Barbara, who wasn’t really concentrating on the conversation, sat staring out at the garden, looking at the summer rain as it began to fall. Toni watched Barbara gazing at the rain, and wondered why the woman looked so sad. She was normally a jolly sort and it was obvious to Toni that something was wrong. She made a note to herself to corner Barbara before she left, so she could find out what was bothering her. Toni hated not knowing what was going on.

‘Well, I for one would kill to be able to write like Byatt!’ Marion clapped her hands together as the doorbell rang again.

‘Better late than never,’ Kim chuckled, glugging back her wine.

‘They’ll be drenched,’ Barbara mused.

‘Back in a tick.’ Marion got up from her armchair and went to answer the door, leaving the room silent once again.

‘You look like a drowned rat.’ Toni smirked as Pauline, sodden, came into the room.

‘Nice to see you again, Toni.’ Pauline shook her blonde hair, which was normally as dry as straw, and went to give Janet a hug. Kim had to swallow her laughter. Although Toni had been rude, she did have a point.

‘Can I get you a towel, pet?’ Marion put her hand on Pauline’s shoulder, before quickly removing it, wiping the dampness off her fingers and onto her trousers.

‘Oh, yes, that would be good.’ Pauline smiled, showing a mouthful of yellowing crooked teeth, as the frizz returned to her shoulder-length hair. At a guess, the other people in the group would have said she was in her late fifties, but no one really knew. She kept her age to herself – for reasons the other women greatly enjoyed speculating about.

Her cerise linen jacket was soaked through and sticking to her bulky shoulders; the white floral, knee-length dress had mostly been protected from the downpour. As Pauline tried to shake off the jacket, her large, flabby arms wobbled like jelly. On her feet she wore a pair of sandals, which were clearly too small as they cut into the flesh around her ankles.

‘Right, what have I missed?’ she beamed, unaware of the atmosphere in the room.

‘Kim was just telling everyone how intellectual she is because she’s read, and enjoyed, Possession, by A. S. Byatt,’ Toni sneered.

‘Oh.’ Pauline’s round cheeks flushed pink and her grey eyes dropped to the floor, not knowing where to look.

‘My friend, ladies!’ Kim held up her glass in a mock toast to Toni, and proceeded to drain it, much to the disgust of both Janet and Toni.