AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sheshook her head and refocused on her guest.Sothis was the famousStella.Ina way, she remindedFrancescaofJess: tall and lithe with perfect skin.Wifeand mother material.
Francescaknew she should be welcoming and friendly toStella, who was a good friend ofKrish’sand would be working theBlenheimjob with them.Onthe other hand, she just wanted to be alone.
‘Krishisn’t here,’Francescasaid, holding the door open to encourageStellaback through it.
‘I’llwait.’Sheparked the pram in the corner and engaged the brake.
‘Actually, he’s off today.Gettingready for his big trip toParis.Withhis girlfriend.’ThemoreFrancescasaid it, the more she’d accept thatKrishwas with someone else.
Surprised,Stellastopped short. ‘Oh!Ithought he would be in today.Ishould have called to check before popping in, butIwas in the area.Nevermind.Givesus a chance to get acquainted.’Sheleaned over to check onGrace. ‘Sheshould stay down for at least another hour.Fingerscrossed.’
God,Francescahoped they wouldn’t be staying for a whole hour.Ittook so much energy for her to hide her pain from others.Almoston cue, a cramp scissored across her abdomen and she cleared her throat to hide the grimace of discomfort.ShepressedHotWillyto her middle.Stella’seyes dipped down towards the pink water bottle, and her perfect lips curved in a sympathetic smile. ‘Thattime of the month, eh?Iknow what that’s like.’
No, you fucking don’t, thoughtFrancesca.Shehated it when other women got pally over periods, like they all experienced them equally the same.Mostof them hadno idea.
Stellatwisted her wedding ring on her finger, then fanned herself with her hand. ‘It’ssohotout today.’
Great.Nowthey were going to have a lovely chat about the weather.HowveryBritish. ‘Yeah.Roasting.’
Awkwardsilence.
Francescafilled her cheeks with air like a chipmunk and blew it out slowly.Shewasn’t sure how much more obvious she could be that she wanted her guest to leave.Stellawas either thick, whichFrancescadoubted, or so desperate for company that anybody would do.
‘I’mvery thirsty,’Stellasaid. ‘Shallwe have a cup of tea?’
‘Fine.’Withan audible sigh,FrancescatossedHotWillyonto the sofa.Shetrudged towards the kitchenette,Stella’slight footsteps following behind her.
Reachingup into the cupboard on her tippy toes,Francescapulled down the tea presentation box and dropped it onto the counter with a thud.Motioningtowards it, she said, ‘Chooseyour poison,’ and filled the kettle.
‘Oooh!I’llhave this one.’Stellahanded over somethingChinese. ‘Ifirst had this whenIwas inSingapore.’Shepaused. ‘Wejust got back from travelling around the world for six months.Krishprobably told you.’
‘Hementioned it.Betit was a blast,’ she said flatly.Thelast thingFrancescacould handle right now was one of those tell-me-what-you-did-on-your-travels conversations that people who had gone away pressed on people who hadn’t.Francescawould have loved to take a break from her life and go traipsing across the earth, but unfortunately, the one thing she most wanted to escape would come with her.
Anotherpain in her side made her fumble theFornasettimug in her hands.Thekettle started to bubble.Francescahoped it wouldn’t wake upGraceand make her scream, butStelladidn’t seem concerned.
‘So…’ she began, as though looking for something to talk about, ‘Krishhasn’t sent me the schedule yet.Doyou know what it is?’
This,Francescacould handle. ‘TheMehndiparty is on theFriday.Youknow…where they do the henna designs on their hands and stuff—’
‘I’veshot loads ofIndianweddings.IloveMehndiNight.Arethey doing aSangeet, too?’
‘Yes.’ASangeetwas a sort of dance party where each of the families showed off their moves.Francescaremembered the famousSangeetscene inKabhiKhushiKabhieGham.
‘Blenheimis such a stunning venue.’
Ofcourse,Stellawould have shot there withConnorandKrish. ‘I’venever been.’
Thekettle boiled, andFrancescafilledStella’scup, automatically adding some cold water from the tap to cool it down.Shedidn’t want to wait for the hot tea to reach drinking temperature, thereby extending the visit. ‘Milkand sugar?’
‘Justblack, thanks.’Stellatook the mug and went to sit on the sofa.Francescagritted her teeth and made herself the same drink.Mightas well try some of these funky teas before she went back to her own hole-in-the-wall office.
Kickingoff her shoes and folding her legs underneath her body,Stellagot comfortable on the sofa—a littletoocomfortable forFrancesca’sliking.Shewasn’t used to this level of aggressive friendliness from a stranger.Stellahad the air of someone who got on with others easily and couldn’t understand that not everybody wanted to be her bosom buddy.
Sometimes,Francescawished she had a little more of that quality.Herwalls were built so high that people naturally sensed her lack of emotional availability.Shesat in the grey armchair, making sure to keepHotWillyon her stomach.Anotherstab of pain.Shebreathed deeply in and out, pretending to blow on her tea.
‘I’ma bit nervous,’Stellaconfessed. ‘Ihaven’t shot a wedding since beforeIhadGrace, so almost a year and a half.MayI?’Sheindicated the show albums on the coffee table, andFrancescanodded.
‘I’msure it’s like riding a bicycle.’Francescasipped the tea and almost spit it out.Ittasted like smoky water.HowcouldStelladrink this stuff?Whileher guest looked through the albums,Francescalet the liquid slide from her mouth back into the mug.
