Page 52 of Lessons in Life

Sorrel nodded, wiping her mouth on her navy coat sleeve before levering herself back into the passenger seat and closing her eyes. I put the car into gear again and set off home.

Once the kitchen door was unlocked and lights and gas fires switched on, I went to fill the kettle for a hot-water bottle for Sorrel. ‘Bed.’

‘Got maths to do.’

‘No, come on, bed. It’s only a mock, not the actual GCSE.’

‘I’m OK now…’ She broke off as Jess came in through the door.

‘I thought I heard the car. You’ll never guess – Mum’s really going for it. She’s taken herself off to some new choir she’s joined.’ She paused when she saw Sorrel’s still pale face. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘She’s thrown up again.’

‘You’re not throwing up on purpose?’ Jess asked, her arms folded.

‘On purpose?’ Sorrel glared. ‘D’you not know how horrible it is to vomit? Especially at the side of the road? Are you trying to make out I’m bulimic?’

‘Sorry! To be fair, I can’t remember the last time I threw up.’ Jess paused to think. ‘Must have been when I was first pregnant with Lola. D’you remember, Robyn? I couldn’t keep anything down and…’ She trailed off and stared at Sorrel.

‘Oh, so now you’re accusing me of beingpregnant, are you?’ Sorrel stared furiously at Jess. ‘For heaven’s sake! What’s the matter with you?’

17

LISA

‘Matt, thank you so much for seeing me.’ Lisa had made her way along the unusually empty – almost serene – corridors of Green Lea wing at Midhope General, stopping to greet those she knew and who had helped her so much over recent years. Old friends they were really, although, as the wing had expanded over the past year under Matt Spencer’s professional lead, there were a lot of faces she didn’t recognise.

‘Lisa, why wouldn’t I see you?’ Matt, looking tired and rather washed out, rose and came forward from his desk, giving her a kiss on each cheek before offering a comfortable chair.

‘What on earth are you still doing here at…’ Lisa glanced at the clock on the wall ‘…goodness, it’s after 9p.m.? You’re a consultant, for heaven’s sake. I thought you did nine to five?’

‘Oh, come on, Lisa. You should know better than most, the hours we put in.’

‘D’you not have a home to go to?’ Lisa teased, immediately regretting her words when she saw Matt’s face.

‘Not much there for me except an unlit fire and an empty fridge. And Tinder,’ he added meaningfully as an afterthought.

‘I’m sorry, Matt.’

‘So am I.’

They both knew without further words what they were referring to.

‘Look…’ Lisa hesitated and then her words came out in a rush ‘…if it makes you feel any better, I thought you and Jess were really well suited. I don’t understand her.’

‘One of those things. I really fell in love with her, you know.’

‘I know.’

‘Is that why you’re here?’ Matt smiled, running a hand through his thinning sandy hair. ‘When Jill told me you’d asked to come and see me…’

‘Jill?’

‘My new secretary.’

‘Gosh, more new people. The wing really is extending.’

‘And expanding all the time. Exciting research being done here, Lisa.’ For a moment, Matt’s face and voice were animated. ‘Anyway, when Jill told me you’d asked to come and see me, I hoped you might be coming as a sort of go-between. You know, with an olive branch from Jess…?’ Matt trailed off when he saw Lisa’s face. ‘No?’

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