Kate came to the table. 'Hi, Saskia, long time no see.'

'I know, it's been years. You remember Paula and Victoria from school, and this is our friend Sophie.'

'Victoria Murphy?' Kate looked shocked.

'Yes, she's Victoria Ward now,' Saskia said.

'My God, you've changed.' Kate roared laughing. 'You used to have frizzy brown hair and buck teeth.'

'Did you?' I tried not to laugh. Victoria's face was like thunder.

'Yes, she did.' Paula giggled.

'Well, I don't any more.' Victoria glared at Kate.

Kate grinned, ignoring Victoria's hostility. 'So, what are you all up to, these days?'

'We're all boring stay-at-home mums,' Saskia told her.

'Speak for yourself,' Victoria snapped. 'My life isn't boring at all.'

I decided to jump in. 'I love your show,' I told Kate. 'You're absolutely brilliant in it.'

'Thanks. It's really nice of you to say. I recognize you are you an actress too?'

'No, nothing as glamorous.' I blushed. 'I used to be a model.'

'That's it I remember you from the Special K ad. You look great.'

'Thanks.' I was thrilled. Kate Richardson had recognized me! She was a big star. It was a buzz just meeting her.

'Well, I'd better get back to my friends. See you around.' She turned to Victoria. 'You should buy your dentist a big present. He performed a miracle with those teeth.' With that, Kate walked back to her table.

'Bitch,' Victoria muttered. 'She was always a cow.'

'I thought she was lovely,' I said.

'You don't know her. She was always full of herself.'

'I liked her,' Saskia said.

'Well, you're not a very good judge of character,' Victoria snarled. 'Now, can we please talk about something else?'

After lunch, by which time Victoria had calmed down and was back to herself, the two of us decided to go downstairs to the Harvey Nichols department store. I had spotted a gorgeous Missoni scarf that I knew would look great with my Miu Miu coat.

'It's lovely,' she agreed. 'You should definitely buy it.'

As I went to pay for it, Victoria came over to me. She was wearing two different shoes both Jimmy Choo. One was a black sling-back and one was a black open-toe high heel; they were quite similar. 'Which one?' she asked.

'They're both lovely, but I think I like the sling-back better.'

'Mmm.' She looked into the mirror. 'Oh, I can't decide ... I'll take them both.'

Nora, the woman at the counter, swiped my credit card. 'It's a really beautiful scarf,' she said.

'Yes, I love it.' I smiled.

'You can't go wrong with Missoni,' Victoria said, drumming her nails on the counter as she waited for the other shop assistant to box up her shoes.

'There seems to be a problem with your card, madam,' Nora said. 'It's probably this machine, though it acts up sometimes. Would you mind coming over to the other till?'

'No problem.' I glanced at my watch. I needed to go to pick up Jess.

She tried the card on the second machine. 'Um, I'm so sorry about this, madam, but the card seems to be blocked.'

'OK use this one.' I handed her another. Victoria was hovering behind me, talking loudly to someone on her phone.

'I'm terribly sorry, but this one won't go through either.' Nora looked flustered. 'I'll give them a quick call for you.'

I tapped my foot impatiently as she muttered down the phone to the Visa people. She hung up and handed me back my card.

'Is it sorted out? What did they say?' I was getting annoyed.

'Um, well, they're saying that you have insufficient funds,' she whispered.

'What? That's ridiculous. Try the other again.' I handed it to her.

The same thing happened.

Victoria hung up and sighed impatiently. 'What's taking so long?'

'The machine won't take my Visa card for some reason it's really annoying.' I was embarrassed. I knew there were ten thousand euros in the account. I'd spent about four thousand in London, so there was no way I had insufficient funds, unless Jack had been using the same card in New York instead of his business card.

'Here, let me. You can pay me back.' Victoria handed over her American Express black card.

'No, it's fine I'll come back tomorrow.'

'Don't be silly, Sophie, it might be gone by then. It's no problem.'

'OK, thanks.'

Victoria's card was accepted straight away.

19.

Julie.

I don't know what the hell is wrong with Harry. He came home from work in a foul mood. I thought at first it was because he'd seen the car. I'd reversed it into a wall and dented the boot. Leo and Luke were fighting over a book in the back of the people-carrier while I was reversing out of the school car park. Eventually Leo grabbed it and flung it away. It hit the side of my face and I got such a shock that I stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. It wasn't the first time the car had been dented, but this was a big one.

He came in and barely said hello.

'How was work?' I asked.

'Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy!' The boys ran over to him.

He pushed them away. 'I'm tired. I'm not in the mood to play.' I was taken aback. Harry could be grumpy coming in from work, but once he saw the kids he always cheered up. He never took it out on them.

'You're a meanie, Daddy,' the triplets said, and slunk back to their game.

'What's wrong? Is it the car?' I asked.

'What?' He looked at me blankly.

'Nothing.' He obviously hadn't seen the damage and I didn't want to tell him ... yet.

