Page 31 of The Village of Lost and Found

Lucy looked surprised. ‘The river?’ she asked, agog.

Amber giggled. ‘It happens.’

They all joined in her soft laughter, apart from Lucy, who felt she had missed some vital piece of information somewhere.

Everyone helped themselves to a slice of pizza. As Lucy bit into her slice, she realised that the pizza was both soggy and burnt.

‘Don’t ask,’ said Belle, showing that her slice was exactly the same. ‘Just eat, if you can stomach it.’

Even the chips were soggy, Lucy realised as she bit into one.

At the sound of laughter, she looked down the table. Tom was roaring at something Josh had said.

She had found herself googling Tom the previous night and had been astounded at his choice of ex-wife. He didn’t seem the type to have married a hard-nosed person like that. A few blogs had even described him as phwoar.

He suddenly looked up and caught her staring at him so she quickly looked away and tried to focus on the conversation.

‘Bridget said she might come along later,’ said Molly, nibbling a chip.

‘Who’s Bridget?’ asked Lucy, thinking that the name rang a bell.

‘My best friend from school,’ Molly reminded her before looking at her phone. ‘She’s a real laugh.’

‘Especially if it’s at someone else’s expense,’ added Belle in a pointed tone.

‘Aww, she means well,’ said Molly.

Lucy caught the silent look passed between Amber and Belle but didn’t say anything.

‘Oh, and she was wanting to talk to you about decorating the pub,’ said Molly to Belle.

Belle made a face. ‘Not if it looks anything like your flat. It looks like an exotic zoo in there.’

Lucy smiled to herself, glad that it wasn’t just her that felt the apartment’s decoration was a bit wild.

‘It’s not so bad,’ said Molly, not sounding entirely convinced herself. But it was hard to tell as she was looking down to stare at her mobile.

‘Why do you keep checking your phone?’ asked Amber. ‘Is your mum OK?’

‘She’s fine,’ said Molly, her voice a little high in response.

‘It’s Gary, isn’t it?’ said Belle, going to grab the mobile.

‘Yes, it is, if you must know,’ said Molly, shifting in her seat to hold the mobile out of reach.

Amber and Belle groaned in unison.

‘Who’s Gary?’ asked Lucy. ‘Your boyfriend?’

‘Ex-boyfriend,’ said Belle, with a grimace. ‘Or at least, he was.’

Molly sighed. ‘If you must know, we got back together last weekend.’

‘Why?’ asked Amber, sounding exasperated. ‘He doesn’t treat you well.’

‘It was all a big mistake,’ said Molly quickly.

‘You’re telling us,’ drawled Belle.