It wasn’t Annie, it was Zak. She let the call go to voicemail. Lauren felt a mixture of elation and irritation. On the one hand she really wanted to talk to Zak as she hadn’t seen him all day and she knew that he’d be interested in her car-washing activities – much more than Jude would ever be – but, on the other hand, she felt irritated that he’d called at a bad moment. Did Jude, she wondered, ever feel like that when she phoned him? Acid swirled in her stomach at the thought. Had she ever interrupted him and Georgia while they were in the throes of passion? More acid. What was wrong with her these days? She knew the score. This was what she’d bought into. But did that mean that she always had to like it?

She turned back to her lover, but the mood had gone.

‘Anything wrong?’

Lauren shook her head. ‘No.’

‘Who was on the phone?’

‘Just a friend.’

Jude sighed and rolled off her.

Stroking his chest, she said, ‘You could give me that back rub now.’

Her lover looked at his watch. ‘I’ve run out of time. I’ll have to go.’ He winked at her. ‘I’ll put it on account for you.’

Lauren pulled the sheet over her body, her skin cold now. How much more had she accrued on account over the years? Several spoiled birthdays, too many Christmases alone, the best years of her life spent waiting.

Jude was already up and dressing. How many times had she lain in bed watching him shrug on his shirt, smooth down his hair where she’d ruffled it and then walk away from her and back to his wife and family? Tears welled in her eyes.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow at work,’ he said.

If he noticed that she was crying, he didn’t mention it. Her lover probably didn’t have time to get involved with any unnecessary emotion – Georgia would be wondering where he was.

Chapter 55

Chapter 55

‘I think I’m coming down with a cold,’ Greg says, giving a tentative sniff. ‘I might give fishing a miss today.’

‘Miss fishing?’ My husband never misses fishing.

I’m already out of bed, but he’s still lying there. Looking very comfortable, I might add.

‘I’ll give Ray a ring.’

‘You can’t let him down,’ I say.

I’m panicking now as Lauren and I had planned to don our Bunny Girl outfits again and take up our chamois leathers with a vengeance. If Greg’s here, moping around with Man Flu, then my fundraising efforts will be severely hampered. ‘You always go fishing with him on a Saturday. It just sounds like a sniffle to me.’

He gives me a look that says, ‘Thank you for your sympathy, dear wife.’

‘I’ll make you some breakfast,’ I offer. ‘That will make you feel better.’

‘I don’t think I could eat.’