Page 3 of The Riviera House Swap
Nina sighed, grateful for her friend’s efforts to cheer her up. ‘I know you’re right, really. I suppose I’ve got everything I couldhope for in my situation. It’s just… when I look back to my teens and think of all the hopes I had for… I don’t know, things I’d experience: romance, travel, a job I loved, kids… well, I didn’t imagine my forties would begin like this.’
‘Nina, when we were seventeen, we thought we were going to form a band and take the world by storm.’
‘Well, yeah.’
‘Except neither of us could hold a note…’
‘True.’
‘Or play an instrument.’
‘Details, details,’ Nina grinned.
‘We liked crimping our hair and tying it in bunches.’
‘There’s no accounting for taste.’
‘We thought we were going to marry Justin and Chris from NSYNC.’
‘They’d have been lucky to have us.’
Bess laughed. ‘You’re right. But the point is Nina, we didn’t know what the feck we were on about back then. We didn’t know about mortgages and boring jobs and partners and bills and washing and smear tests and… well, the stuff of life. We didn’t have a clue. So don’t listen to that voice in your head. You’re doing fine.’
‘I guess you’re right,’ Nina said, sinking back into her chair and playing with the remaining corner of her croissant. ‘I’m being stupid.’
‘Plus, trust me – being a mum isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.’
‘But you love being a mum!’
‘Yes. Sometimes. But you know what? Notallthe time. Notevery single little minuteof the time,’ Bess admitted.
‘You’re just trying to make me feel better.’
‘Anyway, didn’t you always say you weren’t really the maternal type?’
‘That’s not the point, though. The point is the choice being taken away by Mother Nature! It’s a bereavement.’
Bess sighed affectionately. ‘Nina, it’s not being taken away. You can be a mum at any age these days. I just read that a woman in her seventies…’
‘Not the optimum time for procreation. Face it. I’m forty, menopause is calling.’
‘Not necessarily. Plus there are other routes: adoption, surrogacy. Meeting a hot, single dad. The point is, Mother Nature doesn’t have as much clout as you think she has.’
‘OK,’ Nina said. ‘You make a fair point.’ She was already feeling better; it was impossible not to smile when talking to Bess.
‘I get it, though,’ Bess said. ‘It was spectacularly bad timing for the divorce thing. But look, let’s turn it on its head. Celebrate it. Double celebration tonight. I’m buying.’
‘You’re buying? It really must be a once-in-a-lifetime occasion,’ teased Nina. They’d planned to meet in their favourite pub tonight for a few drinks, and she’d been looking forward to it. Hopefully by tonight, she’d have her mojo back and be able to enjoy herself.
‘Ha. Well, let’s make the most of it then,’ said her friend, kindly. ‘And Sal can make it after all – did I tell you? We’ll have a laugh and put the world to rights.’
‘Oh brilliant.’
‘Until then, my shift starts in an hour so I’d better hop in the bathroom while it’s free,’ Bess said. ‘As long as you’re alright?’
‘Much better, thanks,’ Nina smiled. ‘Ready to seize the day, or at least face it… I think.’
‘Got anything planned?’ Bess wheedled.
