Page 43 of Six Steps to Happiness
“Good, because after all that exercise, I’m starving,” Willow said. “No wonder you’re losing weight.”
“Am I?” Ronnie asked, looking down at her figure. If she was, she hadn’t noticed. “How did you get on with Mr Whateverhisnameis?”
Her daughter grinned. “Very well actually.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a slip of paper. “I only managed to get his phone number.”
“I wouldn’t get too excited,” Bea said to Ronnie. “In a few weeks’ time that’ll be in the bin with the others.”
“Not necessarily,” Willow replied.
Ronnie gave her daughter a knowing look, as did Bea.
“Oh, all right. Probably.” Willow raised an eyebrow. “What about you, Mum? Did you make any calls while we were out?”
Bea straightened herself up in her seat, as if preparing for any ensuing gossip. “Oh, please say you did.”
“Sorry to disappoint, ladies, but no. Apart from sorting out a few e-mails, I haven’t even looked at my phone.”
“How very boring,” Bea said, slumping again. “Why ever not?”
Ronnie plonked the bottle of wine down on the table before fetching three glasses. Like them, she thought Jack a lovely guy too. But the fact of the matter was she no longer trusted her own judgement. She’d been oblivious to the fact that her own husband was having an affair, when there had to have been signs. A slight change in appearance, criticism of things that hadn’t previously bothered him, a distancing of himself from her and their marriage… The truth was, Ronnie hadn’t clocked anything of the sort. Nick’s affair had blindsided her.
Then there was Mr Wright and his despicable behaviour; something else Ronnie hadn’t seen coming. Of course, she now appreciated why Mrs Wright seemed uptight. The stress that woman was living under, being married to a man like that. In Ronnie’s view, he had to have taken advantage of women before and his wife had to know. Then again, Ronnie considered, was it really a case of eyes wide shut? Or was the woman like her? So invested in her marriage, she couldn’t see what went on under her own nose?
As she took in Willow and Bea’s disappointment, Ronnie wanted to explain that she no longer believed in her own intuition, that she’d had her fill of men letting her down. But she couldn’t. That would mean dragging them into her shenanigans next door, and she couldn’t put them in a position whereby they had to take sides.
“Go on then, enlighten us,” Willow said. “Tell us why you haven’t called Jack.”
Ronnie sighed, knowing her hesitation wasn’t solely about a lack of self-trust. She had to acknowledge yet another, more embarrassing, reason as to why she hadn’t contacted him. “Look at me,” she said. “Not only am I approaching too many years to mention, I have a grown-up daughter and spend my working life sitting on my arse for a living. And believe me, I have the wrinkles, stretch marks, lumps and bumps to prove all that.”
Bea scoffed. “Tosh! Just wait until you’re approaching mytoo many years.Then you’ll have cause for concern.”
“Come on, you’ve both seen the man,” Ronnie said, which told her they had to understand where she was coming from.
“Oh, yes,” Bea said with a smile.
“Yep, we’ve seen him all right,” Willow added.
“Then you know what I’m talking about.”
“Some men like the lived-in look,” Willow said.
“You’re not helping,” Ronnie replied.
“I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Bea said. “You’re gorgeous on the inside and out. And if you don’t believe me, I suggest you go and look in a mirror.”
Ronnie appreciated the compliment, but it was fair to say her mother-in-law was biased. “It’s not only that,” Ronnie continued. “Going on a dog walk, or on a date to the cinema, they’re both well and good. But what happens when things get, you know, serious?” Ronnie felt herself blush. “When the time comes to…”
“Progress things?” Bea asked.
“Yes.”
Willow laughed. “I think I’m living proof that you know exactly what happens, Mum.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Willow continued to chuckle.
“I’m not that experienced when it comes to the bedroom department.” Ronnie couldn’t believe she was conversing about her sex life with her daughter and mother-in-law. “What I’m saying is, Nick, your dad, well it’s only ever been him.”
