Pictures of Lily

Lucy’s lights are on when I walk up the footpath. They live in a little house much like ours, made out of wood and painted greeny-grey with a white picket fence out the front. I knock on the front door and listen as I hear Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex Is On Fire’ coming from inside.
    Lucy opens the door. ‘Lily!’ she cries, giving me a hug. ‘I thought you couldn’t come.’
    ‘Hello,’ I say warmly, as she pulls away. ‘Am I too late? Is Richard still here?’
    ‘Richard is still here and no, of course you’re not too late. Come in.’
    Richard rounds the corner and steps into the hall, a look of pleasure and surprise on his face.
    ‘Hey!’ he exclaims. ‘What are you doing here?’
    ‘I left the gallery early,’ I tell him.
    ‘Was it alright? Are you okay?’ Now he looks concerned.
    ‘I’ll get you a drink,’ Lucy says. ‘Molly and I are on the rosé.’
    ‘Perfect,’ I reply and she hurries off, leaving Richard and me alone in the hall.
    ‘Are you alright?’ he asks again.
    ‘I’m fine,’ I say flatly. ‘It was okay, but I didn’t feel very comfortable.’
    ‘Come inside and have a drink, we’ll soon cheer you up.’ He puts his arm around me and I’m filled up with warmth. This is where I belong. With my Richard. I smile at him gratefully as he leads me into the living room.
    ‘Hello!’ Molly and Sam shout.
    ‘Hey.’ Nathan gets to his feet and bounds over, engulfing me in a lovely hug. ‘I hear congratulations are in order.’
    ‘Oh my God!’ Lucy screeches, rushing through from the kitchen. ‘I forgot to say!’
    ‘No worries,’ I laugh as she drags Nathan away to give me a hug. ‘And hey, welcome back to you guys,’ I say, already feeling a million times better. ‘Did you have a good time?’
    ‘It was ace,’ Nathan assures me.
    ‘What was the exhibition like?’ Molly asks from the comfort of her snuggly sofa.
    ‘It was a bit shit,’ I tell her honestly and she laughs. ‘I missed you guys.’
    ‘Aww.’ Richard gives me a squeeze because he’s still by my side.
    ‘Here you are.’ Lucy hands over my wine.
    ‘Cheers!’
    ‘Cheers indeed.’ We all chink glasses. ‘Are you hungry?’ she adds. ‘We’ve already eaten, but there’s loads left over.’
    ‘No, it’s okay, I’m fine.’
    ‘It’s lasagne . . .’ she coaxes.
    ‘Go on, then.’ I detach myself from Richard so I can follow Lucy into the kitchen. I’ve been stuffing my face full of canapés, but no way can I turn down Lucy’s lasagne.
    ‘Here you go,’ she says a short while later, handing over a plate full of scrummy, warming, comfort food. I follow her back to the living room, kicking off my heels in the hall as I go. Lucy perches on the arm of Nathan’s chair, and I take a seat on the sofa next to Richard. I balance the plate on my lap and tuck in, feeling totally at ease doing so in front of all these people who have already eaten.
    ‘Richard said you’ve been asked to cover for someone on a magazine?’ Molly says, impressed.
    ‘That’s right,’ I mumble through a mouthful.
    ‘Which magazine is it?’ Sam jerks a thumb at Richard and tuts. ‘Your man here couldn’t remember.’
    ‘ Marbles .’ I load up my fork. ‘It’s a glossy monthly men’s magazine.’
    ‘I know the one,’ Sam says. ‘That’s so cool!’
    Once again I’m filled with warmth.
    ‘How did you end up doing that?’ Lucy wants to know, so I quickly fill them in on the story.
    ‘Well done,’ Molly says in awe. ‘You must have really made an impression on the Editor.’
    ‘He’s married,’ I blurt out, and they all laugh.
    ‘I bet that thought didn’t cross any of our minds,’ Nathan says, as Sam shakes his head in amusement. I smile, a little embarrassed.
    ‘Where’s Mikey tonight?’
    ‘He’s asleep in the spare room,’ Molly tells me.
    ‘You’re so lucky he can do that,’ Lucy says.
    ‘He’s a good little guy,’ Sam says affectionately.
    ‘So when are you two . . .’ I start, as Nathan and Lucy look across at me and grin. ‘What?’ I ask at their reaction.
    ‘When are we having kids?’ Lucy checks.
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘That seems to be the million-dollar question.’ She beams. ‘We’re just happy being the two of us for now. No rush.’
    Nathan pats his knee and she slides down from the armrest and into his lap. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her cheek as she leans back into him. It’s hard not to smile at their obvious adoration of each other.
    ‘So tell us