She’d learned from Catrin that Judith’s dad was seriously ill. Poor George. She’d always been so fond of him. And maybe that’s why Judith was on her mind tonight. She’d sent a card via Catrin but had heard nothing back. Lana was being ridiculous, she knew this. Why should Judith reply to a poxy card? She must have so much other stuff to worry about. Still Lana couldn’t help feeling rejected again. She knew it was childish of her. And self-centred. But part of her wished she’d never sent it.

She tried and failed once more to sleep. It was five a.m. now and she dragged herself out of bed, zombiefied: neither tired enough to sleep nor awake enough to get on with the day. There was no milk, so she made herself a strong black coffee and drank it with the window open whilst smoking her first fag of the day. Upper Street in Islington was already buzzing, even at this hour. She loved her flat. She loved just sitting there, sometimes for hours, and staring out at London life below. There was a kind of voyeuristic anonymity about it which she relished.

Tonight the first episode of Devil May Share was due to be broadcast. She’d already seen it at the cast-and-crew screening and it was good. But she daren’t jinx it by telling anyone. There’d certainly been a lot of hype around the show, with the publicity machine going into overdrive. She’d got used to seeing her face on magazine fronts and stories online, which would all help with ‘upping her profile’ as her agent described it. Later that morning she was scheduled to appear as a guest on Larry Dodge!, a relaxed magazine chat show that filmed in the presenter’s own house. She ought to check her pick-up time, really. Turning on her computer, she waited for the emails to load. Several had arrived overnight, but there was one that leapt out at her from the inbox.

To:Lana Lloyd

From:Judith Metcalf

Date:20.08.2005

Subject:Hello from me

Dear Lana

I must admit I’ve started several emails to you since I received your card about my dad and have deleted them all. Because I don’t really know what else to say. Other than thank you for your kind words.

It would be easier for me to pretend we hadn’t seen each other at Romy’s christening. Just carry on like I have done for the past eighteen years. But Dad’s not long for this world now. We fly to Cyprus tomorrow to say farewell. And it’s made me reassess things – life’s priorities and all that. So I thought, if you’re willing, that maybe we should meet up. Just you and me. See if we can at least salvage some civility towards one another.

Best wishes

Judith

Lana stared at the email for a solid three minutes, disbelieving at first that it was actually from Judith and for one mad moment wondering if this was Cat’s doing. Desperate measures or something. But no, that’d be so out of character for Cat. This was definitely from Jude. And the second she accepted this, instantly and remarkably Lana felt flooded with love for her old best friend. As if every grain of resentment she’d ever felt had simply never existed. As if all that nonsense had never happened. She couldn’t wait to reply.