Page 22 of The Riviera House Swap
Nina laughed. Sal worked as a teaching assistant – a job she adored, but found exhausting at times. ‘A nightmare? What happened?’ she asked.
‘One of the other assistants was absent, so instead of being in English classes, I was moved to maths.’
The other two made appropriate faces. Sal’s aversion to maths was legendary.
‘Anyway, I spent most of the day trying to explain long division and fractions and bloody isosceles triangles – I needed about a pint of coffee just to keep going!’
‘Come on, you love it though,’ Nina joked.
‘I love the job. Not so keen on the maths. Anyway, don’t let my impending caffeine overdose distract Nina from spilling the beans. Come on, let’s have it!’
‘Alright,’ Nina said, flushing. ‘I do have something on my mind.’
‘Rory? House woes?’ Bess suggested.
‘Surprisingly not,’ Nina said. ‘Surprisingly, I have a good thing on my mind.’
Bess took another enormous bite. ‘Now Iamintrigued,’ she said, spraying a few crumbs onto the table. ‘God, sorry,’ she said, wiping them with her sleeve. ‘Can’t take me anywhere.’
Sal laughed, pretending to wipe a crumb from her face. ‘Can’t beat a bit of toast-crumb exfoliation.’
They all laughed, then the two of them looked at Nina expectantly.
‘I’ve taken the plunge,’ she announced. ‘I’m off to France next week!’
‘What? I thought that it was just…’
‘Just what?’ Nina asked.
‘Just… well, a Nina thing,’ Bess said.
‘A Nina thing?’
‘Yes. We thought it wouldn’t stand up to the scrutiny of one of your lists!’ Sal added, grinning.
Nina felt herself get hot. She didn’t want to mention that she had actually made a list. After all this was meant to be a New Her. ‘But…’ she said.
‘Yes?’
‘This isn’t about lists.’
‘Bloody hell.’ Bess feigned chest pain and looked at her, eyes wide. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to take your temperature?’
Nina smiled stiffly. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘I’m not that bad.’
Sal put a hand on her arm. ‘We’re only kidding,’ she said. ‘Anyway, it’s good to be careful, sensible.’ She smiled, her blonde hair almost golden in the cosy kitchen light.
‘Thank you,’ Nina said. ‘But anyway, it’s not about lists. It’s about living. I’m off to France. For a month, maybe more.’ She explained the situation to them, the resignation that wasn’t a resignation (‘cheeky bitch!’), the month off (‘well that sounds good’) and finally the fact that she was swapping houses with someone called Jean-Luc whom she’d never met.
‘Right,’ Bess said, taking a thoughtful sip.
‘So, what do you think?’ Nina asked.
‘Does it matter what I think?’ Bess said. ‘Is that the risk-taking Nina talking, or the sensible one worrying?’
‘Bit of both probably.’
‘And you’re OK with letting some stranger live in your house?’ Sal said, surprised. ‘Do you know anything about him?’
