The Single Mums' Picnic Club

by Jennifer Joyce

  ‘I will. I promise. Now go.’

  With a gentle nudging from Isaac, Frankie made it out of the front door. She made sure her phone was switched on, fully charged, and not in silent mode, before she walked the short distance to Katie’s house on the seafront. The sea was a cold, murky blanket beyond the promenade, with the ghost-town pier looking eerie in the distance without the bright lights and movement of the summer months, but Katie’s house had an embracing warmth as she stepped inside.

  ‘George is already here,’ Katie said as she took Frankie’s coat and hung it in the hallway. ‘She’s brought homemade nibbles.’ She groaned as she led the way to the kitchen. ‘I’m never going to live that rubbish excuse for a picnic down, am I?’

  ‘The picnic was fab, honestly.’ Frankie checked her phone; there was a decent signal from here, so Isaac wouldn’t have any trouble getting through.

  ‘Glass of wine?’ Katie reached into the fridge and pulled out an open bottle.

  ‘Just a small one for me.’ Frankie wanted to keep a clear head, just in case.

  ‘Top up?’ Katie called to George, who was reading the blurb on Katie’s book from the sofa.

  ‘Ooh, yes please.’ George placed the book back down on the coffee table and grabbed her glass, joining Katie and Frankie at the other end of the kitchen.

  Katie had decided to take George’s advice and was returning to the Red Lion in search of Jarvis, but the thought had made her so nervous, she’d asked Frankie and George to lend her some moral support. They’d both agreed, partly because they wanted to help and partly through sheer nosiness.

  ‘I have good news to share with you guys,’ Katie said as she started to pour the wine.

  ‘You’ve already tracked Jarvis down?’ Frankie held a hand up to signal there was enough wine in her glass for now. ‘And he’s upstairs, ready and waiting to ravish you?’

  Katie snorted. ‘I wish.’

  Frankie did too; it would render her support unnecessary and she could run home to hug her babies before they went to bed.

  ‘What are we celebrating then?’ George asked. ‘Other than you being ready to move on from Rob?’

  Katie had started to top up George’s glass, but she paused. ‘Am I ready to move on?’

  ‘You must be.’ George shrugged. ‘If you were still hung up on your ex, we wouldn’t be on our way to the pub to track down your new bloke.’

  Katie’s brow furrowed. ‘Oh. I never thought of it like that.’ She added a generous amount of wine to George’s glass before heading to the sofa to top up her own glass.

  ‘So, what’s the good news?’ Frankie flopped onto the sofa and took the tiniest sip of her drink.

  ‘We-ell.’ Katie stretched the word out before pausing for effect. ‘Do you remember the interview I had the other day? The day of the rubbish picnic?’ She held up a hand as both George and Frankie started to protest. ‘I had a phone call this afternoon and I got the job!’ With her glass of wine raised in one hand, she performed a single-handed jazz hands with the other.

  ‘Congratulations!’ Frankie slid her glass onto the coffee table before wrapping her arms around Katie.

  ‘Well done, you.’ George joined in the hug. ‘I knew you could do it.’

  ‘I wasn’t so sure, so it feels amazing.’ Katie sucked in a huge breath before letting it out slowly, as though in meditation. ‘I feel like I’m worthy again.’

  George tutted. ‘You were always worthy.’

  ‘I know, but I didn’t always feel that way.’ She shrugged. ‘Anyway, I propose a toast.’ She lifted her glass. ‘To me!’

  Frankie whipped around to grab her glass, chorusing with George, ‘To Katie!’

  ‘So, where will you be working?’ George asked as they settled down on the sofa to finish their wine and snack on George’s nibbles. Frankie had been expecting a couple of bowls of crisps and nuts, but George had gone to town, with a platter filled with spinach and bacon stuffed mushrooms, sticky garlic chicken wings, spicy cheese straws, and a selection of veggie batons with black bean and guacamole dips.

  ‘It’s over at the golf club, so hardly any commute at all.’ Katie grabbed a celery stick and loaded it with guacamole. ‘And it’s only part-time – three days a week – but better than nothing.’

  ‘Absolutely.’ Frankie reached for a chicken wing, and the smell alone made her mouth water. ‘I did some branding work for them last spring, and they were lovely.’

