Baby Be Mine

stepped off the front cover of a magazine.
    ‘Fine, fine, it was fine,’ she replies nervously.
    ‘Eddie’s here,’ Lena tells him.
    ‘Aah, cool. In the kitchen?’ He points in that direction.
    ‘As you’d expect,’ Lena replies with a wry smile. ‘Come on.’
    ‘He’s so good-looking in real life!’ Bess whispers through clenched teeth as soon as they’ve gone.
    ‘He’s not bad,’ I reply indifferently.
    ‘You’ve shagged him!’ she screeches quietly.
    ‘Shh!’ I say with alarm, but then I can’t help but giggle at the look on her face. ‘Let’s go, too,’ I decide suddenly, so Bess and I head out of the office and into the kitchen. Johnny is leaning against a countertop with his arms folded, while Eddie stands in front of him. He seems on edge as he runs through the menu options for the next week.
    ‘All sounds great,’ Johnny replies. He’s not really big into food. Booze, on the other hand . . .
    ‘Johnny, you’ve got to try one of these,’ Lena says enthusiastically, taking a muffin from the tray and putting it on a plate for him.
    ‘Have you got one for Dana, too?’ he asks.
    ‘Of course,’ Eddie replies. ‘Actually, would you both like lunch? I’m just finishing up some pizza bases to put in the outside oven.’ It’s a wood-fired oven on the terrace.
    ‘Sounds good,’ Johnny says, putting the muffin back on the countertop. ‘Let’s all go. Is Barney asleep?’ he asks me.
    ‘Yes, but he needs to wake up soon.’
    ‘Shall I get him?’
    ‘You can, if you like,’ I reply.
    ‘Cool.’ He turns around and exits the room, leaving a buzz in the air. I forgot that Johnny has the ability to do this. A room always lights up in his presence. It’s just as obvious when there are four people as when there are four hundred.
    Eddie picks up a couple of trays of pizza bases. ‘To the terrace?’ he asks.
    Lena, Bess and I lift up the remaining trays and follow him. I go to the outdoor bar and start to sort out drinks. Bess joins me.
    ‘You’ve shagged him,’ she quietly exclaims again through clenched teeth.
    ‘Stop it,’ I hiss.
    She grins at me and then she freezes as her eyes fall on something behind me. I turn around to see Johnny sliding shut the outside door. He’s carrying Barney in his arms and my little boy is still half-asleep as he presses his face into his father’s neck.
    ‘Oh my God,’ Bess whispers slowly as Johnny walks towards us. ‘That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.’
    Barney lifts his head and looks at me, then opens up his arms, so Johnny hands him over. We lock eyes for the duration of this exchange and a flutter goes through me. It’s not healthy for me to witness Johnny’s attractiveness through someone else’s eyes.
    Dana slides the door open and steps over the threshold. She immediately lights up a fag, not bothering to close the door behind her.
    ‘Johnny,’ she calls abruptly. He turns around and goes to her, taking the lit cigarette from her fingers as she lights another one for herself. They go to a sunlounger away from us and sit facing each other. Dana suddenly leans forward and kisses Johnny passionately on his lips. Bess and I look away, awkwardly.
    ‘Christ,’ she whispers.
    ‘Yep. She’s a corker.’
    ‘Mmm.’
    ‘Grub’s up!’ Eddie calls.
    Bess laughs as we wander over. ‘That’s a very English saying.’
    ‘Thought I’d better practise some, considering my boss is from “across the pond”!’ He says the last bit in a posh accent.
    ‘No, you’ve got it all wrong,’ Bess tells him. ‘He’s from Newcastle originally, so you’ve got to learn things like, “Eh up, lass.”’
    ‘What’s this?’ Johnny asks, stubbing his cigarette out on his way over.
    ‘Bess is just teaching Eddie some Geordie sayings,’ I explain.
    ‘“Eh up, lass” is from Yorkshire, ye divvy,’ Johnny says in a thick Geordie accent. ‘Whey aye, man,’ he adds. We all crack up laughing. In the background, Dana reluctantly gets to her feet.
    ‘Divvint ye knaa owt?’ Johnny adds to much hilarity. Dana joins us and he turns to her: ‘A’reet, pet?’
    ‘What the hell are you saying?’ she asks, unimpressed.
    ‘Talk from the toon,’ he replies.
    ‘Talk from the where? Oh, whatever,’ she brushes him off. ‘I’m fucking starving.’
    I glare at her before leading Barney to the table. I don’t want to make a scene in front of everyone. I fix Barney’s highchair to the edge of the stone table. Bess comes to