What became of us

Manon said.
    ‘Oh, if you’re sure. Come on Lily, show them what you’re made of. We’re red.’
    Lily swiped at a green plastic ball and missed.
    ‘Oh well, wrong ball, but never mind,’ Annie said. ‘Your turn, Saskia, you’re yellow.’
    Lily swiped again.
    ‘Not you, Lily, it’s Saskia’s go,’ Annie told her.
    ‘Oh I don’t want to play stupid croquet then!’ Lily hurled her plastic mallet to the ground and began to cry.
    ‘Come on, sweetie,’ Annie said, trying to pick her up, but Lily screamed even louder. ‘Oh don’t be such a bloody crybaby!’ Annie tried another tactic. Then as the screaming continued, she said, ‘Well, if you’re going to scream at least get out of Saskia’s way.’
    Manon came to the rescue.
    ‘Why don’t you and I play together, Lily, and Saskia can play with Annie?’
    ‘You realize that means my team gets an extra go?’ Annie asked, and without waiting for an answer, she took Saskia aside for a team talk.
    ‘Do you think you might like to try my mallet? You get more power with it,’ she coaxed.
    Wielding the mallet like a golf club, Saskia managed to move Annie’s red ball about a foot.
    ‘Not like that!’ Annie shouted, exasperated.
    ‘Your turn, Lily!’ Manon said.
    Lily got to her feet and hit the green ball into a flowerbed.
    ‘Good shot!’ Manon called.
    ‘Hang on a minute, are you playing with two balls or one?’ Annie asked.
    ‘All of them if Lily has her way,’ Manon said, adding under her breath, ‘she’s only three.’
    ‘You can’t allow a three-year-old to determine the rules,’ Annie replied. She took a shot. The red ball went through the hoop.
    ‘Now, we’re off,’ she said with satisfaction, then took Manon’s ball and roqueted her far into the border.
    ‘Sorry!’ she called unconvincingly, and went to take her other go.
    ‘Lunch is almost ready!’ Geraldine called, shaking out a large blanket and spreading it on the ground between the centre post and the final hoop.
    ‘Well, that’s the end of that then,’ Annie said, sitting down on it grumpily. ‘Since we’re the only ones who got through a hoop, I think we scored a moral victory anyway.’
    Manon and Roy were unable to stop themselves laughing at her competitiveness.
    ‘Well, what’s the point unless you’re going to play properly?’ she asked, exasperated.
    ‘They’re just children,’ Roy said.
    ‘I thought children were meant to like games,’ Annie said.
    ‘Come and wash your hands,’ Geraldine said.
    Automatically, Manon put a hand on each of the girls’ heads and turned them towards the house.
    Annie watched them go in then stood up.
    ‘I’m going for a short walk,’ she said to Roy.

    The sharp sour hit of Marlboro against the back of her throat tasted exquisitely pleasurable. She began to walk along the road, then after a minute or two she heard light footsteps running to catch up with her. She dared not turn round in case it was one of the girls and she would have to put the cigarette out again. She quickened her pace, then realized that the footsteps were too fast for a small child.
    ‘Wait!’ said Manon, breathlessly.
    Annie stopped.
    ‘Are you going to visit Penny’s grave?’
    ‘No, actually I was just having a ciggie.’
    ‘Oh. Look, do you mind if I ask you a favour?’ Manon said.
    ‘Ask away!’
    ‘Can you give me a lift back to London?’
    ‘Err...’
    ‘It’s just that I came by bus, and it seems a bit stupid to ask Roy to drive me back to Oxford.’
    Manon’s expression said, please don’t make me explain further.
    ‘I’d love to, really I would, but it’s just that I promised someone else, and I’ve only got two seats,’ Annie said.
    ‘Who?’ Manon asked.
    Annie felt herself blushing, she wasn’t sure why.
    ‘But, look, I can get you back to the bus station, no problem,’ Annie suggested.
    Manon’s face broke into a blissful smile.
    ‘That would be perfect.’
    ‘Except I want to leave here straight after lunch,’ Annie continued. ‘It’s worse than the reunion. It’s actually worse than being back at school.’
    ‘Fine by me,’ Manon agreed readily.
    ‘So, are you going to tell me what happened last night?’ Annie couldn’t resist asking, as they walked a little further from the house, feeling that their friendship had just crossed a significant barrier.
    ‘I’ll tell you later,’ Manon agreed with a rueful smile, ‘and are you going to tell me?’
    ‘Later,’ Annie said, thinking that