‘I’m sorry,’ I say to Hazel. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Me too,’ Anaya says.
‘We are going to need a truckload of cocktails and yoga to deal with this,’ Maxie says. When Hazel cocks an eyebrow at her, she adds: ‘And knitting. A shedload of knitting, too.’
I hold my arm up. ‘I can’t do any of that stuff,’ I remind them.
Anaya rolls her eyes. ‘Oh, here we go. “I was attacked by a psychopath, feel sorry for me.”’
‘I knew we’d be getting guilt-tripped at some point. Didn’t I say it?’ Maxie pipes up.
‘Hey. I want no sympathy. I just can’t join in with the boring stuff you lot do.’
‘Excuse me?’ Maxie says, affronted.
‘I can play cards,’ I add. ‘Why don’t you come over to my place, bring wine and we can play poker. Actually, pontoon cos I have no clue how to play poker.’
‘I have no childcare,’ Hazel reminds me.
‘Oh well, you can’t come then,’ Anaya quips. She cracks up laughing when she sees our faces. ‘It was a joke! We’ll come over to yours, Hazel, won’t we?’
‘Yeah, course,’ Maxie and I reply at the same time.
‘Thank you,’ she says. Her eyes fill up and she has to lower her head as the tears start to fall. We put our arms around her and she tries to shake us off. ‘Don’t,’ she says. ‘Don’t.’
‘Why not?’ Maxie asks.
‘Yeah, why not?’ Anaya says.
‘That’s what being a friend is all about,’ I remind her.
TUESDAY
Yvonne Whidmore
4:30 p.m. I think it’s time I woke up.
I’ve been asleep long enough. I’ve been hiding here long enough and it’s probably time to pick up the children from school.
I’ve listened to him talking to me, telling me he loves me and wants me back. I’ve heard their voices, the different intonations telling me who was who.
I think it’s time I woke up.
I have things to do.
I have children to love.
A husband to build up.
A life to live.
Scores to settle.
It’s been perfectly lovely here, but now, I think it’s time I woke up and picked up where I left off.
THE END
It’s easy to say thank you when you’ve been supported by a great bunch of people. So, here we go:
Thank you
to my wonderful family and friends;
to my incredible agents Ant and James;
to my brilliant publishers Susan, Charlotte, Rebecca, Sarah, Aslan & Viola, as well as Jason, Wendy, Chris, Najma, Jasmine and everyone else. A special mention to the lovely Georgina, so very much missed;
to my amazing publicist Emma.
And an extra special thank you to E, G & M. I love you. Always.
As ever, I would also like to say thank you to you, the reader, for buying this book. I hope you enjoy it.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Epub ISBN: 9781473537521
Version 1.0
Published by Century 2017
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Copyright © Dorothy Koomson 2017
Cover photography © Jeff Cottenden; lettering: www.ruthrowland.co.uk
Dorothy Koomson has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in Great Britain by Century in 2017
Century
The Penguin Random House Group Limited
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www.penguin.co.uk
Century is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781780895987
The Friend Page 44