hug. ‘We’re going to have such fun… we can go shopping together! Now, come over and let me introduce you to everyone. They’ve all been longing to meet you. Todd, get Ellie a drink and something to eat… Sue, Sue, where’s Tanya? Look who’s here!’
The next hour was a whirl of new faces, struggling to remember everyone’s names, and being told over and over again what a lovely couple she and Todd made. People also gave her sympathetic looks, told her she’d been through so much, and murmured encouragingly how brave she was, before brightening and moving the conversation on to the much happier future. Maria’s sisters, cousins, friends, and neighbors meant well and they were nice people. There was much jolly talk about her and Todd, and jokey speculation about whether it was time to start looking out for a new hat. When Ellie ate a chicken drumstick and asked Maria what had been in the marinade, Tanya had exclaimed, ‘Ooh, bit of a cook, are you? Lucky old Todd!’
When she’d admired Sue’s necklace, Sue had clutched her arm excitedly and said, ‘I got it in Venice. Have you ever been there? Oh, you and Todd must go, it’s the most romantic place in the world.’ Prompting Dave and Hazel from over the road to chime in that Venice was where they’d spent their honeymoon, whereupon bouffant-blonde Rita from next door beamed at Ellie and said, ‘Now that’s an idea, isn’t it?’
Ellie smiled and did her best to dismiss it as harmless fun, but it was too unsubtle, too often, too much. It was like being trapped in a 1970s sitcom. Maybe if she and Todd had been a proper couple she’d love all the saucy double entendres and wedding talk, and it would be giving her a nice warm glow of belonging. But this was just making her feel claustrophobic. They couldn’t carry on like this; she was going to have to do something about it.
But not now, during Maria’s birthday party. That would just ruin everyone’s night.
Instead, she concentrated on being cheerful, enjoying the food, dancing along with everyone else to the music, and having fun.
At midnight, Ellie shared a minicab home with Brendan and Judy, friends of Maria’s who lived in Hampstead. Before leaving the party Maria hugged her and said squiffily, ‘You know what? I love the bracelet you gave me, but you’re the best birthday present I could have wished for. You and Todd getting together has made my year!’
Ellie had refused Todd’s earlier offer of a lift home, to enable him to relax and have a drink. When they said their goodbyes he kissed her and whispered, ‘Thanks. I’ll call you tomorrow.’
In the minicab on the way back to Primrose Hill, Judy insisted on getting her phone out and showing off a seemingly endless selection of blurry, postage-stamp sized photos of their three grandchildren. ‘Oh yes, they’re the light of our lives, aren’t they, love?’ She gave Brendan a dreamy smile. ‘Wouldn’t be without them for the world, would we? Bless her, Maria’s always asking after them; she’s been desperate to become a granny for years.’
Oh good grief.
‘When Todd moved to Boston she was petrified he’d meet someone out there and settle down in the States for good,’ Brendan chimed in. ‘She was so relieved when he decided to come home.’
‘And now he’s got you,’ said Judy. ‘Is it any wonder she’s over the moon? I tell you what, love, you’d never want for a baby-sitter with Maria around.’
Help…
***
It was past midnight and Roo’s stomach was in knots. Guilt wasn’t an emotion that had ever featured largely in her life.
Until today, this morning, when it had seized her in its viselike grip and changed everything. Oh yes, it was making up for lost time now.
And she, Roo Taylor, was going to change as well.
Moreover, this wasn’t a whim. It wasn’t like waking up one morning and deciding to have a bit of a spring clean or go on a diet. It was so much more than that. Because to date she’d led a charmed, stress-free, selfish life. And let’s face it, she hadn’t always been a nice person. Worst of all, she hadn’t even realized it, had simply carried on regardless, pleasure-seeking and doing things that had the potential to hurt others. She had drunk too much, taken too many drugs, slept with men she should never have slept with. And if they’d happened to have wives or girlfriends at home… well, she’d