Page 107 of Good Sisters

Marion sighed. ‘The whole point of this exercise is that I’m going to be completely myself, no tricks, no fakery, no lies … If he likes me, great, if he doesn’t, he can fuck right on down the road.’

Harry poured hot milk into his cup. ‘I’d consider opening your date with a different line.’

Marion laughed.

‘See, I can be funny too.’ Harry grinned.

My phone rang. It was Louise. ‘I’m on my way. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes. Are you nearly ready?’

‘Yes,’ I lied, still in my pyjamas.

‘Right. Be outside in ten.’

I hung up and put down my cup.

‘I wish Sophie hadn’t organized this.’ I groaned.

‘It’s important that you all support your dad, Julie,’ Harry said gently.

‘I know. I get that Dolores is in his life, but I don’t necessarily want to spend much time with her. It’s too early. It feels like we’re all saying, “Welcome to the family.”’

‘Fuck it, Julie, you don’t want him lonely, believe me. It sucks. Let him throw the leg over Dolores. What difference does it make? It actually takes pressure off all of you. If she is cooking for him and riding him and playing golf with him and massaging his crusty toes, then he’s happy. You don’t want him at home alone crying in the dark, do you?’

No, I didn’t. After our chat in Italy, I had slowly come around to the fact that Dad was seeing Dolores and she was helping him through the long days. He said they were only friends, but I knew Dolores wanted more. I didn’t mind Dad going out with her, but I didn’t want her to push him into anything serious. Dad was a lonely widower, and vulnerable to being controlled by determined women like Dolores. Sophie said we should all meet up because he was spending more time with Dolores now and we would lose him if we didn’t include her in our lives too. She was right, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.

Harry looked at the kitchen clock. ‘Julie, go and get ready. You know how irritated Louise gets when you keep her waiting.’

I rushed upstairs. Harry was right: Louise did not react well to my tardiness. Also, she was particularly wound up at the moment with Marco coming over next week to meet Clara. Her nerves were extra frayed.

Sophie and Gavin were in the café when we arrived. Sophie had booked a round table.

‘I can only stay an hour. I have to go into work.’ Louise sat down and peeled off her coat. ‘Zoë sent out the wronginformation to a client and I have to clear up her mess. I swear to God, I think she may drive me to murder.’

‘Hello to you too,’ Gavin said.

‘An hour will be plenty,’ Sophie assured her.

‘Hi, Gavin, how’s Lemon?’ I asked.

‘A little bit better. With her mum right now. Jack’s washing-machine trick is helping, although our electricity bills are going to be huge.’

‘Whatever gets you through,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s worth it.’

Gavin handed Sophie a bag. ‘Jess texted for more supplies of Shania’s tan,’ he said.

‘Thanks, she loves it. But let me pay you.’

‘No, don’t worry, she’s paying us in publicity – she’s promised to tell all her mates to buy it and make TikTok videos of it.’

‘How are things with Marco?’ I asked Louise.

‘Good, actually. He’s very gentle and careful with Clara. She’s warmed to him really quickly. They FaceTime every day now, just for a few minutes, but she seems to connect with him. Still, seeing him face-to-face will be a whole other level for her.’

‘That’s really positive,’ Sophie said. ‘The fact that he’s so keen to be involved and so respectful of you and gentle with Clara is huge. Pippa is disinterested in Robert and so difficult to handle. It makes co-parenting so much more difficult.’

‘So is he, like, a really outdoorsy country bloke?’ Gavin asked.

‘He owns an olive farm so, yes, obviously he is.’

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