What became of us

washes to remove,’ she said. ‘God, I’m so common, sometimes, aren’t I?’
    ‘Oh well, you seem to have got that sorted out then,’ he said.
    ‘I just have to be patient,’ Annie said. ‘Admittedly, not one of my best virtues.’
    ‘All good things come to those who wait,’ he said, trying to look cheerful.
    ‘So I’m told.’
    ‘Well, I suppose that we’d better be getting back,’ he said.
    ‘Yes.’
    He paid the bill.

    He drove a bit like Max had done that first day they had gone Ferrari hunting. She didn’t mind going fast when someone else was driving.
    ‘OK?’ he shouted at her as the speedometer wavered around 100 m.p.h.
    ‘Listen,’ she yelled back, ‘if we get stopped, is it me that gets the ticket or you?’
    ‘Me,’ he said.
    ‘In that case, fine!’
    He smiled.
    She put on a CD.
    ‘Tragedy!’ sang the Bee Gees. She joined in, singing at the top of her voice and hardly noticed the turn-off to her mother’s suburb.
    ‘Which exit?’ he asked, as the car shot up onto the elevated section of the A40 by the BBC.
    ‘The Paddington one.’
    They sped over the rooftops of Notting Hill, then turned off and she directed him back along Westbourne Grove, pointing out the best Indian restaurant, then up Pembridge Villas and into her street. He parked expertly in a space which she would have considered far too small to accommodate the length of the car, but left at least two feet at either end.
    ‘The tube’s just up there,’ she said, as he handed her her keys. ‘Shall I walk you?’
    ‘No, I’ll be fine. I enjoyed that,’ he said. His face had a shiny post-coital kind of redness about it.
    ‘I’m sure my car appreciated it,’ she said.
    ‘Well, thanks,’ he said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, ‘for a great time, last night, this morning... the whole weekend. It was great getting to know you.’
    ‘Yeah, likewise,’ she said.
    ‘Come and see us in Broadstairs, if you fancy a break any time. The beach is good. Sea air...’
    ‘Yeah. Thanks,’ she said.
    ‘Well, here I am.’ She scampered up the steps to the front door of the large white early Victorian house.
    ‘Second-floor flat, if you’re in the neighbourhood,’ she said, and immediately regretted it.
    ‘Right,’ he said, still dawdling at the foot of the steps.
    It would have been normal to exchange a kiss after the weekend they had just spent together, she thought, but it was too late now to go down the steps again. She put her key into the lock.
    ‘Oh well,’ she said, with a shrug, wishing he would walk away. She couldn’t just leave him standing outside on the pavement, but she could not now invite him up. It would give the whole thing too much significance.
    ‘Say hello to Chloe for me, when she gets back,’ she said.
    ‘I will.’
    ‘When will that be?’ she asked.
    ‘Not sure. We gave up keeping tabs on each other some time ago.’
    ‘Oh,’ she felt stung by the implied rebuke, ‘what a tremendously trusting relationship you must have,’ she said.
    He laughed.
    ‘Yes, since the divorce! Anyway, cheers!’
    He started walking briskly down the street.
    ‘Oh fuck,’ she muttered, letting herself in, ‘fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!’ she shouted, closing the door with her bum, and staying for several long seconds with her back flat against the heavy wooden panels, her feet surrounded by junk mail that had come through the communal letterbox.
    Then she opened the door again, just in time to see him turn the corner of the street into Pembridge Villas. He was walking briskly, looking from side to side at the terrace of white stucco-fronted houses. He didn’t even glance back at her.

Chapter 46

    Manon got off the coach at Baker Street, then caught the tube to King’s Cross and walked through the council estates towards her flat.
    There was an enclosed park with a tiny zoo opposite the end of her street. The notice on the gate stated: no adults unless accompanied by a child .
    The sign had always made her smile, but she had never really looked inside the park gates. Now she peered through at the sandpit and the climbing frames and listened to the random shrieks of children playing.
    We will be able to play here, she thought, putting her hand on her tummy again. Each time she let herself imagine the baby she felt stronger. It was like the feeling after a long illness when you wake up one morning knowing suddenly that you are going to be well again.
    The Italian restaurant at the end of