Mark sighed. “I think Harriet just fell out of love with him. Wanted more from life than they had. Something like that. It’s meant the world to him, you coming into his life.”
I was glad.
“Did Grace visit him a lot?” I asked.
“After the split? Yes. Loads of times. We’d only just met, so I wasn’t sure what I thought about it at first. But they’re mates, aren’t they? They’ve known each other forever.” His mouth lifted at one corner. “Though obviously knowing someone ever since you watched a barmaid body popping in the Student Union is nothing compared to knowing someone ever since you chased them around the garden with a packet of itching powder.”
A clap of laughter burst from me. “Oh, your bloody practical-joke phase! You were such a complete pain in the backside.”
“You loved it.”
I shook my head at him. “Your poor dad was always getting plastic fried eggs shoved onto his breakfast plate.”
He grinned. “The dog went through a terrible phase of pooing on his favourite armchair as well.”
I snorted. “That fake dog poop was about as realistic as the finger with a nail through it.”
He laughed. “I’ll have you know, that finger had Mum running to call for an ambulance several times!”
“Only in your imagination.”
“You two, honestly,” Grace said as she and Jaimie waited for us to catch up.
We were still in high spirits by the time we reached the festival field, and when Jaimie said, “Now, now, kiddies, best behaviour while we pay the nice man,” I started laughing all over again, linking my arm in his.
He smiled down at me, pleased by his own humour, but then something caught his eye, and his smile amped up about 200 percent.
“Emily!” he called. “Olivia!” And I turned to see the girls racing towards us.
“Daddy!” Olivia cried, running full pelt at him. Both she and Emily were dressed in what were clearly their best dresses, their hair so elaborately plaited and entwined with flowers they looked as if they were dressed more for a wedding than a music festival.
Jaimie scooped Olivia up in his arms for a kiss, then put her down to kiss Emily. “Hello, you two!” he said, face alight. “Fancy seeing you here! And don’t you both look lovely? Don’t they look lovely, Beth?”
But anything I might have said was wiped out because the girls had noticed Grace.
“Auntie Grace! Auntie Grace! I’ve got a new dress!”
“It’s beautiful, Olivia. You look just like a princess. You too, Emily. Oh, come here and get hugged, both of you.”
It was the first time I’d seen Grace with the girls. Jaimie had told me how fond she was of them, and they of her, but this was the first time I’d witnessed it. I wasn’t sure how I felt, to be honest. More inadequate than ever, probably.
The girls weren’t on their own, of course. A tall, slim woman with long, dark hair was hard on their heels. She, too, was wearing a fancy summer dress, much fancier than my “folksy” bargain from Cambridge Market. Harriet—it had to be. Even if she hadn’t been the spitting image of Emily, I’d have guessed it was her by the sudden tension wafting from Jaimie, inspired, no doubt, by the man at Harriet’s side—a man as tall and slim as Harriet was, with dark eyes and jet-black hair. A man, moreover, who was casually holding Olivia’s and Emily’s abandoned cardigans over his arm.
“Harriet,” Grace said, moving in to kiss her. “How good to see you.”
Harriet kissed her back. “You too, Grace. It’s been ages.”
“It has. Far too long.”
As they pulled apart, I saw Grace’s gaze move on to the man by Harriet’s side.
“Sorry,” said Harriet. “This is Calum. Calum, this is my ex-husband, Jaimie, and his friend Grace.” She cast a glance over at me and Mark.
“Hello, Calum,” said Grace, drawing Mark forward. “This is my husband, Mark.”
Mark shook Harriet’s and Calum’s hands. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise,” said Calum, looking as if he wasn’t sure whether to put his hand out to shake Jaimie’s or not, but judging by Jaimie’s thundercloud expression, he made the right choice when he decided not to.
All eyes were suddenly on me. Jaimie pulled himself together to introduce me. “This is Beth.”
“She’s Daddy’s girlfriend,” Olivia said helpfully.
“Yes, thank you, Olivia,” Harriet said. “I guessed she must be.”
“Hello, Harriet. Calum.”
We shook hands. For a moment, nobody seemed to know what to say. Then Grace began to chatter on about the festival until Harriet looked at her watch. “Well, anyway, we’re booked for a craft workshop to make teddy bear clothes, so we’d better go. I’m sure we’ll run into you all again later. Hurry up, girls. Lovely to see you again, Grace.”
The girls ran off with hardly a Bye, Daddy for Jaimie, and when I looked at him, I could tell he was totally devastated.
“I didn’t even know Harriet was sodding well seeing anyone, and there he is, helping my daughters to make clothes for their teddy bears,” he said.
“Oh, love,” I said and was going to go comfort him, but Grace got there before me, taking his arm and sweeping him on towards the beer tent.
“You do know those girls will never love anyone as much as they love you, don’t you, Jaimie?” I heard her telling him. “You’re the perfect dad.”
Which was exactly what I’d been going to say.
“I suppose so.”
“Of course you are. Anyone else will always pale into insignificance. Now, come on; let’s get a beer and track down some inspiring music.”
Some girlfriend I was, letting someone else comfort my boyfriend when he was obviously distressed.
“He’s bound to find it tough, seeing another man with his girls, I guess,” Mark said as we followed.
I nodded, wondering whether Calum found the whole stepparenting thing as difficult as I did. It was a shame the two of us couldn’t get together to share notes. Discuss tactics. “Yes.”
In the music tent, we sat in a row, with Mark and me at either end and Jaimie and Grace in the middle.
“Are you okay?” I asked Jaimie, reaching for his hand.
He gave a brave smile. “I’ll have to be, won’t I? I can’t stop Harriet seeing someone. It’s just another thing to get used to, isn’t it?”
“Grace is right, you know. Nobody will ever replace you in their eyes.”
He sighed. “I know.”
The band began to play its set, one song following another and sounding—to my ears, at least—remarkably similar to the one that had preceded it. I kept hold of Jaimie’s hand, hoping the music would cheer him up. That sometime in the future he’d be able to accept Calum, if only because he loved his girls and their happiness was the most important thing.
And then I tried to imagine Emily and Olivia having fun with practical jokes. Would they like them? Probably. Didn’t all kids like them? I’d liked it when Mark sometimes roped me and Rosie in, persuading us to join him in jumping out from behind the fridge to spray poor Richard with our water pistols. Or to slide whoopee cushions into place on the sofa as somebody sat down.