Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Juliet was standing outside Rachel’s house, her right forefinger poised over the doorbell. She didn’t have to press it. There was still time to run.
She was furious with herself for agreeing to bring Cassady to the fourth birthday party of Rachel’s son, but when Rachel wanted you to do something, it was hard to say no. That was why she was so good at her job.
Just when Juliet had decided she was going to flee, the door opened and a man was standing there, wearing a pointy polka-dot party hat.
Cassady immediately started laughing. ‘You look funny,’ she said, pointing at the hat.
‘Not as funny as you,’ the man said, pulling a goofy face.
‘It’s rude to point, Cassady,’ said Juliet.
‘Ah,’ he said, switching his gaze to her, smiling broadly and putting out his hand to shake hers. ‘If this is Cassady, you must be Juliet. I’m Simon, Rachel’s husband. I’m delighted to meet you, Rachel has told me so much about you. Come in.’
Before Juliet could think of any way to back out of it, Cassady had raced down the hall, heading for the sound of children’s voices at the back of the house. Juliet had no choice but to follow her.
‘Juliet!’ she heard someone say and saw Rachel coming towards her, beaming. She threw her arms round Juliet and hugged her.
‘I’m so happy you made it,’ she said. ‘I thought you might bail. I know how antisocial you are and I’m determined to make you mingle more – like your daughter there. Isn’t she a great little mixer?’
Juliet couldn’t help a mother’s proud smile springing to her face in response, even though she knew exactly what Rachel was up to. Be more Cassady .
‘Now,’ said Rachel, leading her by the arm, ‘I would offer you some bubbly, but you’re not allowed, so how about some elderflower? It’s a bit fizzy, so you can pretend...’
Then somehow, as Rachel kept talking and leading her into the room, Juliet found she was standing next to a couple of women about her age, who both looked vaguely familiar.
‘Right,’ said Rachel. ‘I’ll just get you the elderflower, Juliet, and you can chat to Nicole and Dottie, who you probably already know. Nicole has recently taken over at Glossy , and Dottie, of course, is at Her ... This is Juliet Mylan of wonderful Giuliette jewellery, which I know you both adore. You had that lovely still life in last month, thank you, Nic.’
And so, Juliet realised, she was talking to two magazine editors.
‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘Thank you so much for that picture, Nicole, it was amazing, a whole page. We were thrilled.’
‘You’re very welcome,’ said Nicole, smiling coolly. ‘It was a stunning piece. Did you see it, Dottie? A brooch like an amazing eye, with a piece of green aventurine quartz for the iris and a diamond tear hanging in the corner, quivering as though it is just about to fall... I gave it a whole page. Of course, it’s wonderful having the editorial space to let something special breathe like that.’
‘Yes, I did see that,’ said Dottie, with a strained smile. ‘It was amazing. We wanted to use that brooch too, but you’d got in first and insisted on an exclusive.’
She turned to Juliet. ‘That’s the problem with being a weekly. The monthlies beat us to things because they have to shoot everything months ahead, but then we are able to respond to things as they happen, so we are always more current and, of course, we have so many more readers, going out with the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the country and then, of course, there are our online readers, reaching nearly two hundred million people, globally.’
Juliet saw Dottie’s eyes flick over to Nicole’s face to see if her dart had hit the target. The sour expression told Juliet it had.
‘Well, we have a lot of new designs coming out,’ she said, thinking she better keep talking to stop things escalating. ‘I’ve done a version of the eye as a ring and a pendant, in different colours. Perhaps you’d like to come to the studio to see them... we could have lunch.’
‘That would be great,’ said Dottie.
‘And you, as well, of course,’ said Juliet quickly, turning to Nicole. ‘Together, or, er, separately...’
How did Rachel handle this? This wasn’t a work thing, it was a family birthday party, so it seemed she was personal friends with both these women who clearly hated each other’s guts.
She was relieved when Nicole was distracted by something in the kitchen.
‘Quiller!’ she called out, rushing off. ‘Stop that immediately!’
Juliet turned to see her take hold of a small boy who was sitting under the kitchen table, happily unwrapping the presents.
Dottie laughed. ‘That’ll teach her to send him to forest school,’ she said. ‘And call him a stupid name, poor kid.’
Juliet couldn’t help smiling at her.
‘So you’re going again,’ said Dottie, pointing at Juliet’s now very obvious bump.
‘Yes,’ said Juliet. ‘How many children do you have?’ Anything to get the focus off her.
‘Three. I’m insane – and not at all good at remembering to take the pill. Was yours a mistake?’
Juliet was silenced by the brazenly intrusive question. ‘Definitely not a mistake,’ she said, after a beat. ‘I wanted Cassady to have a sibling.’
I must have wanted that deep down , she told herself, or I wouldn’t have had contraception-free sex with a man I had sworn I would never see again .
‘Is this one going to have a father?’ asked Dottie. ‘There’s no dad around at the moment, is there? That’s what I’ve heard.’
‘Well,’ said Juliet, consciously composing herself, ‘there is a father biologically...’
Dottie laughed and Juliet felt more confident. It was an opportunity to practice for the Style section interview.
‘But not after that part of it,’ Juliet continued, ‘which is by sperm donor.’ She better get used to saying that – but she was surprised when it brought up a vivid image of Matt’s face. His lovely smile. She felt bad, dismissing him in that way. He’d given her the most important thing in her life – Cassady – and now another priceless gift was on the way too.
She realised Dottie was looking at her expectantly and snapped herself back to attention. ‘After that, I actively chose to raise my children as a single mother. It’s what I want. I’m so busy with the business, I don’t want a relationship, but I’ve always wanted a family. I think we’re so lucky these days that we have options. Don’t you?’
Dottie nodded, looking thoughtful. ‘So you consciously never coupled with their father... interesting.’
She had a look on her face that Juliet recognised from conversations with Rachel. Dottie had spotted a good angle.
‘Who is the father of your children?’ added Juliet, deciding to direct her intrusive questions back at her.
‘Touché,’ said Dottie. ‘Three different ones and it does make life complicated, especially as I’m still living with the second father and he doesn’t know the youngest isn’t his, but you just have to get on with it, don’t you?’
Juliet nodded. That sounded like a scenario almost as complicated as hers. She liked Dottie’s honesty.
‘As long as the kids are happy, I don’t think any of that matters, do you?’ said Juliet.
‘No,’ said Dottie, grinning. ‘Secret mummy magic, all of it.’
Juliet smiled back.
‘I would love to come for that lunch,’ said Dottie. ‘If you’re still offering it. But not with vinegar tits, if that’s okay? Just us two.’
Juliet couldn’t help laughing. ‘I’ll message you on Insta,’ she said.
‘I think we should do a profile of you in the mag,’ said Dottie. ‘About how you balance your working life with your children and your decision to go it alone. What you just said about being lucky to have the option to do that.’
‘That would be great,’ said Juliet. ‘As long as it’s mainly about the business—’
‘No,’ said Dottie, ‘it would mainly be about glamorous you and your novel parenting setup. Rachel’s told me about your reluctance to promote your own profile, but you are what’s interesting to our two million women readers. They will also read about your jewellery in the course of the article, and see the fab pictures, but it’s your lifestyle that will make them aspire to buy at least a scented candle from the fragrance range you are inevitably going to do...’
‘It’s a deal,’ said Juliet, laughing. ‘And you know, that’s really not a bad idea – a fragrance range.’ She realised she was looking forward to having lunch with Dottie.