Page 12 of A Midlife Gamble

‘No. I have two more clients to see through their IPOs, and then I’m leaving.’

‘IPO?’ Kay asked.

‘Initial Public Offering,’ Caro said. ‘When a company first goes public with shares.’

‘Gosh, I wish I’d taken more notice of all that,’ Helen said. ‘Did you know Amazon shares were something like eighteen dollars in the beginning, they’re nearly a hundred now.’

‘True.’ Caro nodded.

‘I wish I had too,’ Kay said.

‘Anyway,’ Caro continued. ‘I would like to grow my own tomatoes… From seed… And then eat them. And…’ She paused. ‘I’m going down to my mother’s house tomorrow. There’s bound to be pots and trays in the shed. My father used to grow stuff.’

‘Tomorrow?’ Helen asked, her voice full of quiet compassion.

Caro nodded. ‘I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. But it sold so quickly, we have to get on with things.’

‘It’s hard,’ Helen said, ‘going through everything.’ Her eyes were glassy as she added, ‘But I think that’s a good number two.’ And she turned to Kay.

‘I still don’t know,’ Kay said. She pressed her lips together. She was trying not to think about what might happen when the time came for someone to go through all her things, her old pot plants, her wardrobe, her odd socks. ‘It’s too late for The Specialsas well,’ she joked. ‘Although I suppose there’s probably also a tribute band for them.’

‘Is there anywhere you would go?’ Helen persisted. ‘If you could.’

‘Money no object,’ Caro added.

Kay looked at her. ‘Where would I go?’ In her mind the wardrobe doors had already opened. In her mind, someone else was pulling out her Vegas jacket, dumping it onto a pile markedCharity.

‘Yes, Kay!’ Opening her arms, Helen threw the words out. ‘If you had your chance, where in the world would you go?’

‘Vegas.’

‘Vegas!’

‘Yes.’ Kay nodded. She drew her shoulders to her ears and smiled. Because she hadn’t seen this bullet coming, she’d hadn’t been able to dodge it and now that she’d been hit, it felt sublime. The moment was sublime. This moment in which she, one hundred percent, believed that she could go to Las Vegas Nevada. ‘I’d go to Vegas,’ she said again.

‘Well you have the jacket,’ Caro smiled.

‘I always wondered about that,’ Helen said. ‘Why Vegas?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Kay paused. ‘My dad used to joke about it when I was a kid. We played a lot of cards together. He would joke about us winning a fortune there. And then Martin and I were supposed to go for our honeymoon.’

‘Why didn’t you?’ Caro asked.

Kay shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know why I never went.’

‘There’s still time,’ Helen said gently.

Kay shook her head. ‘No.’ The seed of fantasy had already perished. Vegas? Blowing a fortune on a holiday like that was out of the question. Every resource she had would now be going into making sure Alex was left secure. ‘No, that’s never going to happen.’

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1 If you would like to read more about Sammy and her 80s reunion weekend, you can do so by clicking here to order Back, to her future Book one of theThe Gen X Series

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THE NEXT DAY

All the way down to Salisbury, the man in the passenger seat beside her had been a calming influence that Caro knew she needed, today especially. It was why, riddled with doubt, she had sent the text.

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