Page 15 of Seven Letters

‘Easy there, Tiger,’ Johnny muttered. ‘You don’t need to get paralytic to prove a point.’

Ignoring him, Mia reached over and poured herself another glass.

‘So, how are things, Johnny?’ Adam asked. ‘Any sign of a job yet?’

Johnny looked at his plate. ‘Not yet, but hopefully something will come up.’

‘I love your enthusiasm, especially when newspapers seem to be a dying format. These days, anyone can write a story and post it online. You don’t need to be a journalist. Pity youdidn’t see online publishing coming when you chose your career. People will always need bathrooms, but newspapers, not so much.’

Mia gulped more wine to stop herself speaking. She could feel anger bubbling up inside. Had Adam so easily forgotten that during the recession, when he’d had to close down two of his bathroom shops, Johnny had sent his way any colleague who was even thinking about buying a new tap? Had he forgotten how difficult it was when things were going badly? Just because his business was booming again, did he have to be such a smug git?

Sarah leaned across and squeezed Johnny’s arm. ‘People will always want to read what Johnny has to say. He’s brilliant. Always was, always will be.’

Mia felt tears well up. Good old Sarah, always with a kind word, always sensitive to others. Mia polished off her wine and poured more. Beside her, Johnny knocked his back too. At this rate, they’d both be face down on the table by the time the main course arrived.

Since Johnny had been laid off they’d cut back on all unnecessary expenses, and wine was one of the first things to go. They bought cheap beer and drank a couple of those to take the edge off after a long week. Posh cheeses had been replaced with lumps of Cheddar and artisan bread with sliced pan. They’d sold Johnny’s car and were sharing Mia’s. When their friends suggested meeting up for dinner in town, they made excuses not to go. Tonight was Charlie’s treat, so Mia was able to relax and not worry about the bill. She was determined to keep meeting their mortgage repayments, no matter how much they had to tighten their belts.

Their food arrived, and Olivia made a fuss over the amount of salt Charlie put on his fish. ‘Darling, it’s so bad for you. You promised to cut back. Here, taste some of mine.’Olivia proceeded to fork-feed Charlie half of her meal and make ‘yummy’ sounds each time he took a bite.

Sarah caught Mia’s eye and made a vomit face. Mia, loosened by wine, laughed.

Olivia and Charlie looked over.

‘It’s lovely to see you smile, Mia,’ Olivia said. ‘It transforms your face. You always seem so preoccupied and stressed. Those frown lines are very hard to reverse without Botox.’ Olivia whispered the word. ‘I trained myself not to frown, you know. You can do it too – it’s not that difficult. All you have to do is sayFrown and your face falls downover and over and eventually you’ll just stop and look relaxed and happy all the time, like me.’

Mia stared at her fork and imagined sticking it into Olivia’s salon-coiffed head.

‘Breathe,’ Johnny whispered, ‘and lower the weapon.’

Olivia nudged Charlie, who tapped his wine glass with his fork.

‘I … that is we … ah … well, we have a little bit of news.’ Charlie struggled to find the right words.

‘More of an announcement,’ Olivia said grandly.

‘Yes, well, I suppose that’s right. The thing is that we’ve … well … we’ve decided to get hitched.’

‘What?’ Mia and Sarah exclaimed.

Charlie’s face reddened. Olivia took his hand firmly in hers. ‘Isn’t it wonderful? I know you want to congratulate your father, girls. I’m sure you’re pleased to see him happy again.’

‘You’ve known each other for ten minutes,’ Mia spluttered.

‘Five months actually, Mia,’ Olivia said sharply. She straightened her back and puffed out her considerable chest.

Maybe that was it, Mia thought, through her wine haze. Olivia’s boobs. Maybe that’s what Charlie liked so muchabout her. Olivia was all boobs and touching. Their mum, Penny, had been flat-chested, witty and, truth be told, sharp-tongued at times, but very loving, too. She hadn’t endlessly groped their father, like Olivia did, but Penny had loved him, supported him and made him laugh.

Mia could feel an epic frown down the middle of her forehead right now. This was ridiculous.

‘It does seem quite impulsive,’ Sarah said. ‘What’s the hurry?’

‘Are you up the duff, Olivia?’ Adam said. ‘Shotgun wedding, is it?’

Olivia glared at him. ‘Don’t be silly. We both feel that, as we’re not getting any younger, we want to commit to each other now, don’t we, Charlie?’ She held Charlie’s hand to her cheek.

‘Oh, yes, that’s right.’ Charlie was a bit sheepish.

Mia was furious with her father. Why did he have to announce this in the middle of a restaurant in front of Johnny and Adam? Why couldn’t he have taken her and Sarah out for a coffee and told them privately, so they could discuss it? Allow them the time to process this news. It was a big deal. It meant that Olivia would be in their lives for good and their mother would fade into the background.

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