‘Oow . . . ohhh . . . usstt.’ Her hands wave at the tray as she splutters a load of nonsense at us. And then Ava reaches forward, taking one of the little flatbreads as Kate groans happily on. ‘I don’t know what it is about them, but I can’t get enough.’
I’m thrilled to see Ava pop one in her mouth without any pressing from me. But it isn’t in her mouth for long. She coughs, grabbing a napkin and holding it to her mouth. ‘Fucking hell,’ she splutters, emptying the contents of her mouth into the material.
‘Ava.’ My bark of her name makes her jump a little, though I get no apology for her foul mouth.
‘I know, right?’ Kate grabs another and rams it in. ‘Serious . . . eeee . . . est . . . ings.’
‘I need water!’ Ava starts fanning her mouth, frantically searching the vicinity. ‘Quickly! Oh my God, my mouth’s burning!’
I hand over my glass as Sam falls apart across the table, and she grabs it, slurping it down ravenously.
‘Spicy?’ I take a wild guess, smiling as she nods over the glass.
‘Delicious,’ Kate corrects.
‘You hate hot food.’ Ava’s face is red, a mild sweat dampening her skin. She looks at the platter with disgust.
‘Oh, Kate’s developed a bit of a craving.’ Sam takes one of the canapés and holds it out to Kate, whose mouth falls open like she’s begging for a treat. ‘She’s draining the local Indian restaurant dry.’ He slips it past her lips and wipes a little bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth on a fond smile. ‘I won’t miss the midnight demands for a curry, but I will miss these.’ He cups one of her swelling boobs on a grin. Ava doesn’t know where to look, diving into her fizz, whereas I laugh. She got used to Sam’s cheeky nature over the years. Now she has to start all over again. ‘Drinks, anyone?’ Sam asks, releasing Kate’s boob and rising.
‘I’ll have a grapefruit juice.’ Kate waffles around her ever-full mouth. ‘With a dash of tomato juice and some Worcester sauce.’
‘Jesus, Kate,’ Ava breathes, grimacing. ‘Pregnancy is doing weird stuff to your appetite.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Sam says. ‘Jesse?’
‘Just a water for me.’
‘You go,’ Ava suggests, nodding when I look at her in question. What happened to never leaving her side? ‘It’s fine. Kate’s here.’
I sense she wants some alone time with her friend, and I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that. What will be said? I don’t know, and that’s a killer. But crowding her when she’s asked for a little space will do me no favours. ‘Five minutes,’ I agree reluctantly, leaning in and pushing my mouth to her cheek. ‘You’re going to talk about me, aren’t you?’
‘Don’t have such a big head.’ She smiles, and it’s fond. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I study her for a few moments, trying to read her mind. ‘Go,’ she orders, pulling on my sleeve. ‘And bring some canapés back that aren’t going to blow my head off.’
It’s like she knows the promise that she’ll eat will entice me to leave. And I hate that she’s right. ‘Fine.’
‘And some more of these,’ Kate adds, tossing another into her mouth. ‘I’m running low.’
I’m out of my chair fast, laughing as I walk away with a chuckling Sam. ‘Hey, look at that.’ I nudge his shoulder, and he looks across the bar with me where John’s romancing his lady friend.
‘He’s gonna plant that big knuckled fist on your nose if you don’t pack it in,’ Sam laughs, waving the barman over.
‘It would be worth it,’ I order some water. ‘And some grapefruit juice with . . . ’ I fade off, trying to remember the foul concoction Kate requested. I look at Sam, who takes over, reeling off his order.
‘Hey, boys.’ Drew joins us, a hand on each shoulder as he peeks his head through the middle of us. ‘What the fuck is that?’ He eyes up the glass of God-knows-what.
‘Don’t ask.’ I turn away from the bar, leaning against the wood. ‘So not long until you’re nailed down, too. Excited?’
‘Yes, actually. I know that surprises you.’
It doesn’t. From the moment he met the lovely Raya, he was smitten. It might have been a surprise at the time, but you only have to see them together to get it. Who would have thought back in the day that this is where we’d be? Sam preparing for the imminent arrival of his firstborn, Drew ready to walk down the aisle. And me with twins and a wife who doesn’t know me. I flinch, knocking myself out of my own depressing thoughts, and it doesn’t escape the boys’ notice. I swallow and shake off the melancholy.
‘Hey, how’s things?’ Sam asks, and I look past them both to see Ava has moved to the other side of the table to be next to Kate. She must sense my watchful eyes, because she looks up as she collects her glass, and then proceeds to take a cheeky, very measured sip. But the volume of alcohol she’s drinking isn’t foremost in my mind. What she’s saying to Kate is.
Chapter 38
Ava
‘How are you feeling?’ I ask, resting the stem of my glass on Kate’s pregnant belly.
‘I’m pregnant, fat, and I’m eating like a fucking horse.’ She blows her cheeks out and motions popping them. ‘Tell me how you are. How’s yoga going?’
‘Great.’ I smile, reminded of the image I had. ‘It beats therapy by a mile. At my last session, I was so spaced out, and I saw Jesse and the twins when they were babies.’
‘That’s great!’
I nod, sipping my drink.
‘And how are things with you and Jesse?’
I inhale and take a quick peek into the bar area where my husband is standing with his friends, but his attention is far from on them. ‘Good.’
‘And?’ she prompts.
I shrug. ‘He’s being very attentive. In between his rants about dresses, drinking and anything else that displeases him. Which is a lot.’
Kate laughs, holding her belly, and then flinches. ‘Ouch.’
I immediately bolt forward, my hands over hers on her tummy. ‘What is it? You okay?’
She shuffles in her seat, grimacing. ‘It’s nothing. Just the baby lying awkwardly.’ Brushing away my hands, she settles and gives me her undivided attention again. ‘It’s—’
I hold my hand up, stopping her. ‘I know what you’re going to say. I’ve figured out very quickly that he’s a bit of a control freak.’
‘A bit?’
‘A lot,’ I relent, taking my glass to my lips, thoughtful. ‘It’s just . . . weird, isn’t it?’
‘What is?’
I wave my glass through the air, indicating everything around me. ‘Up here.’ I tap the side of my head. ‘I’m still early twenties, rocking youth and pursuing my career.’ I look down my lace-clad body. ‘But here I’m thirty-eight, married to what can only be described as an ogre, and I have eleven-year-old twins. Eleven!’ I flop back in my seat, once again utterly shell-shocked by what is my life.
After way too long a silence, I sip my drink as I look at Kate. She’s smiling. ‘You know, I saw all these emotions in you once before.’ She waits a moment for me to ask when, but I don’t. I don’t need to. ‘Ava.’ With one hand on mine, the other on her gigantic belly, she shuffles in closer. I look Kate straight in her vivid blue eyes, wondering where she’s hiding the past sixteen years because, frankly, she looks no different. The pregnant belly aside. ‘For the record, you look fucking fabulous,’ she says. Reaching up, she pushes a stray strand behind my ear, her smile knowing. She’s read my mind, but I still pout, a little put out that I’m much older than I want to be. ‘How do you feel about him?’
‘Jesse?’
‘No, the Lord Almighty.’ The roll of her eyes is dramatic.