by Jenny Harper
Jane was sitting up very straight. Her eyes were shining, her face had begun to lose the greyness of despair and she looked more confident than she had looked for years. She’s changing, Marta thought, a weight has come off her shoulders and you can actually see it.
Carrie bent down and found her phone. ‘Back in a minute,’ she said.
They watched in silence as she left the room.
‘She’s not happy, is she?’ Jane said anxiously.
‘No. You’d think this would be the most thrilling day of her life – getting the partnership and everything,’ Marta sighed. ‘You know, for years I’ve tried to get Carrie hooked up with a decent guy – then the first time it happens, it all goes horribly wrong.’
There was a screech from the hall. They looked at each other, startled. Carrie burst in, her eyes luminous.
‘What?’
‘What’s happened?’
‘Look!’ She handed her phone to Jane. Jane read the text, but simply looked mystified.
‘What?’ Marta urged impatiently, holding out her hand for the phone. She read the message.
She looked up at Carrie. ‘What does it mean, Carrie?’
Carrie looked mortified, but the embarrassment faded almost instantly to joy. ‘DA Delight was my pseudonym on Bed Buddies. It stood for District Attorney, though no-one knew that, or cared. It was my private joke – except that Tom knew, and that’s how he sussed me. I had a dream, years ago, to go to the States and study law there. It all seemed so glamorous. The influence of Hollywood, I guess. To Kill a Mockingbird.’
‘I remember you loved that at school. So—’
‘I told Drew. When I confessed about Bed Buddies, I told him everything. He’s been trying to get me to talk and last week we finally did. But I felt so guilty that I set him free from our relationship. I thought he deserved someone better than me, so I destroyed everything we had together – or I thought I did. What this means, though—’ she danced a little jig on the carpet, ‘— is that he won’t take “no” for an answer. He wants me to be with him in the States. Permanently.’
Jane said, breathlessly, ‘But the partnership, Carrie. It’s all you’ve ever dreamed about.’
‘Bugger the partnership.’
She was so clearly in love that Marta, watching her, felt a momentary pang. The dynamics of the relationship between the three of them was shifting. Jane had become confident and more assertive. Carrie had developed a soft centre and was jettisoning the ambition that had driven her for so long. As for herself ... a choice lay in front of her and it was one that would dictate the direction of the rest of her life. Ever since Jake had left, she had thought there was only one thing she wanted: to get him back. Now it didn’t seem quite so simple, and she had to consider what was the right thing for Jake as well as for her. That meant that she had changed as well. All she had to do was work out whether they could still make their marriage work.
‘So,’ she said slowly, ‘Carrie’s off to America. It’s possible – just possible – that I may go and live in London. Jane’s become more independent all of a sudden.’ She looked at them both, filled with concern. ‘There have been so many awful things recently. We’ve fallen out, discovered we weren’t as close as we’d always believed we were – we’ve really tested our friendship. I thought we had got through it, that we’d be closer than we ever had been. But now – we’re in danger of losing it all again.’
‘Come here, you daft doughnut,’ Carrie commanded, taking her hand and pulling her out of the chair. ‘And you, Jane, come here.’
They stood, their hands entwined, in a circle. ‘Friends.’
‘Friends—’ Jane said, her face shining.
Stuff happens, Marta thought, scanning the dear, familiar faces of her two soul mates.
Life gets you.
Everything changes.
But my friends are a constant.
‘—Forever,’ she finished.
THE END
Fourthcoming from Jenny Harper
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