“Oh. Sure.”
“Look. I know we keep saying it but we must catch up!”
“Okay.” So they weren’t friends anymore. Not proper friends. They were “must catch up” friends.
“I mean, the last time I saw you was when we had that drinks thing with that friend of yours. The neighbor? Gina. How’s she?”
Gina, Gina, Gina. It occurred to Alice that she wouldn’t have called Elisabeth or Sophie about the kiss in the laundry. She would have called Gina.
“She’s dead.”
“Sorry, she’s what? Green! Green! Are you color-blind? Look, Alice, I’ve got to go. I’ll call! Soon!”
“Just tell me one thing,” said Alice, but the phone was beeping at her. Sophie had gone.
Just like everyone, it seemed.
The phone rang in her hand and Alice jumped as if it had come alive.
“Hello?”
“Oh, you sound much better.” It was her mother. Alice relaxed. Barb might now be the salsa-dancing, cle**age-baring wife of Roger, but she was still her mother.
“I’ve just been speaking to Sophie,” said Alice.
“Oh, that’s nice. She’s so famous these days, isn’t she? After that article? I was just talking to someone about her the other day. Who was it? Oh, I know! It was the lady who comes to do Roger’s feet. The chiropractor. No, no, that’s not it. The podiatrist. She said her daughter wanted one of those ‘Sophie Drew’ handbags for her birthday. I said, well, I’ve known Sophie since she was eleven years old, and I was nearly going to offer to try and get a discount for her, because it has to be said, Roger has awful hairy feet, so I do feel a bit sorry for her, but then I thought, you and Sophie don’t really see much of each other these days, do you? Just Christmas cards, isn’t it? So I changed the subject quick smart in case she asked, because she’s that sort of person, I think, who likes to try and use connections to get bargains. Gina was a bit like that, wasn’t she? Not that there’s anything wrong with it, I guess. It’s quite a clever way to live your life really, oh dear, what an absolute tragedy, it really is, anyway, what made me think of Gina? Oh yes, ah, connections. Anyway, I’ve got three reasons why I rang, I’ve actually written them down, my memory is just shocking these days—now speaking of which, how are you, darling?”
“I’m fine,” began Alice.
“Oh good, I’m so pleased. Frannie was making such a fuss about it. I said, ‘You watch, she’ll have her memory back by Monday.’”
“I’m remembering some things,” began Alice. Should she ask her mother about Nick and the kiss in the laundry?
“Wonderful!” Her mother wavered and then obviously decided to take the optimistic approach. “Wonderful! Now, darling, I wondered, when you said at the hospital that you and Nick might be getting back together, is that something that I possibly shouldn’t have mentioned to anyone? Because I happened to run into Jennifer Turner today at the shops.”
“Jennifer Turner?” The name didn’t mean anything to her.
“Yes, you know. That fierce sort of girl. The lawyer.”
“Oh, you mean Jane Turner.” Mmmm. The first face she saw when she woke up in this strange new life. Jane who was helping her divorce Nick.
“Yes, Jane. She wanted to know how you were. She said you hadn’t been answering her texts.”
Texts. What did that mean?
“Anyway, I said you were fine, and then I mentioned that you and Nick were getting back together. Well, she seemed quite taken aback. She said to tell you that you must not, under any circumstances, sign anything. Went on and on about it. I wondered if maybe I shouldn’t have said anything? Have I messed up?”
“Of course not, Mum,” said Alice automatically.
“Thank goodness, because Roger and I are just thrilled. Thrilled! We were thinking we could take the children for a weekend and you and Nick could go somewhere romantic. That was the second thing on my list. I’ll just cross it off. You say the word. We’d love to have them. Roger said he’d even foot the bill for a meal at somewhere fancy-schmancy. He’s so generous like that.”
“That sounds great.”
“Really? Oh, I’m so pleased because I mentioned it to Elisabeth and she said she thought once you got your memory back that you would be ‘singing a different tune.’ But you know, she takes the pessimistic approach to things these days, poor thing, and that was my third reason for calling. Have you heard from her by any chance? I’m desperate to know if she’s got the results yet. I’ve been ringing and ringing and no answer.”
“What results?”
“Today was the blood test. You know, for the last egg. Oh, wait a minute, I always get that word wrong. Embryo.” Her mother’s voice broke. “Oh, Alice, I’ve been praying and praying and sometimes I have to admit I get a bit cross with God. Elisabeth and Ben have tried so hard. Just one little baby isn’t too much to ask for, is it?”
“No,” said Alice. She looked at Dino’s fertility doll sitting on the counter. Why didn’t Elisabeth tell her there was a blood test today?
Her mother sighed. “I said to Roger, I’m so happy myself now, why can’t my girls be happy, too?”
Elisabeth’s Homework for Jeremy A lot of people have left messages for me today.
Mum has called five times.
I just saw a missed call from Alice.
Oh, and the nurse has called twice trying to give me the results of today’s blood test.
Layla has called, probably wondering where I am, because I went out at lunchtime and for some reason I just never got the energy to go back to the office. She probably thinks it’s because she offended me by not asking about Alice.
Ben has called three times.
I don’t seem to be able to call anyone back. I’m just sitting here behind the wheel of my car outside your office, writing to you.
Now the phone is ringing again. Ring, ring! Ring, ring! Engage with the world, Elisabeth! Go away, all of you.
Alice was hanging clothes on the line (it was taking forever) when the phone rang again. She had to run to answer it.
“Hello?” she said breathlessly.
“Oh, hi, it’s me,” said Nick. He paused. “Nick.”
“Yes, I recognized your voice actually.”