Page 64 of The Girlfriend Clause
Gravel crunched as I pulled into the driveway. The front door flew open, and Mum stood there, arms wide, an oversized white shirt knotted at the waist. She was tanned and glowing, champagne flute in hand, feet bare on the stone step.
“Andy, Lizzy, come in!”
She hugged us hard and pulled us into the cool hallway of the old brick house. The same family photos lined the walls. Same frames. Same faded faces. There we were. Me, Eliza, Mum, and Dad. It hurt a little bit to look at them now.
Garlic and seafood drifted from the kitchen, tangled with Chanel No. 5 and Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.”
“Murray, the girls are here.”
The cricketer waved from the dilapidated conservatory like a man unsure if he was meant to stand.
“You both look gorgeous,” Mum said, pushing a charcuterie board toward us and handing out flutes. “Prosecco? Kombucha? What’s going on with you two? Are you still doing the medical thing, Andy?”
“Novexia,” I said. “Pharma, remember, Mum?”
Murray shuffled in and gave us both a kiss on the cheek. “Lovely to see you, girls. If you want tickets to Lord’s nextyear, give me a shout. Celeste… I mean… yourmumand I are going.”
Mum beamed. “The Pavilion. Very fancy.”
“Oh, thanks, Murray,” said Eliza, turning to me with a shrug. None of us were big cricket fans.
Murray poured himself a red and went back to his crossword.
“So what about you, Mum?” I asked. “Been working much?”
“Oh yes.” She spread her arms in mock flourish. “I got the nationwide campaign for Defenda.”
“Holy shit,” Eliza said. “LandRover?”
“Close.” Mum flicked the ends of her hair with her hands. “I’m the face of the UK’s premium incontinence pads. Pay’s great, though, so who cares?”
Eliza choked on her Prosecco.
“Wow, congrats.” I raised my glass. “Today, bringing glamour to leaking wee, tomorrow—”
“The face of conquering erectile dysfunction, believe it or not.” She clinked her flute against mine. “I did a shoot for Fortis ErectaGel too, last week. Incredible stuff. You just rub it on the helmet—”
“Mum!” Eliza looked like she might gag.
“Well. Anyway, they gave me loads of free samples. You can have some if you want?”
“No,” we said together.
“I’ll post you some,” she said. “You never know.”
“Mum,” I said carefully. “Please say I’m not going to see your photo on the Underground holding a—”
“What?” She frowned. “Oh, God no! I just had to looksecretly pleased, the director said. Like I’d just seen a really large peni—”
“Mum, we didn’t tell you.” Eliza jumped in. She raised a brow at me, indicating she’d had to resort to emergency measures. “Andy’s worried she might lose her job.”
“Surely not?” Mum gasped. “After that business with Rudy, too? Why on earth—”
“We’ve been bought out,” I said. “By a rich guy.”
“Arichguy?” Mum leaned in. “Is he nice?”
“Nice isn’t the word I’d use.”