  Katie nodded. ‘I only spoke to a couple of people, but they were really friendly. I can’t wait to start, but I have to wait a couple of weeks.’

  ‘Enjoy the next few days,’ George said. ‘Relax. Have a bit of Katie time before you throw yourself back into work.’

  Katie nodded. ‘I could do that.’ She picked up the paperback from the coffee table. ‘I could finally finish this book – or at least get past chapter seven.’

  The pub was noisy and sweaty with so many bodies squeezed into the building, the beginnings of BO starting to mingle with the fog of yeasty beer, perfume and aftershave already hanging in the air. Following George’s lead, Frankie threaded her way to the bar, apologising and excusing-me-ing as she hobbled through the swarm of revellers. Katie was behind her, clinging onto Frankie’s sleeve so they didn’t become separated in the madness of the Friday night drinking session.

  ‘Keep your eyes peeled for Jarvis,’ George had instructed Katie before they’d entered, but Frankie didn’t see how she’d be able to spot him in the jumble of bodies. The Red Lion wasn’t your typical local boozer and definitely wasn’t for the faint-hearted. It took Herculean effort simply to reach the bar, and even then it was a battle to place an order as the bar staff struggled to keep up with demand.

  ‘Is he here?’ The barmaid was busy serving another customer, so George used the opportunity for a man-hunt update.

  Katie stretched up on her tiptoes to survey the room, but it seemed like a fruitless task. There were countless people, many with their backs to them, lots moving around and jostling. Jarvis would need a placard to wave above his head to be spotted.

  ‘I can’t see him.’ She lowered herself back down onto her heels, but her eyes still roamed for a familiar face.

  ‘There’s plenty of time.’ George reached into her bag and pulled out her purse. ‘Let’s get a drink and then we can have a proper look.’

  It took an age for them to be served, but eventually they edged their way towards a pocket of space close to the pool table. It was a little quieter here, as there was an unspoken rule to keep the area uncluttered to allow games to be played, but there was still the background hum of the myriad conversations taking place. Still, at least Frankie would hear her phone from here – she’d taken to clutching her phone, just in case Isaac needed to get in touch, as it would have gone unanswered in her handbag. She’d texted her brother a few minutes ago but he’d yet to reply. Frankie swallowed her worry and concentrated on George’s plan of action.

  ‘We can see the bar and the loos from here, so I think we should stay put, for a while at least, because he’s bound to visit one of them, right?’

  ‘What if he isn’t here?’ Frankie clutched her phone tighter, willing it to vibrate with a text notification. ‘We could be wasting our time.’

  George shot her a pointed look. ‘We’re not wasting our time, and if he isn’t here, we can come back again.’

  Great, so Frankie would have to desert her kids for another wild goose chase if Jarvis didn’t pop up?

  Frankie didn’t mean to have uncharitable thoughts, but there was a knot in the pit of her stomach that was growing with each minute that passed. What was keeping Isaac from replying? Had he even read the message, and if he hadn’t, why not?

  ‘Is this a bit weird?’ Katie rubbed at her forehead. ‘Have I turned into some kind of mad stalker?’

  ‘No, not at all.’ George nudged Frankie with her elbow.

  ‘What?’ Frankie looked up from her phone. ‘No. Absolutely not. Do you mind if I ju
st…?’ She held up her phone, already skirting away from her friends. ‘Won’t be long.’ She turned and barged her way through to the doors, the increasingly painful knot in her stomach removing all trace of politeness. Panic made her breathing shallow and her head was buzzing with pent-up frustration as she was met by a suffocating wall of bodies, but she eventually burst out onto the pavement, the sharp wind like a slap across the face.

  ‘Please pick up, please pick up.’ Her phone was pressed against her ear even before the door had the chance to slam shut, sealing off the rumble of the festivities indoors. She paced along the length of the pub, rotating at the Victorian-style lamppost before marching towards the doors again. Why wasn’t Isaac answering his damn phone? What was preventing him from reaching it; injury (his or one of the kids?), illness (ditto), fire? Frankie’s throat was dry, the phone slipping as her body started to pulse sweat from every pore. She knew she shouldn’t have come out tonight! She knew she was doing Something Wrong and yet she’d…

  ‘Isaac!’ Relief made her queasy as her brother finally picked up. ‘What’s going on? What’s happened?’ The buzzing increased in her head and she leaned against the rough brick wall of the pub for support. ‘Are the kids okay?’

