Baby Be Mine

a secret? I had my reasons for staying quiet. Then again, I guess I’m not the only girl to cheat on her boyfriend . . . I bet plenty of Johnny’s groupies were in relationships when they slept with him. What a horrid thought.
    ‘Cheer up,’ Joseph says brightly, patting my leg.
    ‘Yeah, let’s change the subject,’ I reply, screwing up my nose. ‘You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?’
    He laughs. ‘I wouldn’t be here with you if I did.’
    I smile at him, embarrassed. ‘Okay, so that was a silly question,’ I admit. ‘But seriously, why not? How can someone who looks like you be single?’
    He laughs again. ‘I thought we were changing the subject? We don’t really want talk about our exes, do we?’
    ‘No, maybe not.’ Definitely not. Christian comes to my mind and I realise how much he would have loved this party with all its bowls of sweets.
    A wail comes from the pumpkin coach.
    ‘Barney,’ I tell Joseph as I hurry over to my son. He’s on the floor and has clearly fallen over or been pushed, but his sobs seem like a pretty big overreaction.
    ‘He’s tired,’ I say when I return to the bench. Barney snuggles into my chest and I pray silently that he’s not snotting on my outfit. Black is the worst colour to wear when you have kids – I should have worn white. But then I would have looked like Dana. I scan the crowd. Where’s everyone else we know? It’s a big place, so even though she’s lit up like a beacon, I can’t see Dana anywhere. An image of her screwing Johnny the other night pierces my mind. I try to blot it out, without any joy. I glance at Joseph.
    ‘We should go on a proper date,’ I say suddenly. ‘Without . . .’ I glance down at Barney.
    ‘That’d be nice,’ he replies. ‘How long is Bess sticking around?’
    ‘Two weeks, but it might be longer. She’s got nothing to rush back to the UK for.’ I tell him about her job. ‘She won’t mind me going out one night, though. In fact, she’d probably offer to babysit.’
    ‘Sorry,’ he says with a frown. ‘I know we were changing the subject and everything, but doesn’t Johnny babysit?’
    I smile wryly. ‘Not really. He did the other night, but Dana turned up and I don’t want her anywhere near Barney.’ My tone sounds venomous and I can’t help it.
    Joseph raises his eyebrows. ‘Not keen, hey?’
    ‘Nope.’ I look down at the ground.
    Suddenly Bess pushes through the crowd. She looks anxious.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ I sit up in my seat.
    She glances at Joseph and obviously feels awkward.
    ‘Refill?’ he asks me tactfully.
    I hand him my glass. ‘Yes, please.’
    He gives Bess a concerned look before walking away.
    ‘What is it?’
    ‘I just snogged Eddie!’ she bleats.
    ‘Really?’ My face breaks into the hugest grin. ‘That’s good, isn’t it?’
    ‘No, no, no, it’s terrible,’ she says mournfully. ‘I was flirting with him, you know, as you do, because he’s quite hot, and then I . . . I forced him into it, Meg! It was awful. He didn’t want to snog me! I made him do it!’
    I scoff. ‘You can’t make someone snog you, Bess.’
    ‘Yes, I can. I just bloody did!’ she erupts before looking apologetically at Barney. ‘Can we leave?’ she pleads. ‘Well, no, you can stay, but can I leave? I’ll take Barney home; he looks exhausted.’
    ‘Don’t leave,’ I try to convince her, but she’s having none of it, and while I definitely want her to stay, I’ll have to leave within an hour myself, before Barney hits meltdown. The thought of being here with Joseph . . .
    ‘Are you sure?’ I ask her.
    ‘Yes, please.’ She nods her head fervently.
    ‘Okay. I’ll call Davey.’
    Joseph returns before Bess and Barney leave. ‘I got you one, too,’ he tells her, handing over a glass of orange punch.
    ‘Thanks, but I’m off,’ she replies.
    ‘You’re leaving?’ he asks with surprise.
    ‘Going to take Barney home.’
    He glances at me.
    ‘I’m staying,’ I tell him with a small shrug. ‘I’ll walk Bess out,’ I add. ‘Meet you at the bar.’
    ‘Don’t worry about Eddie,’ I tell Bess at the kerbside. ‘It’s just a drunken snog; there’s no harm in it.’
    ‘If you see him, tell him I apologise.’
    ‘I’ll tell him no such thing,’ I reply hotly. ‘Why should you apologise for kissing someone? He’s a lucky git, if you ask me.’
    She smiles a small smile. ‘See you in the morning.’ She gives me a sly grin. ‘Or maybe not,’ she whispers.
    My