‘Where’s this damn champagne?’ Angie demanded. She raised her voice and called out, ‘Stop gossiping in the kitchen, you lot, we’re thirsty.’
They all appeared together, five out of the six kids, and started dishing out glasses to everyone. Angie, Jack and Sophie took their champagne and held it up.
‘To Freddy and Katie,’ they said in unison.
They all drank up and a second bottle appeared soon after. By the time the third one had come out, it was established that no one would be driving home that evening. By the fourth, someone had found a Latin music playlist and put it on at full blast so that Katie could prepare for her imminent departure to South America, and Jack was trying to teach Sophie salsa moves.
‘How do you know how to do this?’ Sophie asked as he spun her around, having a flashback to when they had gone to the barn dance and made a hash of the moves.
‘Janine made me go to lessons for six months,’ he said.
‘Who’s Janine?’ Sophie was puzzled.
‘What’s-her-face,’ Indie shouted over the music to her.
‘Oh! I don’t think I ever actually knew her real name.’
Jack glared at her. ‘Nice, Sophie. Nice,’ he said.
Laughing, she pulled him towards her. To her left she saw Freddy and Katie talking quietly in the corner. To her right Indie was dancing with Tom, thrusting her hips towards him while he stared down at her in stunned awe, like a man who had just won the lottery. All of his friends would know about this tomorrow, she suspected, as well as possibly all of the internet. Benji was on the phone talking to his latest girlfriend and trying to explain that he couldn’t make it round to hers after all as he had got blotto with his mother and father.
Angie was sitting on the sofa with her champagne and soaking it all up, with a smile on her face. She had always loved entertaining. Sophie knew that she couldn’t join in the way that she wanted and sometimes that was so upsetting and infuriating that it was hard to imagine ever making peace with it. But there were also moments of calm, moments of acceptance, and right now, for Angie, it was enough simply to be here. You could see it in her expression. She had got to see all four of her children grow up and become the people that they were meant to be.
Because they were grown up now, the children, they were finding their own paths and making lives of their own. They were ready to fly. And so was she. Sophie spun around in a circle, her arms stretched out wide, and closed her eyes.
* * *
THE END
Acknowledgements
Writing a book during lockdown was a challenge and I have a lot of people to thank for helping me to reach the finish line. My husband Jon, who held the fort at weekends when I disappeared upstairs for writing sessions and brought me cups of tea. And my children, Rose and Alice, who selflessly enjoyed extra iPad and TV time when the schools were closed so that I could get some work done. I know from your delight how hard it must have been for you…
Thanks to all the team at Bloodhound Books who saw the potential in The Woman Next Door and supported me throughout my publishing journey. Particular thanks to my editor Clare Law for the time you spent working through my manuscript and making it super shiny.
To my sister Zoe, who read my early draft and gave me some really useful feedback which, without a doubt, made the book much better.
To the real women next door, the magnificent Hannah and Sonia, the best neighbours a gal could ask for. And of course to Gill, the woman at the bottom of the garden. Our fence may not have blown down in a storm although the DIY ‘chat flap’ we sawed into it as good as destroyed it anyway. But I absolutely cherished our Friday night glasses of wine and putting the world to rights over the fence. Thank you for helping to keep me sane during this difficult eighteen months.
And finally, to every single one of you who has read, reviewed, shared or supported my books. Your encouragement has meant so much to me and inspired me to keep on writing, even when times got tough. Thank you.
A note from the publisher
Thank you for reading this book. If you enjoyed it please do consider leaving a review on Amazon to help others find it too.
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