  ‘Of course the kids are okay. Why wouldn’t they be?’

  The casual tone to her brother’s voice caused the fingers of Frankie’s free hand to curl into her palm, her nails digging into the flesh. ‘You didn’t pick up for ages. You didn’t reply to my text.’ Her own tone was snappy, accusatory, but she didn’t care. Anything could have happened while she wasn’t there. Frankie knew how easily your life could be tipped upside down, and she never wanted to go through that again.

  ‘The twins were in the bath and my phone was downstairs. I had no idea I had a text.’

  Frankie pushed herself away from the wall, body on high alert once more. ‘You haven’t left them in the bath, have you? You can’t do that! You have to watch them all the time. It’s so easy for them to…’

  ‘Frankie, calm down.’ Isaac’s casual tone was long gone as he interrupted his sister. ‘Obviously the twins are out of the bath. I wouldn’t do that. You know I wouldn’t put them in danger.’

  Frankie did know that, but panic had burrowed the knowledge deep down, along with reason and common sense. Her babies were everything to her, and she couldn’t lose them too.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ She slumped against the wall again, weary now the adrenaline was leaving her system. She’d overreacted – massively – but she couldn’t seem to quell the fear that something bad was just around the corner, that she couldn’t let her guard down like she did with Bradley. She should have known then, but she’d been oblivious to his pain. She couldn’t let that happen again to someone she loved.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Katie

  ‘This is useless.’ Katie stared down at the dregs of her glass of wine as the pub door slammed shut behind the latest exodus of customers. The crowd had thinned out dramatically over the past half an hour, with groups bustling out to head to the next pub or to pile into taxis that would take them to clubs further afield and loved-up couples had strolled out hand in hand to continue their dates in restaurants and cinemas. Despite the clearer view of the pub’s patrons, Katie’s prey was nowhere in sight. She was wasting everybody’s time and she was thoroughly fed up.

  ‘Let’s wait a bit longer.’ George scanned the bar area, head moving from side to side like a meerkat. Unlike Katie, her enthusiasm for the task hadn’t waned over the course of the evening. ‘What does Jarvis look like again?’

  Katie repressed a sigh and recounted the details she could remember. ‘Dark hair. Styled. Beard, but short, not bushy.’ She’d never kissed a man with a beard before – Rob had been against facial hair as even the shortest growth made him itch – and while she’d expected it to be a prickly experience, she’d actually quite enjoyed the slight scratch against her skin.

  ‘Tall? Short?’ George’s eyes were narrowed slits as she surveyed the clientele. ‘Thin? Stocky? What was his dress sense like?’

  ‘Um…’ Katie rubbed at her temple with her fingers. ‘Taller than me, but not by too much.’ He hadn’t towered over her as they’d snogged like a couple of teenagers in the beer garden, away from too many prying eyes. ‘Quite slim, but not skinny.’ Her cheeks started to feel warm as she recalled the moment he’d peeled his T-shirt over his head and her suspicions that he wasn’t a stranger to the gym had been confirmed. ‘He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt last week.’

  ‘Right.’ George tapped her chin with her fingers. ‘I don’t see him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t here.’

  Katie sighed, long and low. ‘I think the fact we’ve been standing guard near the loos all night does. Either he isn’t here, or he’s got a bladder the size of a beach ball. And speaking of loos, what’s keeping Frankie? She’s been in there for ages. Do you think I should go and check on her?’

  ‘I’ll go.’ George pressed her glass into Katie’s free hand. ‘You need to keep your eyes peeled for Jarvis.’

  It was useless. He wasn’t there that evening and no amount of surveillance was going to change that. With another sigh, she wandered over to the bar. The least she could do was get another round in and she’d assure George she’d kept lookout the whole time.

  ‘Katie?’

  Her head whipped around, her pulse racing, as her name was called from across the room, but her shoulders drooped when she realised it was just Jack. He lifted a hand in greeting before he joined her at the bar.

