Todd was ice-cool. ‘Thingy can make up his own mind, thanks.’
Oh dear. Off to a rocky start.
***
The salon was in Hampstead. From the outside it was all subtle shades of rose-pink and cream. Inside it smelled like heaven. Ellie had never paid a visit to a beauty salon before; given the choice of how to spend thirty pounds, she’d choose a bottle of bubble bath and a new top every time. When it came to waxing and manicures she had always done her own. But never mind that now. They were here on a mission. Roo was more nervous than she was letting on. And the woman behind the reception desk with the terrifying ice-queen face and scraped-back hair could be Niall’s wife.
‘Twelve thirty… let me see…’ She ran a ferocious crimson nail down the appointments book. ‘Yes, there you are. Just take a seat and Yasmin will be with you very shortly.’
So, not the ice queen then.
They sat and waited and watched one of the other customers have a pedicure. Within two minutes the door to the salon burst open and a woman in her twenties rushed in with a multipack of nappies under one arm and a carrier bag from Lloyds the chemist in the other.
Having stowed them in the back room, she returned. ‘Hello, sorry to keep you waiting, just had to dash out to the shops. I’m Yasmin. Gosh, if your hair was different you’d look like that singer from years ago. What’s her name… thingummy… Daisy Deeva.’
‘I get that all the time.’ Roo pulled a face. ‘I saw her once, in Selfridges. She was buying a really horrible hat.’
‘Wouldn’t mind her money though, eh?’ Yasmin didn’t seem like a nightmare. She was smiling and friendly, with wavy, honey blond hair and pretty eyes. ‘Now, I hear you asked for me specially. Does that mean you know one of my regular clients?’
Caught off guard, possibly by her niceness, Roo said, ‘Um…’
‘We were in a wine bar yesterday,’ Ellie leapt in, ‘and a girl at the next table was telling her friend how great you are at manicures. She had beautiful nails, so we asked her where you worked.’
‘Oh wow, how brilliant! I wonder who it was?’ Beaming with delight, Yasmin said, ‘Let’s hope you’re happy too!’
The conversation was all about nails for the next few minutes, as she got to work on Roo. Ellie watched as the hands were painstakingly cleansed and moisturized, a scrub containing exfoliating crystals was applied, then some kind of special oil was rubbed into the nails and cuticles. Finally Roo said, ‘I saw you with the nappies. Does that mean you have a baby?’
Yasmin grinned. ‘Well, they’d be a bit small for me. Yes, we’ve got a boy, Benjamin. Seven months. He’s just adorable.’ Her eyes were shining. ‘I can’t believe the difference he’s made to our lives. How about you?’
‘Kids? Me? No.’ Roo shook her head, then clearly realized a child might come in handy. Indicating Ellie, she said, ‘She’s got one.’
Oh, great. Thanks a lot.
Yasmin turned to her. ‘Have you? Aren’t they fantastic? Boy or a girl?’
‘Girl.’ Ellie nodded and prayed they weren’t about to start swapping childbirth stories. ‘Five months. Her name’s Alice.’
‘Ah, that’s lovely.’ Cheerily Yasmin said, ‘Hard work, though, aren’t they? Does your chap help out much, or is he as useless as mine?’
Luckily her attention was on the job in hand so she didn’t see Roo’s eyelashes bristling.
Ellie said, ‘Not much. They’re all pretty useless, aren’t they?’
‘Tell me about it! My husband was supposed to be buying those nappies yesterday, and what happens? He comes home at midnight, says he had to work late, but it’s just a big fib. He wasn’t working. I know exactly where he was!’
Roo swallowed.
‘Where was he?’ said Ellie.
‘Out with his friends, of course! It’s that old meet-up-with-your-mates-on-a-Friday-night thing. He just can’t give it up. I mean, I wouldn’t mind, but he promised to come home with the baby wipes and the nappies.’ Yasmin shook her head. ‘Still, that’s men for you. They can’t multitask like us, can they?’
Ellie looked at the narrow wedding ring glinting on Yasmin’s left hand. ‘What’s he like with the nappies?’
Smiling, Yasmin said, ‘He changed three-quarters of a nappy once. I’m telling you, that was a sight to behold. You’d have thought he was detonating an unexploded bomb. It was hilarious. There now, let’s just wrap your hands in warm towels to let the moisturizers sink in. And you can choose