Do You Remember the First Time?

side to side, then realised what this might mean. Oh God, I had to get to a mirror. Now. I looked down. I was wearing the same Karen Millen trouser suit I’d worn first time round. I stumbled out, hearing voices calling my name, but ignoring them so I could rush into the bathroom, breathing heavily, my heart pounding at a thousandmiles an hour. I leaned my face against the cool tiles, counted to ten and tried to will myself to look in the mirror. Oh God. Oh no.
    It was me, alright, the first touch of tiny wrinkles under my eyes. I looked really tired. My teeth seemed yellower. But, in a funny way, I was so, so pleased to see myself again. This was … this was me. Not an unformed me, barely touched by life. But a me I was quite happy to see. A me who had clearly smiled a lot in life. A me who had her curls under control. I lifted up my under arm and felt it flop with a dispiriting wobble. But still: look at my nicely curved breasts, blooming up under the well-cut Karen Millen suit. I looked pretty much OK. No, I looked good. Holding up well. In fact, I felt better about the way I looked than I had for a long, long time. All that wasted energy, thinking that if I was old again, I’d be a complete hag.
    My heart plummeted suddenly. Oh God, my poor mother. I had offered my mother the chance of happiness then dragged it away from her. I blinked back the tears from my eyes. But that wasn’t my world to live in, was it? Was it? I would be so, so good to her now …
    ‘Flora?’ It was my mother’s voice.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Nothing, you just looked a bit sick there, and your dad and me wondered if you were alright.’
    She came into the bathroom. I stared and stared. Was this my mum? She was older again too, but not in the same way; not a bit of it. Her hair was nice and set, and she was trim and shapely-looking, not horribly bent over and skinny. She was wearing her wedding ring.
    ‘MUM!’ I burst into tears and flung my arms around her neck.
    ‘There, there,’ she said. ‘You’ve done so well, pretending you don’t mind your best friend marrying your ex-boyfriend, but I know there must be some strain, eventually …’
    ‘I really don’t mind,’ I said honestly. ‘I’m chuffed for them, I really am.’
    ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘It’ll be your turn next.’
    ‘You always say that,’ I said.
    ‘Well, me and your dad, we always want the best for you. Come on out, he’ll be worried about you, and we don’t want to worry him, do we?’
    ‘No,’ I said. I let her guide me out of the bathroom like a small child.
    ‘Hey, pet,’ said my dad, looking more rotund and jovial than ever. ‘Here’s my two most beautiful girls, eh?’
    My mother mock slapped him down.
    They were interrupted by Olly coming up and grabbing me in a huge bear hug.
    ‘You,’ he said in my ear, his voice choking with emotion, ‘are the best wolverine in the whole world.’
    ‘Yeah, yeah,’ I said.
    ‘You’re not pissed off with us? Not that … I mean, I really didn’t know this was going to happen.’
    I grinned so wildly my face hurt. ‘It’s been that kind of month. Twice. Oh, Olly, I’m so chuffed. I’m so … I had no idea you two were in love.’
    ‘That’s because you were a self-obsessed teenage idiot,’ said Olly.
    ‘Oh, yeah.’
    ‘And I’m the luckiest man on earth,’ said Olly. Then hehugged my mother. ‘Mrs Scurrison, you are gorgeous as ever.’
    ‘Get away with you,’ said my mother. ‘And you be as good to that young lady as you were to Flora, now, do you hear?’
    We all sobered up a little at that.
    ‘I’ll try,’ said Olly.
    ‘You’ll succeed,’ I said.
    ‘Go see her,’ said Ol. ‘She’s in floods of tears, eating cake. Um, happy tears.’
    ‘She hasn’t eaten for six months,’ I said. ‘The cake probably got to her just in time.’
    ‘Go.’
    ‘Just a minute,’ I said. ‘There’s someone I have to see.’
    As I left, I could hear Oliver announcing to the crowd, ‘My wife and I …’
    As inconspicuously as I could, I left through the French windows. And there he was, still lying asleep in the grass by the fountain. Still beautiful and, gosh, so young. He stirred as my shadow fell upon him.
    ‘Er, yeah?’ he said, springing awake and jumping up. ‘Uh, sorry, have I missed something? Just dozed off for a second …’
    Fully standing, he stared at me. I don’t know what I expected. Well, I did. But just for a second I thought he might …
    He looked as if he