Lying awake afterwards Carly had recognised how dissatisfied she felt with her life. She had a new friend who shouted and danced and drank and laughed just for the joy of it. Carly loved Bridge’s ‘feck it’ attitude, the way she targeted what she wanted and went for it. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be that sure of herself – the last time she’d felt like that being the first time she’d set eyes on Ash.

Unable to sleep, she’d taken Bridge’s lead and plotted to seize the day. At five forty-five in the morning, still wide awake, she’d decided there was no time like the present. Two and a half life-changing hours later, it was looking like a very good decision indeed.

The orgasmic rainbow owes me… She remembered the spell now with a snort of laughter.

She took a selfie and with Spirit and sent it to the newest number in her phone contacts.

OMG u superstar!! B xx came Bridge’s sleepily typed reply, followed by: Ps) How can you possibly be awake? Then: I think I’m still drunk. You up for a coffee later?

She sent a smile and thumbs up. I’ll have kids with me if okay?

Beezer cos I miss mine. Come round here. Will be trending jaded from 11. :-o :-p

*

The nostalgic DAB station Pax’s car stereo was tuned to was pumping out themed hits – ‘Happy New Year’ by Abba, U2 singing ‘New Year’s Day’, ‘New Sensation’ by INXS – all fighting to be heard over the howling exhaust.

At least the noise drowned out her heaving stomach and throbbing, jackhammer headache. It was also good at covering quiet bleats of fear.

‘Steady!’ She battled to stay calm as Luca sliced across three lanes of traffic to exit the M42 onto the M40, hands lifting to cover her face.

Unaccustomed to driving on the left for many years, Luca’s ‘just getting my eye in’ had a terrifying blind spot. Horns trailed away behind them.

‘Sorry about that,’ he said tightly, wincing at the rear-view mirror before accelerating off the slip road, narrowly avoiding a juggernaut. ‘Now where’d that big bugger come from?’ With his thick beard and long hair, it was like being driven by a recently released hostage. One who had never learned to drive.

Pax kept her fingers across her mouth, voice muffled. ‘Can we stop for that breakfast before I throw up?’ She wasn’t remotely hungry, but the puppy was whimpering, and she longed for solid ground and intravenous caffeine. Plus, her phone was in her bag on the back seat and she needed to charge it, if only to leave a final message for loved ones.

Kes, Kes, Kes. Guilty conscience at its worse in the mornings, and worse still after last night, she wanted to wail, ‘What have I DONE?’ but she was with the stranger she’d been sick on – quite possibly her mother’s toy boy – and listening to The Carpenters singing ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’, so she pointed at the blue sign for the next exit with its reassuring crossed knife and fork, trying not to cry. Even happy songs made her sad.