Anna laughed and shook her head. ‘Did you check for a ring?’
Rachel sipped her drink, then wrinkled her nose. ‘A ring? How d’you mean?’
‘Oh my God, Rachel. You didn’t think to check for a wedding band? He’s, what, thirty-two-ish by now? Yes, he did a gap year, if I remember rightly – so he’s older than us. He could easily be married. He might even have kids!’
Realisation hit Rachel with the force of a breeze block. When she’d looked at him this morning, she’d seenherJack: the one she’d adored, then felt utterly broken by. In reality, though, he could be a completely different person by now.
He could be someone else’s Jack, legally bound to them in marriage. He might belong to multiple other people, if he’d become a father. Rachel felt her heart squeeze as she pictured him with children.
He’d insisted that he’d changed, but Rachel had failed to consider what that might mean over and above ‘I no longer tell women I love them, then sleep with other people.’
I’ve been an idiot, she said to herself.He’s probably got some beautiful, intelligent wife back in Manchester – one of those women who produces perfect pudgy babies, gets her figure back within five minutes and then returns to her highly successful career as a neurosurgeon.
No wonder Jack had tried to avoid dredging up the past when he saw her today. To him, itwasthe past. Old news, long forgotten. Rachel suddenly felt desolate. She desperately wished she’d done something – found someone – to render the events of ten years ago as meaningless for her as they surely were for him.
Could Will be right? Perhaps the universewastrying to tell her something.
Then, just as Tom reappeared with another tray of drinks, a horrible thought occurred to her: maybe the cosmos was trying to deliver the same message as her mother.
‘More booze,’ Tom said, handing Rachel a glass.
‘Thanks,’ she replied. ‘Much needed.’
‘I’m sure. And I got these too,’ he said, extracting several bags of crisps from his back pockets before sitting down.
‘Prawn cocktail! You’re the best,’ Rachel sighed, snatching up a packet and hugging it in delight.
‘Just keep them to yourself,’ Tom laughed. ‘They’re vile – I don’t know how you can eat them.’
Anna and Will nodded their agreement. The three of them tore into two packs of cheese and onion, leaving Rachel to devour her own snack without sharing.
‘I have something else that might cheer you up,’ Tom said once everyone had stopped munching. ‘How do you fancy helping me out with some copywriting?’
‘Really?’ Rachel asked. ‘How come? What d’you need?’
‘Well, as of today I’m working on a photography exhibition for a PR agency – I got the green light this afternoon. They want me to take the images, but also help curate the thing … We’re calling it #NoFilter, and the idea is that it’ll feature celeb types, body positivity campaigners, mental health experts and so on – all in pictures that haven’t been retouched or manipulated. The idea is to explore hidden stories, peep beneath the surface at what’s real. Or at least as real as the PR people will let things get … The exhibition is really about helping some of their clients seem a bit less, er, two-dimensional.’
‘That’s interesting,’ Rachel said, meaning it. ‘But what d’you need me for?’
‘Well, the budget’s pretty tight but there’s scope for me to get some help with the words that will appear next to the portraits. I’d far rather work with you than some random writer, if you’re up for it. Basically, you’d be rewording material sent to us so it sounds cleverer, or in some cases meeting the celebs to find out what they’d like to say on the theme of the exhibition.’
‘Wow. I mean, I’ve never done anything like that before …’
Exasperated, Anna cut across her. ‘She’ll do it. She’s in.’
Rachel threw her a dark look.
‘Oh, come on, you’re well capable. It’ll be fun. Plus, you need a distraction from the disaster zone that is youractualjob, after today.’
‘That’s true,’ Rachel said. ‘But I’ll have to make sure nobody at work objects. I don’t want to be accused of moonlighting.’
‘On the money I’ll be paying you, you won’t be,’ Tom assured her. ‘Look, let’s meet up tomorrow and I can explain a bit more. Then, if you decide you’re not up for it, I promise I won’t be offended.’
‘How can I say no? You bought me pink crisps in my hour of need.’
‘Yep – I’m a regular hero.’
Anna glanced at Tom, then said, ‘Shall I get a final round?’