A little LIFE

Angela hadnt seen her friend for years surely they would have nothing in common now?

- Kath McFadyen

Sitting next to Gary in the front of their old pick-up, Angela was feeling decidedly queasy as they stop-started in the snarled-up lunchtime traffic. It was market day and she was heading for a rendezvous she had anticipated for weeks with both dread and excitement.

Her stomach lurched as they drew up sharply at the town centre traffic lights and she pulled down the sun visor for the umpteenth time to check her carefully applied make-up and newly blow-dried bob.

‘You’re fine, sweetheart. You don’t need to keep looking,’ smiled Gary as he slowly eased into a parking space.

‘Perhaps this isn’t a good idea after all,’ muttered Angela with an anxious frown at her reflection.

‘No. It’s by far the best way to get into town. The bus takes forever,’ observed her husband.

‘He’s missed the point,’ mused Angela. She hadn’t been talking about the journey but her lunch appointment with childhood ‘bestie’ Clare, now an acclaimed journalist. For the first time in decades, they were to see each other.

They’d kept in touch with snatched snippets of news scribbled into Christmas and birthday cards. Then, out of the blue, Clare had emailed to say she was giving a talk at a conference nearby so suggested she revisit her home town – and her old friend.

After jumping down from the trusty old wagon, Angela adjusted her tan leather jacket, brilliant white T-shirt and skinny jeans before looking uncertainly at Gary.

‘Stop worrying, you look great. Now go and have some fun,’ he urged. ‘I’ll be here to collect you at three so you’re safe to have a glass or two.’

As Angela waved him off, she wished he’d washed the pick-up. What would Clare think if she spotted it?

Sighing, she turned to check her still slender image in a shop window, then slowly retrieved an item from her handbag.