Page 2 of The Riviera House Swap

‘Oh, I know. He’s a nice guy. He wouldn’t be vindictive…’

‘Actually I was going to say, there’s no way Rory would be organised enough to arrange for a legal document to get to you on a set day. I mean, didn’t he forget your anniversary every year?’

‘Well, yes, but…’

‘And remember the time he forgot to post the Christmas cards till January?’

‘Well, yeah, but…’

‘And I’m pretty sure it’s the court that decides when it gets posted, not your ex-husband.’

‘I know,’ Nina sniffed. ‘It just feels so personal somehow. Like, what are the chances?’

‘I still think we can rule out deliberate birthday sabotage,’ Bess said firmly.

‘I suppose,’ she admitted sulkily, scuffing her foot slightly against the kitchen tiles. ‘But it doesn’t change the facts.’

‘Which are…?’

‘Bess, I’m forty!’

‘Yes. Me too. Look, you get used to it… you…’

‘But you’re married, you’ve got the 2.4 kids…’

‘Just two – unless you’re fat-shaming them?’

‘And your career. You love your job, right?’

‘Love is a very strong word.’ Bess worked as a head midwife at the local hospital. ‘But yeah, I suppose it’s fulfilling in its own way.’

‘See! See! That’s why you can cope with being this age. Because you have things to show for it,’ said Nina miserably. ‘What do I have? A decree absolute, a house that’s being sold from under me – and even then, barely has any equity. And a job that was meant to just be a stop gap but that I’ve stuck at for fifteen years.’

Bess was silent. ‘You’ve got a cat,’ she said at last.

‘Even he doesn’t spend any time at home if he can help it.’

‘Well, to be fair, he is a cat.’

‘Or I’m such a loser even my cat doesn’t want to spend time with me.’ Nina joked, feeling herself calm slightly.

‘Hey. No one,’ Bess said firmly, ‘calls my best friend a loser.’

Nina felt herself smile a little. ‘Look, I know I was meant to be sticking two fingers up to ageing and embracing a new decade and being single and… well all the things,’ she said. ‘It’s just thinking it was a big birthday card and finding…thatinstead. It just rocked me off my axis a bit.’

‘Look, do you want me to buy an enormous birthday card? Is that what this is about?’

Nina laughed. ‘Not particularly.’

‘Do you want Rory to burst through the door, rose between his teeth, rip up the divorce papers and make mad, passionate love to you on the kitchen table?’

Nina gave an involuntary shudder. ‘Definitely not,’ she said. ‘And thanks for putting me off my croissants.’

‘Do you want the solicitor to ring and tell you there’s been another delay with the paperwork?’

‘Obviously not!’

‘Well then. In so many ways, you’ve got exactly what you wanted for your birthday. Freedom!’ The last word was bellowed out, to the tune of an old George Michael song.

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