15

Sophie admired her reflection in the wardrobe mirror and smoothed down a non-existent crease on her dress. It was the same one she’d worn for the night out that never happened with Angie a few months ago and after months of training and teaching in the pool it looked even better on her now. She had got her hair cut just before Christmas and it skimmed her shoulder blades in glossy waves. On her hairdresser’s advice she had splashed out on balayage and a smoothing treatment too, an impulse decision she had made with the thrill of knowing that she was earning her own money again, even if it was a pittance compared to someone like Angie. Angie. She tried not to think about her and returned to looking at herself in the mirror again.

She had started the year feeling stuck in a rut. Her career had dwindled to a near halt, her children were growing up and becoming more independent, and their plans to have a baby were going nowhere. But look at her now! She had embarked on an exciting new career and was feeling better and healthier than she had in years. She was practically glowing. What a way to bring in the new year. The only thorn in her side was that she hadn’t been able to share her joy with Angie. She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach at the idea of seeing her again.

There had been no row, no huge blowout which would explain the shift in their relationship, just a subtle pulling away from each other. One day they were the closest of friends, going on holiday together and spending their weekends in each other’s homes, and the next they were barely communicating at all. They both had their reasons, perhaps one more than the other.

Now she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Angie, other than the occasional glimpse. She didn’t even bump into them on the school run anymore as she had taken to driving instead on Angie’s days, so as to avoid her. Tom and Katie, oblivious to the shift, continued to play next door but instead of going round to collect them herself, Sophie had started shouting over the fence for them to come home. She couldn’t reconcile her feelings about it all.

She had enough going on in her life to distract her though. She had passed her swimming instructor training in October and had immediately signed up to a more advanced course. She had got a new job teaching at the local leisure centre and was thoroughly enjoying it. Although she was about twenty years older than most of the other teachers, they had welcomed her warmly and she had already earned a reputation for having a gift with nervous swimmers. They’d all gone out for a meal together just before Christmas and she had loved feeling part of a team again. When she wasn’t teaching, she was often swimming herself, powering up and down the pool until her mind finally shut out the messiness of life and focused singularly on the job at hand. It was addictive, that feeling of clarity in a world of chaos.