‘Thank you,’ Amelia replies. ‘You too. I love that dress. The colour looks fab with your hair.’
‘Hi Gemma, lovely to see you. Is Robert here?’ James asks.
‘At the bar.’
‘I’ll go and find him. You two okay for drinks?’
‘I ordered a bottle of champagne for our table,’ Amelia says.
‘Great. I’d love a gin and tonic though.’ The urge to get drunk is strong, even though I know that’s possibly not the best idea.
‘I’ll get you a G & T.’ James goes off to find his brother and Amelia leads me over to our table. ‘You okay?’ she asks. ‘You seem a bit distracted.’
‘I had a row with Robert.’
She sits down and pulls a sympathetic face, takes a sip of champagne and then pours me a glass. ‘That’s bad timing. I was looking forward to the four of us having a laugh tonight.’
‘I know,’ I reply, sitting next to her. ‘Let’s talk about something else though. The clubhouse looks amazing. You and Diane have done an incredible job pulling all this together.’
‘It was actually pretty enjoyable in the end. I’ll miss all the rushing around and organising.’
‘You should set up your own events business,’ I suggest.
‘Ooh, maybe I should!’ Her face lights up for a moment.
Although she and James aren’t great with money, so on second thoughts it’s probably not the best idea. Amelia is fonder of spending it than making it.
The evening rolls by with me and Robert managing not to say a single word to one another. I talk to other people in a daze, having bright conversations on the surface, while a gnawing fear chews at my thoughts.
Rebecca and Charlie are at a table with a group of school mums and dads. If my mind wasn’t elsewhere, I would probably feel a little snubbed. Rebecca never asked if I wanted to join their table. But then again, I don’t socialise with any of them, so why should she have asked me? I think my argument with Robert has clouded everything. I pull myself together and go over to say hi to them. If nothing else, it will help take my mind off everything.
‘Gemma,’ she cries exuberantly, leading me to believe that she must have had quite a bit to drink, as normally she’s quite cool with me. ‘I meant to come and say hello earlier, but I kept getting sidetracked!’
‘Same here,’ I reply. ‘Are you having a good evening?’
‘Lovely, lovely. Had a few too many glasses of champagne, but we don’t go out that often, so we may as well enjoy ourselves, right, Gemma? How’s everything with you? Things okay with the lovely Sadie?’
I inhale, trying not to blurt out anything inappropriate. ‘Yes, fine thanks.’
‘She’s a bit of a sex kitten, that one.’
I freeze at her words. ‘What do you mean?’
I realise Rebecca is more than just a little drunk, the pitch of her laughter boring into my skull like a dentist’s drill. ‘You know,’ she says.
‘What are you talking about?’ My heart is hammering uncomfortably and my cheeks heat up. Is she about to reveal something awful about Robert and Sadie? Is she going to confirm my worst suspicions?
Rebecca gets up out of her chair and leans in to whisper in my ear. I think she’s about to reveal something important. ‘Got to go to the ladies,’ she hisses loudly. ‘Bit pissed. Need a wee.’
I exhale. ‘Rebecca, what were you going to say about Sadie?’
‘Nothing, nothing.’ She puts her fingers to her lips. ‘Shhh. Don’t tell Gemma.’ She staggers off in the direction of the ladies and I try to keep pace.
‘Don’t tell Gemmawhat?’
‘Ha! Trying to trick me.’ She puts a finger on the tip of her nose and points at me. ‘You’re Gemma.’
‘Yes, I’m Gemma. Rebecca, you’re friends with Sadie, aren’t you?’