Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
I t wasn’t until I heard my phone beeping on Monday morning that I remembered Diane. It was five fifteen and surprisingly chilly.
‘What kept you?’ she asked after I finally emerged from the house.
‘Sleep. Shut up and walk.’ I hated walking but did it anyway, though not with great enthusiasm – perhaps because, despite getting up before dawn and walking briskly for sixty minutes, the exercise wasn’t having the desired effect.
‘Come on, Katie, it’s all about fitness; the weight will fall off, trust me,’ Diane said as we pounded the pavement and nodded to other idiotic early morning walkers and joggers.
‘Ha!’ I moaned. ‘It’s so depressing.’
But Di kept me motivated – to a point. She was a very fast walker and intimate with all the hills in the neighbourhood. Just when I’d get used to a new one, she’d giddily chirp, ‘Guess what? I found a more interesting route. If we turn up here…’ And sure enough there’d be another Mount Everest staring at me .
‘It’s either this or swimming,’ Di threatened when I shied away from yet another mountain.
‘No way. Last time I swam laps, people grabbed at my feet because I was moving too slowly.’
‘Pool rage. It’s getting worse.’
‘Bloody lap dictators. People passing me with swimming paddles…’
‘Exactly.’ Diane dragged me forward. ‘Keep walking. It’s only a slight hill. Distract yourself by telling me about Arnaud.’ She snapped her fingers in my face. ‘Hel-lo!’
‘Yes, sorry. You could have knocked me over when I ran into him at the magazine.’ I suddenly found a spring in my step.
‘Could be dangerous.’
‘But he’s gorgeous. Ar-naud. I’ve always loved the name Arnaud.’
‘Since when? Besides, Arnie’s a pet’s name, suitable only for dogs and muscle-men actors parading as politicians.’
‘It’s harmless flirting. Although he did invite me out for a drink.’
‘Please don’t have drinks with him. I don’t need to remind you what happened to me when I embarked on an office affair. Disaster. An absolute disaster right from the word go.’
‘What are you talking about? You married David.’
‘Yes, but remember, I was married to Paul before David came along. And really, I don’t think Nina’ – Di’s sixteen-year-old daughter – ‘is handling the situation well at all. She fights with David all the time, and with school exams and Christmas looming, well, tensions are intensifying. It doesn’t help that he lets Sam’ – David’s sixteen-year-old son – ‘come and go as he pleases. They’re the same age. Same rights. I keep telling David and Nina to cool it. They’re like two rabid dogs at each other’s throats.’
‘Okay, you’ve convinced me. ’
‘Besides, you only want Arnaud because he’s French and handsome.’
‘You’re supposed to be convincing me an affair’s wrong, right? Not that I would ever consider one.’
‘Let me tell you, real life is no Brady Bunch . Nina and Sam get on well, but he barely speaks to me. I’m dreading the holidays.’
This ignited a twenty-minute conversation about the secret lives of teenagers, the seemingly endless summer school holidays of squabbles, boredom and sunburn, and the fact that neither of us were any closer to sorting out Christmas plans. After venting mutual frustrations, I arrived home with leg cramps but felt remarkably unburdened.
I was determined to have a great day… until Lexi locked herself in the bathroom and refused to come out.
She’d been normal at breakfast. Sullen. Rude. Then, when I was dressed and ready to leave the house, she wouldn’t come out of the bathroom. She’d been in there for over half an hour. Lexi was going to miss the first bell and I was already running late for the magazine.
‘Is everything okay?’ I wondered whether she was attempting to recolour her hair.
‘Go away.’
I took that as a no.
In the meantime, Matthew’s taxi arrived, he kissed my forehead and left with a breezy ‘Have a great week. I’ll call.’
‘Dear Lord, no,’ I yelped minutes later when I walked past Lexi’s bedroom. Her hair was practically a crew cut. ‘What possessed you?’
‘The devil, Mum. The devil.’ She glared at me. ‘And before you say anything more, it’s got nothing to do with Hunter. I couldn’t get the black out, so it was easier to cut my hair. It’ll grow back.’