“Why are you so early? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong! Why are you so late?”
“I’m not,” Lyn maneuvered the stroller out of the way and sat down. “I’m right on the dot. We always tell you a time half an hour earlier than the actual time.”
“Your Auntie Gemma is typecast,” Gemma told Maddie. “Just like Meg Ryan. That’s why nobody believed she was a brain surgeon in that movie.”
“City of Angels,” said Lyn. “Shocking movie. Michael and I walked out of it.”
“Nobody would believe I was a brain surgeon either.”
“Probably not. You’d keep dropping your instruments.”
“I think I would make an excellent surgeon. I’d be very calm and cool.”
“You’ve got something on your cheek. Mascara, maybe.” Lyn licked her finger and reached over for Gemma’s cheek.
Gemma recoiled. “I’ll do it myself!”
“It’s only saliva. When you become a brain surgeon, you’ll have to touch mushy, bloody brains.”
“Dirty,” said Maddie sympathetically. She put her own finger into her mouth and began to rub away at Gemma’s cheek.
“Where’s the waitress?” Lyn swung around in her chair and tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “I need caffeine to help me cope with Cat. This is the first time I’ve seen her since the Dan thing.”
“Oh yes! I knew there was something I was looking forward to! The biggest family scoop of all time.”
“Stop it, please. It was a long time ago. I can hardly remember it.”
“Oh, come on. Explain yourself. I don’t get it. Why didn’t you just tell her at the time?”
Lyn pushed her hair back behind her ears and leaned forward with her elbows on the table.
“Why didn’t he just tell her is more to the point! I was on the other side of the world. By the time I got back they’d already been seeing each other for months. Obviously I should have said it right away. But she was so happy and they were all over each other, remember? It seemed cruel to say, Oh by the way, I dated him too. And besides—”
“Yes?” said Gemma benevolently. She was feeling especially affectionate toward Lyn today, she looked so uncharacteristically uncertain.
“I never thought it would last. I didn’t think Dan was the commitment type. Every week I expected it to end. Next thing you know, you and I are both walking down the aisle in purple taffeta.”
“And why didn’t you tell me?”
“You?” Lyn looked at her with disbelief. “You can’t keep a secret.”
Gemma’s affection levels plummeted. “That is so not true!”
“That is so not true,” repeated Lyn thoughtfully. “You talk like a fifteen-year-old. Kara says that. That is so not true, Lyn, I do pick up my own washing.”
Gemma gritted her teeth and went back on the attack. “So, did you sleep with Cat’s husband too?”
“Gemma! He wasn’t Cat’s husband at the time.”
“Did you?”
“What if I did?’
“Nothing if you did. I’m just wondering. Did you?”
“I lost my virginity to him.”
“You didn’t!” Gemma allowed Maddie to slither from her lap. “Your first time was with Hank in Spain!”
“Well, it wasn’t.”
“But it was!”
“I guess I might be just a little more qualified to speak on the subject.”
“I can’t believe it.”
Gemma and Lyn watched Maddie trot over to the little boy at the next table and put her face right up close to his so their noses were practically touching.
“So.” Gemma didn’t look at Lyn. “Dan, hey? Any good?”
Lyn didn’t look at her. “Yes. Very.”
Gemma’s mouth dropped. For some reason this seemed incredibly shocking. Lyn looked at her sidelong with a glint of pride, and the two of them began to rock with wicked laughter.
“Stop it,” said Lyn helplessly. “It’s not funny.”
Gemma grabbed a napkin to wipe her eyes. “No, it’s terrible. You’re terrible. I didn’t know you were so terrible.”
“Cat! My Cat!”
Pushing the little boy unceremoniously to one side, Maddie went running through the coffee shop toward Cat. Gemma smoothed both her hands down her cheeks as if to wipe away the laughter, and Lyn sat up very straight.
“One word and you’re a dead woman,” she said as she held up her hand to wave at Cat.
“Get a grip.”
Cat walked toward them with Maddie clinging to her hip. The woman with the little boy had stood up and was gathering together her shopping bags. When she saw Cat, she did a little start and straightened.
“Hello!” she said. “You’re Lyn Kettle, aren’t you? The Brekkie Bus business! What a coincidence, I was only just reading about you in She this morning.”
Cat shifted Maddie to the other hip.
“I’m her sister. The unsuccessful version. But Lyn’s right there.” She pointed at Lyn and the woman did a double-take as Lyn gave her an embarrassed little wave.
“That’s right! You’re triplets! Oh, you can really tell!”
The woman was swinging her head back and forth observing the three of them with satisfaction.
“And you’re just the same as the other two, except your hair is red!” she said to Gemma.
“That’s right!” Gemma praised her.
“Good Lord, we’d never noticed!” Cat said.
The woman’s smile became a little fixed. “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you all!” She held out a hand to Lyn. “I really admire what you’ve achieved.”
“Thank you.” Lyn shook her hand graciously.
“Bye now,” said Cat, and she buried her face in Maddie’s stomach and growled, so that she gurgled with delight.
“What are you doing here?” Cat asked Gemma as she pulled out a chair and sat down with Maddie on her lap.
“She’s refusing to be typecast,” said Lyn. “Do you both want a coffee? I’m going to order one at the counter.”
“How are you?” asked Gemma, as Lyn went for their coffees. The dark shadows under Cat’s eyes reproached them for their laughter.