Having established her own failure at being a lady of leisure and caught up with Liv’s unexpected news, Hannah thought it only right Mel spilled the tea on what she’d been up to of late. Mel was also in a new relationship and thanks to her almost-daily update at work, Hannah didn’t just miss their conversations, she felt invested.
“Okay,” Mel replied, non-committal. “You know.”
Taking in her friend’s lack of spirit, Hannah narrowed her eyes. Mel wasn’t usually a woman of few words and Hannah wondered if she should be worried. “And Russel?” Hannah asked, deciding to probe further. “Is he okay too?”
Usually, the mere mention of Russel’s name would be enough to make Mel’s face light up. However, on that occasion, her expression remained flat. “He’s fine.”
Hannah grew concerned. “You know you can talk to me, right?”
“I do.”
Hannah gave Mel a nudge. “Go on then.”
Mel relented. “If you must know, he still hasn’t asked for a video call, never mind an actual date. Hint after hint, and still, he says nothing.” She sighed, mournful. “I’m starting to worry he isn’t quite who he says he is.”
Hannah’s heart went out to Mel. Her friend had met Russel in a chat room and what had started out as two people sharing a love of old films, quickly turned into a deeper, more personal relationship. Hannah rubbed Mel’s arm, appreciating her concern. With two teenage children, Hannah had done her internet safety research and there were so many weirdos out there creating fictional personas, it was impossible to know who was genuine and who was catfishing. Not that then was the time to remind Mel of that, Hannah realised. Mel looked anxious enough. “Then why don’tyousuggest it?” Hannah said instead. “Rather than skirt around the issue, ask him out direct.”
Mel looked at Hannah, horrified. “Oh, I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“What if he says no?”
Hannah had never understood Mel’s lack of confidence when it came to men. Fifteen years after giving birth, Hannah still hadn’t got rid of her mummy tummy, and she’d have given anything to have Mel’s perfect Marilyn Monroe figure. Of course, as well as being stunning, Mel was smart, funny, and vivacious. Russel, if indeed that was his name, might not have seen Mel in person, but from her words alone he had to know how lucky he was. “And what if he says yes?”
Mel shook her head. “I can’t risk it. If I push things, I might not hear from him again. You probably think I’m soft, but I really do like Russel. I’m not sure I could cope without our nightly chats.”
“But at least if you ask, you’ll–”
“Tell you what,” Mel said, jumping in. “How about I think about it?”
Hannah relented, knowing when to shut up. The last thing she wanted was to bully Mel into something she didn’t want to do. “Fair enough.”
Mel indicated the bar area, from which Liv approached. “Please don’t say anything,” Mel whispered. “I might not be feeling the love right now, but that doesn’t mean I want to spoil her excitement.”
Watching Mel straighten herself up and put on a happy face, Hannah followed suit. That was another thing about Mel, Hannah acknowledged. She always put everyone else ahead of herself.
Liv grinned as she placed a tray of drinks down on the table. “I’ve only gone and found the answer!”
“The answer to what?” Mel asked.
Liv handed out the glasses. “Our charity woes.”
“I didn’t realise we had any,” Hannah said.
“Not anymore we don’t.” Liv produced three colourful leaflets she’d had tucked under her arm. “I found these at the bar next to one of those collection tins.” Handing two out, she kept the last for herself. “They have a stack of them.”
As Liv took a seat, Hannah began to read. “Please tell me this is a joke.”
Liv looked at her, incredulous. “It most certainly is not.”
“Ooh, a sponsored run.” Mel’s eyes lit up. “What a fun idea.”
Hannah stared at Mel, wondering what was wrong with the woman. Not only had the prospect of physical exercise transformed her back into her usual happy self, the wordsfunandrundid not belong in the same sentence.
“Don’t look so worried, Hannah,” Liv said. “It’s only 5k and we’re all fit and healthy.”
It seemed Hannah’s friends had gone mad. “Speak for yourself.”