  ‘I didn’t know you were in tonight. Here with the teacher again?’ He nudged Katie playfully, and from the raised eyebrows and barely contained grin, he clearly suspected they’d more than chatted last week.

  ‘I’m here with a couple of friends.’ She caught the attention of the barmaid before turning back to Jack. ‘I think I owe you a drink, don’t I?’

  ‘No, it’s fine. I was saying thank you and sorry all rolled into one, remember?’

  Ah, yes. It was all because of Jack that she’d had the most thrilling night of her life; if she hadn’t picked Ellie up from school, if he hadn’t forgotten to phone ahead, she wouldn’t have got chatting to the teacher in the first place. She owed him a drink, whether he wanted one or not.

  ‘I insist.’ She turned away from him, chin jutted in the air, as she ordered a round of drinks. By the time they were lined up on the bar, Frankie and George had joined them. Katie made the introductions, but it turned out George and Jack already sort of knew each other.

  ‘Thomas goes to the same school as Leo and Ellie.’

  Katie smiled and made all the right murmuring noises at George’s revelation, but inside her stomach was rolling. What if George mentioned Katie’s night of passion with the teacher and unleashed untold smugness from Jack? She couldn’t stomach the knowing winks, innuendo and ‘I told you so’s.

  ‘Here, I got you another drink.’ Katie pressed the gin and tonic into George’s hand, hoping her friend would immediately start to drink and end the conversation. Unfortunately, Jack hadn’t finished with her yet.

  ‘How’s the hay fever doing?’

  ‘Oh. That.’ George’s cheeks took on a pink tinge. ‘It’s getting better, thank you.’

  ‘How’s Thomas settling in? I’ve asked Leo, but I get nothing but grunts until tea time, followed by amnesia about his whole day at school.’

  ‘He’s settled in really quickly. It’s me who’s having trouble adjusting.’

  Katie held her breath as she listened to the exchange, waiting for the excruciating moment one of them brought Mr Thompson into the conversation.

  ‘Katie?’ Frankie had her hand on her arm, trying to pull her into a conversation of their own, so Katie was forced to tune out as Jack offered his sympathy for George’s situation. ‘Do you mind if I get off? I’m not feeling very well.’ Frankie placed a hand on her stomach, the corners of her mouth turning down.

  ‘No, of course not.’ Katie felt a
stab of guilt; Frankie had been quiet since they’d arrived at the pub, but Katie had been too preoccupied to think much of it. ‘Do you want me to put you in a taxi?’

  Frankie shook her head, already sliding her untouched drink onto the bar. ‘The walk will do me good. Fresh air and all that. Are you sure you don’t mind?’

  There was that stab of guilt again. Frankie shouldn’t be worry about her – it should be the other way around under the circumstances. ‘Not at all. I wish you’d said something sooner though.’

  Frankie smiled weakly. ‘Me too.’ She said a quick goodbye to George before slipping away. Katie tuned back into George and Jack’s conversation, her heart in her mouth, but they’d moved on from the playground and were discussing the pitfalls of single parenthood. This, Katie realised, could take a while so she was probably safe – for now.

  It was closing time before they stumbled from the pub, the alcohol they’d consumed still warming their bodies and protecting them from the cold. Katie’s fears had been unfounded; George and Jack hadn’t returned to the subject of Southcliff Primary – or the teaching staff – all night and the relief she’d felt as George waved goodbye from her taxi was immeasurable. She slumped against Jack and he laughed as they began to wander along the path.

  ‘Lightweight. You’re not going to puke on my shoes, are you?’

  ‘I’m not actually that drunk.’ She straightened, walking unaided to prove her point. She’d been more careful that night as being under the influence had been the catalyst for the situation she’d found herself in. There was no way she’d have invited a man, who she’d known for a matter of hours, back to her place had she been sober.

  ‘Tonight’s been fun.’ Jack slung his arm around Katie, and it wasn’t because he was about to keel over. ‘We should do this again, have a few drinks in the pub when the kids are with the exes.’

  Katie looked out across the promenade, where the waves were crashing noisily against the seawall and sending salty spray beyond the iron railing. ‘Hmm, maybe.’