Page 48 of The Forever Cottage

‘Err, excuse us,’ said Gina with mock outrage. ‘We are definitely not old fogeys, but you’re right. I’m absolutely lost without my phone.’

‘Well, you can’t do anything without your phone these days: make a doctor’s appointment, book tickets for anything, park your car or even go on a date, so I’m told,’ said Dilly with a glint in her eye.

‘Oh, talking of dates,’ said Gina, ‘we need to know everything there is to know about the sexy sounding Nico!’

Tess shook her head, ignoring the question with a dismissive look. ‘Actually, I think we’re about ready for supper. Why don’t you all go across to the table and I’ll bring it over. Do you want to pour the wine, Suzy?’

Tess had prepared a red onion, red pepper and goat’s cheese quiche with a rocket and watercress salad and some warm baked rolls, which were greeted with appreciative noises as she brought the food across to the table.

‘Right, do tuck in,’ she said to her guests as she took a sip from her wine, able to relax amongst her friends.

‘This is a proper treat,’ said Dilly. ‘Thanks for including me. You’ve all been so lovely and welcoming.’

‘Oh, don’t let them fool you,’ said Tess with a wide grin. ‘They seem quite normal and friendly, but they’re on their best behaviour tonight, and honestly, once you get to know them properly, you’ll discover what they’re really like and all their very peculiar habits.’

‘Well, you can talk, darling,’ said Gina. ‘You’re one of us and any questionable traits that we might have, you’ll have as well. You probably just don’t recognise it in yourself.’

Dilly laughed, enjoying the good-natured teasing between the friends.

‘It’s great to be in such a close friendship group, though. You’ve known each other since your children were small, is that right?’

‘Yes,’ said Suzy. ‘We’ve seen each other through the early school years, swimming classes, sports days, all the dreaded tests and exams, and then the traumatic teenage years too. These girls have been there for me every step of the way, through all the good times and the bad ones too, especially when I lost my husband, Martin.’

Tess stretched her arm across the table to squeeze Suzy’s hand in support.

‘You’ve been there for us as well, though,’ said Gina. ‘And the great thing is that we can now support each other through this next chapter in our lives. We’re all single, our kids are making their own way in the world. This is our time now. The world is our oyster!’ Gina flung her arms into the air dramatically. ‘We should have a toast to that. We’re the three musketeers! All for one and…’ Gina stopped herself, her gaze landing on Dilly. ‘Scrap that, we’re the four musketeers now. You can be an honorary member, Dilly. All for one and one for all!’ cried Gina, raising her glass to the air.

The others followed suit before there was an eruption of warm-hearted laughter, and Tess felt truly grateful to have these amazing and supportive women in her life.

‘So come on, Tess, we can’t let you get away with not telling us all about Nico. You went out on one date with him and then what…?’

‘Ah well…’ Tess exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Dilly. ‘It was a very lovely date, and he’s a very nice guy…’

‘I can vouch for that,’ piped up Dilly. ‘I met him when he turned up here on his bike. He was a vision in tight black Lycra.’

‘Ooh blimey,’ said Suzy, ‘the mind boggles.’

Tess burst out laughing. ‘Oh, stop it. I think it was the Lycra that did for me. No really, Nico’s lovely and I really want to keep him as a friend, but that’s as far as it will go. When you think about it, it’s not actually very long since Charles and I separated,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘There’s absolutely no need for me to rush into anything new. I spoke to Nico today and explained where I was at, and he understood entirely. We’re going to meet for a coffee next week.’

She’d done some soul-searching over her feelings towards Nico. He’d been keen to go on a second date, but she hadn’t wanted to give him the wrong idea, for him to think that she would be interested in a romantic relationship when she wasn’t. Although she hoped they could continue to develop their relationship as good buddies because they got on fabulously and Tess sensed they could be a great support to each other.

She suspected her feelings for Nico had been muddied by her unresolved feelings for Rob too. She gave a fleeting thought to him now, hoping he was doing well in the new job, recognising that she was missing him from the emptiness she felt inside her chest, which she found totally bizarre. Had she misplaced her feelings for her husband and attached them to the kindred spirit who had taken up residence in the grounds of her home and in her heart too?

‘I’m proud of you for going on the date in the first place, though,’ Gina said. ‘I know you weren’t keen. It’s good practice for next time, with some other guy, if you want there to be a next time, of course.’

Tess wasn’t certain that she did.

‘And if you don’t, well that’s absolutely fine too, because remember you’ve got your friends, and really, isn’t that all that matters?’

34

After Tess had closed the door on her friends at the end of the evening as they went on their way home, she couldn’t remove the smile that had planted itself on to her lips. As she picked up the dirty crockery and placed it in the dishwasher, her mind played over every moment of the evening – their conversations, the food and wine which had gone down a treat and, most of all, the laughter. They hadn’t stopped laughing the entire evening and Tess was left feeling energised and positive about the future. She was especially pleased that Gina and Suzy had included Dilly as one of the group and Gina had even suggested that Dilly came along with them when they next went on one of their away trips.

Tess ran a cloth over the surfaces, made herself a decaffeinated coffee, and went and sat in the orangery, curling her legs up beneath her. There was no point in retiring to bed just yet as her mind was still buzzing from the stimulation of the evening. She checked her messages; there were a couple of texts from friends in the village, but still nothing from Hannah, a reminder that took down her mood several notches. She couldn’t understand it. Despite her friends telling her not to worry, there was a deep sense of unease in the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes, resting her head back on a cushion, bringing Hannah to mind, wondering what on earth could be going on in her world that she hadn’t contacted her mum in almost a week now. She knew that Charles and Sophie had been trying to contact her too, but there was a deadening silence on all fronts. Perhaps she would call Charles in the morning and tell him how worried she was. It would be better to do something rather than nothing at all and despite her antipathy towards her husband, they were both on the same side when it came to their daughter.

She brought her attention back to the room, where Barney had got up from his resting place on the floor and wandered across to the doors.

‘Do you want to go out, sweetie?’

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