‘People from the village, old friends, new friends, and these are two more Bonnets,’ she said as two elderly nuns wearing scarlet lipstick came over. ‘Lady Sew and Sew and Lady Burble, meet Ally.’
At that moment, there was a scuffle, and Bridget, Katie, Jenny and Gabrielle disappeared.
‘Oh god,’ said Rebecca. ‘Here we go.’
‘Here we go what?’ I asked.
‘You know the tradition? We all do a song for birthdays. God knows what they have lined up for me.’
A few minutes later, the lights dimmed and the opening chords of the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ began to fill the room. Gabrielle came in first dressed as a fairy in a white tutu and tiara. She danced around like a professional ballerina, then stopped and indicated a door with a graceful arc of her right hand. The door opened and out came Katie (still with a blue face), Jenny and Bridget. They were dressed in pink tutus and were wearing wellies on their feet. They went into a comedy routine with Katie and Jenny dancing perfectly in time, Bridget missing every beat, turning when she wasn’t supposed to and not turning when she was. Beside me, Rebecca guffawed with laughter.
At the end of the dance, they lined up and bowed to great applause from the gathered guests. One of the party went forward and offered a bouquet of flowers to Gabrielle, which she accepted and held, until Bridget whipped them away and the others began to fight over them as they made their exit.
‘A triumph, darlings,’ Rebecca called, then turned back to me. ‘I wondered what they were going to come up with. Thank god there was no singing this time. They really sound dreadful when they do that, me included.’
Sara and Jo were chatting to some of the guests across the room and Rebecca was soon called away to talk to one of her friends. I was alone for a moment when I felt someone touch my arm. I turned to see that it was Lawrence.
‘I thought you might be here,’ I said.
‘And Katie told me that you might be coming,’ he said. ‘I’m glad you made it. I know it’s tempting to hide away after losing someone.’
I pointed over at Jo and Sara. ‘I’ve been staying in London with friends.’
‘Good, and you have an open invitation to come and stay with me, too, any time. I think it’s important to stay connected.’
‘Katie and Rebecca said the same. I will.’
Jo and Sara came over to join us and Lawrence drifted off to talk to someone else.
‘So?’ said Jo.
‘So what?’
‘Who’s he? He’s very handsome.’
‘Stop it. I’ve known Lawrence for years. We’re just good friends and you know I am not, nor ever will be, looking for a replacement for Michael.’
‘I’ll have him if you don’t want him,’ said Sara. ‘I like a tall man, plus he still has hair—’
‘And his own teeth,’ said Ally.
Jo laughed. ‘God, listen to us, we’re like three fifteen-year-olds.’
‘Not when we’re discussing if a man has his teeth,’ I said. ‘And I can tell you Lawrence isn’t looking for a replacement for his late wife either. And …’
‘Yes?’ chorused Jo and Sara.
‘There’s no chemistry either, never has been.’
‘I’m definitely having him then,’ said Sara.
‘Not if I get in there first,’ said Jo.
‘Oh, grow up, the pair of you,’ I said, but as I watched Lawrence chatting away to one of the guests, I could see that he’d have appeal. He had an old-fashioned elegance about him and I thought it was a shame he wasn’t my type. He was alone, I was alone, but no, it was too soon to even consider such things, not just with him, but with anyone – not now, not ever.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sara
Present day, Febuary
Back in London the day after Rebecca’s party, we arranged to meet Lisa in a café just off Camden High Street. As we made our way there in the taxi, I got a call from Gary at Little Dog Productions.
‘I hear you’re going to meet Mitch’s daughter. I could send Ajay down,’ he said.
‘No way, we’d scare her off,’ I said. ‘Let Ally, Jo and me go in the first instance, then if she agrees to being filmed at a later date, maybe. We’ll do this part away from the cameras.’
I could almost hear Gary pouting at the other end of the phone. ‘Could be TV gold,’ he said.
‘Tough,’ I replied.
*
When we reached Camden, we got out of the taxi and made our way over to the café near the bridge. Just as we got there, I noticed a slender, graceful-looking woman on the other side of the road. She had dark hair piled loosely at the back of her head and was dressed in Indian clothes in reds and pinks. I knew immediately she was Mitch’s daughter and my eyes welled up. She saw us, waved and came over.
‘Are you Sara, Ally and Jo?’ she asked.
‘We are, and you must be Lisa,’ said Jo and embraced her. ‘How did you know it was us?’
‘Three of you, about the right age and …’ She turned to me, ‘I recognize you from the TV, Sara.’
Jo introduced herself and Ally and we went inside the café, got seated and ordered coffees.
Lisa looked nervous. ‘I didn’t sleep at all last night. I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited to find someone who … you’re the first people I’ve met who knew my mother so … What was she like? Do I look like her? Were you around when she was pregnant with me? Do you know what happened?’
Ally smiled. ‘We brought photos. Yes, you definitely have a look of her around the eyes, and her lovely heart-shaped face, though she was blonde. And what was she like? She
