately feels breathless. ‘Mum, would you mind?’ she says, tilting her head towards the front door.

Despite Beth insisting that she has to get off, Alice can hear her mum insisting, even louder, that she must come in. Her heart drops and she knocks back the biggest mouthful of wine that she can manage when she hears Millie coming down the hall saying, ‘Just come in for a bit, Mummy, and then you can go.’

‘Hi,’ says Beth, looking as if she’s quite literally on the back foot.

‘Hello,’ says Alice tightly.

With the people that matter to her all in one place, the magnitude of the secret they share weighs heavy on her shoulders. She’s not ready for it to be revealed, here and now, and shoots Beth a warning look, which if her old friend knows her at all, she’ll take notice of.

‘Welcome to the mayhem and mess,’ says Linda warmly, totally oblivious to the palpable tension between the other two women. ‘What can I get you to drink? And Millie darling, what would you like?’

Alice looks to her mum, her breath catching in her throat. What would she say if she knew the little girl she was offering the crisp bowl to was Sophia’s half-sister? And would Nathan be secretly pleased if he knew Tom had toppled from his place on the pedestal in such spectacular fashion?

But you might not be so squeaky clean yourself, she says to him silently, still unsure whether to believe his story about the unknown number. She wants to, but knows that if she does, she’s in danger of being as gullible as Beth was in trusting Tom. The admission that gullibility might beallthat Beth is guilty of jolts her.

Alice can’t help but look at her, as if seeing her properly for the first time since her revelation. There’s a very real vulnerability in her eyes. A pain not unlike her own. The result of them both having had the lives they thought they had ripped out from beneath them.

It isn’t Beth’s fault that Tom did what he did. How was she to know that he was married, with a child? Alice hadn’t seen that lying, duplicitous side to Tom either, or maybe she had, but she just didn’t realize it at the time. Even now that she’s had time to digest it, she still can’t believe that he was cheating on her, onbothof them, playing them for fools. They were both victims, who could do worse than support each other through this unimaginable ordeal.

‘Go on Millie, go and join in. I’ll stay here with the grown-ups,’ Beth encourages.

And it’s not her fault either, thinks Alice, as she steps forward and offers Millie her hand.

‘Shall we go and see what all the noise is about?’ she says to the little girl dressed as Disney’s Anna. Millie nods enthusiastically and waves a quick goodbye to her mum.

Alice leads Millie out to the garden, where Nathan is struggling to blindfold a boy who is dressed as a mini Jack Sparrow. She refrains from saying that it might be easier if he just pulls his bandana down over his eyes. Before they’ve even counted to three, the boy is hacking at the colourful donkey suspended from a tree as if he’s making his way through a dense jungle with a machete.

‘Whoa, steady on Captain,’ says Nathan. ‘Hey Millie. You want a go in a minute? If you’re as good at this as you are atMinecraftthe donkey doesn’t stand a chance.’

Alice looks on, marvelling at how at ease he is with the kids. Not just his own, but everyone else’s as well. Despite everything, she would never be able to show enough gratitude for the way he took Sophia on, without question. For adopting a child that was never his until he made her feel as if she was.

Alice heads back into the kitchen and tops up her wine, taking a grateful sip before turning to Beth.

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