Page 90 of The Dolce Vita Divas
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Well, if that’s everything?’
‘I think we should be asking a lot more questions,’ Jess said, ‘but I can’t think of any that aren’t embarrassing.’
‘I can,’ Alex said. ‘So have you actually?—’
‘Shut up, Alex,’ his sisters shouted.
We spent a few minutes catching up with each other’s news and then Jess had to go as Violet had a birthday party to attend and Kat was planning to do some ironing, so we signed off, leaving just me and Alex staring at each other.
He hesitated for a moment and then gave me a winning smile.
‘By the way, can I come downstairs and see if you have any milk?’
* * *
‘Excellent news, I couldn’t be more pleased,’ Juliette said the following morning when she called in for coffee, bringing with her some lavishly decorated cupcakes. I had just been sorting out the kitchen drawers and the table was covered in bric a brac and unwanted cooking implements.
‘Sorry about these cakes. I’ve been watching some videos on Facebook to try and learn some icing skills, and the girls make it all look so easy. I wasn’t nearly as successful. The icing is a bit lurid, isn’t it? I think I added too much food colouring. The red ones look like there has been a massacre, and now I look at it properly, that brown one looks like Maurice has done a whoopsie. No one would eat that one.’
We both pulled disgusted faces and Juliette threw it in the bin.
I made some coffee and cleared a space at the table so we could sit down.
‘The skip is arriving tomorrow, and then the kids are coming over at the weekend to start the riddling-out process. Alex thinks he can sell some stuff on eBay rather than just chucking it. Although I don’t think there is much call for old textbooks, two broken vacuum cleaners and a crate of old towels, which Greg always said he was going to use when he washed the car. Which was never.’
‘Wonderful. And there are very good charity shops in the town that take anything useful. And far more interesting, what about your Latin lover? When am I going to meet him?’
‘He’s not exactly that yet,’ I said.
Juliette sighed, her eyes closed. ‘How marvellous. Now that’s something to look forward to.’
‘I think I’ll be a bit self-conscious actually,’ I said. ‘I’m not as sleek as I used to be.’
Juliette laughed. ‘I don’t expect he is either. He’s probably worrying about the same thing. That’s the great thing women of our age have going for them. It’s not about whether you have a perfect figure, it’s about acceptance of each other. Snuggling up. Being kind. Loving the other person for what they are. Knowing if they are feeling insecure and helping.’
‘You’ve got all the answers,’ I said, laughing. ‘It’s difficult to make a new start at our age, isn’t it?’
‘No one can make a brand-new start. But you can make a brand-new ending. You know, the more I look at these cakes the more I dislike them. Have you got any KitKats?’
‘Always,’ I said, going to get the tin, ‘and I’m going to do that thing about a brand-new ending. You’re quite right.’
Juliette nodded and then her face brightened, and she picked up a discarded wooden spoon from the table in front of her and touched me lightly on the shoulder with it.
‘As founder and lifetime president, I hereby invest you into the Old Ducks Club,’ she said. ‘You’re part of a select band. Ageing gracefully is an art; ageing disgracefully is much more fun.’
* * *
‘So you did it? After all this time and all those years, you actually got everything sorted out,’ Susie said, unwinding her scarf.
We were sitting in our favourite wine bar about ten days later and Susie had ordered two glasses of Pinot Grigio as a tribute to our trip to Capri.
She looked bubbly and happy, dressed in a warm woollen dress that only someone as slim as she was could have worn successfully.
‘Well, not quite everything,’ I said. ‘Once the skip gets here?—’
‘I don’t care about the skip!’ Susie said. ‘I’m talking about Paulo. Him and you. That thing. The one that after so long is back on. I mean, it is back on, isn’t it?’
‘It seems that way,’ I said. ‘I’m going back for Christmas, leaving the kids to their own devices.’