Tom followed him around with his arms in the air, saying, 'Dada up up up.'

'Pick him up, Harry,' I said.

Harry looked through his toddler son.

'DADA, UP!' Tom pleaded.

'Go on look at the poor little thing. Just pick him up and give him a cuddle.'

'Julie, I've had a shit day and I want some peace.' Harry took a beer from the fridge and went into the TV room with his laptop. He must have had the worst day ever. Even when his salary had been reduced for the second time, he hadn't ignored the kids. He'd hugged them even tighter. They'd been a comfort to him.

I followed him in. He snapped the computer shut when I opened the door. 'What's going on?'

'Nothing. I just need some space.'

'What happened in work? Did they cut your salary again?'

'No, Julie, they didn't. Can you just drop it and leave me alone?'

'Listen, Harry, you may have had a rotten day, but it's not the kids' fault, so don't take it out on them. It's not fair. They love when you come home and so do I because I get a brief break while you play with them. So whatever's wrong, you just have to park it and come back in and see your children. You can come back to your computer and your bad mood later.'

'Jesus, Julie, I just want ten minutes to myself. Ten lousy minutes. Is it too much to ask?'

'Yes, actually, it is. I'd like ten minutes to myself too, but I don't get it ever. You can have peace in the office whenever you want it you can go for a coffee or lunch. I don't get that. You drive home on your own. That's half an hour of peace and quiet. I'm never in the car on my own.'

'I'm working on a very important project and I need to send an email. Can you please take Tom out and close the bloody door?'

'What project?'

'It's a new thing that's just come up.'

'Will you get paid more for it?' Maybe the project would be a good thing. I'd take his grumpiness if it meant more money and less scrimping.

'No, Julie, I won't. Now, give me some space.'

'Why can't you do it later when the kids are in bed?'

'Jesus Christ, I just can't. I need to send this off now.'

'Fine.' I picked Tom up. 'But I have to give the boys a bath tonight and I'd appreciate it if you'd help out. So when you've finished your incredibly important email you might get off your arse and give me a hand.'

'Fine.'

I slammed the door.

I went in and gave the boys macaroni and cheese for dinner. Leo only ate the pasta. Luke only ate the cheese. Tom liked to chew it and then spit it out. Liam ate it all, like a normal person.

After dinner I told them they had to have a bath. I only subjected myself to it once a week. That's not very hygienic, but it was an ordeal I couldn't face any more frequently. Every week was the same: the minute they heard the word 'bath' they'd all run in different directions. I had to chase them and yank their clothes off. Then they'd run off naked and hide. Eventually I'd lift them one by one into the bath and they'd all proceed to pee. They thought this was hilarious. I thought it was disgusting. It was the reason Tom didn't have a bath with them I figured he was a bit too young for golden showers.

Once they were in the bath they had great fun. They threw water over each other, splashed, kicked and wrestled. A good third of the bathwater ended up on the floor and all over me. I sometimes thought I should wear a raincoat on bath nights because I always ended up soaked. Hair-washing was another ordeal. They hated it. They roared and screamed, and if a tiny bit of shampoo got into their eyes, all hell would break loose. They'd jump up and down, screeching and flailing their arms as if they'd been stabbed. I never had enough time to rinse the shampoo out because they wouldn't sit still. So their hair, like mine, was limp.

Then they'd refuse to get out of the bath they'd refused to get into. I'd have to drag one out and quickly dry him, but as I grabbed the next, the first would jump back in. This could go on for ages until I'd explode and threaten them with no TV, no sweets, no toys, no Santa and no Easter bunny. While they ran around naked, I mopped the floor and rinsed out the bath.

Then the pyjamas race would begin, lots of chasing and putting them on only to take them off again, until I lost my temper. Finally they would sit down in front of the TV, I'd put Tom to bed and collapse into a chair. How I wasn't thin was beyond me. I never stopped. I ran around all day. I should have been a stick insect.

Just as I was psyching myself up to chase them around for the bath, Harry came in to help me. He looked very pale and stressed. I felt bad about giving out to him. 'You look shattered,' I said.

'I'm fine. Sorry about earlier.'

'Maybe you're coming down with something you're very pale.'

'No, it's just ... this project. I need to sort it out.'

'Can I help?'

'No. Just forget about it. Come on, let's get these rascals clean.'

Harry did the chasing and I did the washing. It was so much easier when he was home to help. We had them washed, dried and in their pyjamas within twenty minutes.

Later, when Tom was asleep and the triplets were watching cartoons, Harry disappeared to the bedroom with his laptop. I decided to call Louise to see how she was getting on with Clara. 'Hi, Lou, how's it all going?'

'Fine, thanks. I'm back to work tomorrow and I can't wait, to be honest.'

'Aren't you tired?'

'No. I put her in the nursery every night in hospital and slept for ten hours, and I've had a night nurse since I came home, so I feel fine.'