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Sarah smiled to herself as two more bottles of wine were ordered. Some of the school mothers were getting very loose-tongued and it was extremely entertaining.

‘Wait until you hear this.’ Molly’s mum leaned forward and the others huddled and strained to hear her. She milked the attention, pausing for dramatic effect as she took a sip of her wine. Then, in a very loud attempt at a whisper, she said, ‘Did you know that Ethan Kennedy’s mother –’

‘Who’s Ethan Kennedy?’ Frank’s mum interrupted.

Molly’s mum frowned. She was not used to being cut across. Sarah suppressed a grin. Frank’s mum was new to the class and clearly still hadn’t figured out that Molly’s mum was queen bee. She’d want to cotton on quickly, Sarah thought, because Molly’s mum had a tongue like a sword.

‘He’s in the other second class. Small, weedy, with glasses,’ Molly’s mum said impatiently. ‘Anyway, his mum came home early from work last week to find her husband beingservicedby the Brazilian au pair.’

Gasps, and some giggles, around the table.

‘What do you mean exactly?’ Frank’s mum was not playing the game.

Sarah sat back in her chair, enjoying the show.

‘What do you think I mean? He was getting a blow-job up against that marble-topped island she’s always boasting about.’

‘Oh, my God!’ Frank’s mum was shocked into silence.

‘That’s awful,’ a sympathetic voice said.

‘Mind you,’ Sally’s mum said, narrowing her eyes, ‘I wouldn’tmind if someone else serviced my husband. It’d save me the trouble.’

All of the women cracked up laughing, and Sarah couldn’t help laughing too, although she definitely didn’t want this to descend into drunken confessions about their sex lives. She was way too sober to deal with that.

‘In fact,’ Sally’s mum went on, ‘maybe we should put it in the contract.Au pair must be adept at looking after kids and servicing husband.’

‘Oh, come on, ladies, sex can still be mind-blowing,’ Sadie’s mum slurred. She was sitting opposite Sarah and had been drinking the wine as if it was water.

‘Wow, your husband must be a total stud.’ Bobby’s mum failed to hide the envy in her voice.

Sarah had seen Sadie’s dad at the school gate once and he certainly didn’t look like a stud, more like a dorky accountant.

Sadie’s mum snorted dismissively. ‘God, nothim. I’m talking about my personal trainer. He’s Australian. I tell you, ladies, the sex is off the charts,’ she declared.

The other women’s eyes widened, and they oohed.

‘What’s his name and does he do house calls?’ a mother at the end of the table shouted, making them all laugh.

Sarah laughed along with them but, truth be told, she was uncomfortable with this level of private information being shared. If she ever saw Sadie’s dad again, she’d feel awful knowing about his wife’s extra-marital carry-on. This was exactly what she’d been dreading about tonight. Being pregnant and not drinking, she’d known it would be a bit of an effort. On nights like these you needed a glass of wine to relax you. After all, none of these women were her friends. They were a bunch of mothers thrown together by one solitary common denominator: their children were in the same class.

Sarah was always careful to be friendly, but not too friendly. She didn’t want to get sucked into any of the little cliques and listen to gossip about other children or parents. She’d been stung badly as a teenager. She knew what it was like to be part of a group and think they were your true friends, only to be dumped when one of their ex-boyfriends fancied you. It wasn’t Sarah’s fault Brian Morrissey had taken a shine to her, but Georgia had taken it very badly. Suddenly, Sarah had found herself on the receiving end of bitchy comments, lies about being a flirt, a slut and a bad friend. Georgia and the others had dumped her unceremoniously. Sarah had spent the last year of school enduring the days, waiting to get the hell out of there. She’d been wary of groups of women ever since. Once bitten, twice shy.

She’d seen school mums becoming best friends, only to fall out a few months later when they realized they didn’t have much in common. Sarah had no interest in that type of drama. She’d had enough of it as a teenager. She had friends, but she’d never allowed herself to get really close to any women since her schooldays. She didn’t need that tight female bond because she had Mia. Having a sister she was so close to meant that she always had someone to talk to or confide in. She had grown up with a ready-made best friend, so she wasn’t as needy as some of the other women she met who had no sisters or didn’t get on with the ones they had. Women needed a best friend, and Sarah knew she was lucky that hers happened to be her sister. It was Mia she had gone to when Georgia and her gang were horrible to her. It was Mia who had told her to hold her head high and ‘ignore those bitches’.

Molly’s mum suddenly turned her laser focus on Sarah. ‘You must have insider school gossip. Your sister’s a teacher and the deputy head. Come on, Sarah, spill the beans. Areany of the teachers shagging each other? That Mr Grogan’s fit. I’d shag him myself,’ she said, laughing too loudly.

Sarah smiled patiently. ‘As you know, Mia is the most discreet and professional person you could ever meet. I know nothing.’

‘I don’t believe you. Come on, we won’t tell anyone, will we, girls?’ She poked Sarah in the chest.

Sarah swallowed the urge to bend the finger backwards and kept smiling. ‘I’ve got nothing to tell you. Honestly.’

‘You’re no fun.’

‘Give her a break. She’s driving and we’re all drunk,’ Tim’s mum said, waving her glass in Sarah’s direction.