Page 7 of Ex in the City
‘Maybe they heard a parent say it,’ Deanna reasons, trying to defuse the tension that is growing around the table already.
‘Not in my house,’ Carolyn insists firmly.
‘Nor mine,’ Rebecca adds. ‘Deanna, are we to take this as an admission of guilt?’
‘Obviously not,’ she replies, her voice wobbling, horrified to have been accused for simply speaking.
That’s when everyone realises I’m yet to say anything, so all eyes land on me. I’ve made myself seem suspicious by simply refusing to participate.
‘Look, I don’t know where they’ve learned it either,’ I reply calmly, keeping my voice steady. ‘But surely all that matters is that we tell them it’s a bad word and that they shouldn’t use it – does it really matter where they learned it, if they know that it’s wrong?’
‘Sounds like something a guilty party would say,’ Rebecca tells me, clicking her tongue. She pauses for a moment, her gaze moving around the table before landing on Deanna again. ‘But I suppose you’re right – unless, Deanna, didn’t you have family visiting from Stoke?’
Carolyn gasps, as though Rebecca has just uncovered the smoking gun.
I cringe. What the hell is wrong with these women?
As I pushed my chair back, I force a smile across my face, hiding my irritation.
‘Listen, I need to head out,’ I tell them, the tension in the air still thick. ‘But I’ll have a word with Archie and make sure he knows it’s a naughty word – not that I’ve heard him say it – but perhaps you can all do the same. But I need to go now. I have work to do.’
‘Oh, Nicole, always working,’ Rebecca points out with a sigh. ‘Perhaps you need to focus a little more on that family.’
I notice her choice of words – ‘that family’ instead of ‘your family’. It’s like she’s always reminding me that they’re not my kids.
‘Never mind that,’ Deanna says, clearly gearing up for gossip. ‘Nicole, did I see you getting out of a new Porsche?’
I bite my lip, feeling slightly embarrassed.
‘Oh, yes,’ I say casually, almost as though I’d forgotten already. ‘Rowan and the boys got me it for Mother’s Day.’
Rebecca gives me a knowing smile.
‘Come on then, what has he done?’ she asks.
‘What do you mean?’ I reply.
‘Rowan,’ she continues. ‘What has he done wrong? He must have done something if he’s buying you a nice car like that.’
Her eyes sparkle with curiosity as she persists.
‘When Martin pranged my Bentley, he bought me a diamond ring,’ she tells me.
‘I got this Rolex when Thomas ran over the cat,’ Deanna joins in, showing me the watch on her wrist.
‘And Carolyn, when there was that big misunderstanding with your Keith, and that horrible girl from his office, he bought you that villa in the south of France, didn’t he?’ Rebecca says on Carolyn’s behalf. Carolyn just nods.
Bloody hell, I should hope he did.
I let out a polite laugh and bat my hand, my forced smile still holding strong.
‘No, nothing,’ I reply firmly. ‘Rowan hasn’t done anything wrong. It was just a lovely Mother’s Day present from him and the boys, that’s all – see you ladies later.’
I keep my smile firmly in place as I head for my new car, knowing full well that the ladies think I’m deluded, that Rowan has done something terrible behind my back, and that I’m kidding myself that he hasn’t. Well, the joke is on them, because I know exactly what Rowan has done, and why he’s bought me this car. Then again, that doesn’t exactly make it much better, does it? And how cliché of Rowan, to tackle a problem by doing exactly what his rich mates would do. Ergh, I hate that the other mums are right, but there is no way it’s going to work on me.
6
I can’t believe it’s lunchtime as I finally pull up at home. I feel frustrated that I haven’t been able to start work yet. See, this is the problem when you work from home, especially when you’re self-employed, everyone seems to think you have unlimited time and ultimate flexibility to do whatever you want, whenever you want.
