What became of us

embarrassing as re-reading a teenage diary.
    ‘Anyone else around?’ Ursula wanted to know, although she looked about as interested in the answer as Annie had been in George’s thoughts about Jesus.
    ‘No. Well, not exactly, unless you count...’ for a moment Annie wavered on the edge of telling her about Roy. She took another glug of champagne. Of course she couldn’t. You couldn’t tell a sister that you had been having wet dreams about her brother. She was quite sure Ursula wouldn’t approve of the liaison at all. Ursula was very big on disapproval.
    ‘Actually, I am thinking of having my mother come to live with me,’ she announced.
    It was the first time she had said it out loud and it sounded rather moral and martyrish. Ursula looked suitably chastened.
    That’ll teach you to think of me as a selfish bitch who isn’t good enough for your brother, Annie thought.
    ‘She’s getting rather forgetful,’ she elaborated.
    ‘But she’s not old,’ Ursula said.
    Ursula’s parents were so ancient, Annie couldn’t remember whether they were alive or not. She thought she’d better find out before getting too involved with Roy. Her own mother was one thing, but she didn’t want the stable block at the side of their manor house turning into a geriatric nursing home.
    ‘I got her referred. The consultant thought it was probably the onset of Alzheimer’s...’
    An image of her mother sitting in the huge posh waiting room of the Harley Street neurologist sprang unwanted into Annie’s head.
    ‘Well, this is nice,’ she had said, leafing through the pages of House Beautiful , as if they were about to pick out a whole new look for her dining room.
    ‘…you don’t have to be old, apparently.’
    Annie tried to fight back the involuntary tears that had suddenly appeared just behind her eyes. If you kept it to yourself it didn’t seem as bad as this. She wished she hadn’t let Ursula draw her out.
    Looking up, she saw the genuine concern on Ursula’s face, then remembered exactly why they were friends and why she had told her something that she hadn’t told anyone else. Ursula was a kind person and they had known each other all their adult lives.
    ‘I’m so sorry.’ Ursula stretched her hand across the table.
    ‘Yeah, thanks,’ Annie said, pushing her hair back from her face and looking towards the window desperate for something to distract her attention.
    ‘It was Manon,’ she suddenly said.
    ‘Manon?’
    ‘I nearly knocked someone over outside Worcester who looked like Manon. Look!’
    Manon was standing outside on the pavement facing them, but she hadn’t seen them because she was reading the menu. They both started waving at her. Still she didn’t notice.
    ‘Wait a minute.’ Annie’s napkin dropped from her lap to the floor as she stood up and raced towards the door.

    Manon took a moment to translate the bright flurry of colour jumping up and down on the other side of the glass into the recognizable figure of Annie.
    ‘You’re on another planet,’ Annie told her as she pushed open the door: ‘we’ve been shouting and waving for about half an hour.’
    It was the first time they had not been separated by the cloakroom counter for quite some time. They were both tall, but Annie’s personality and vivid choice of colour made her seem much more corporeal than Manon. Annie was not the sort of person who exchanged air kisses; she hugged with enthusiasm. Manon hugged her back, oddly comforted by her presence. With the house in Joshua Street deserted, and no idea how to get in touch with the children, she had not known what she was going to do with the afternoon.
    ‘You look wonderful,’ said Manon.
    ‘So do you,’ Annie said, giving her a once-over, ‘you’ve got the body to get away with a cardigan. They’re no good if you’ve got tits. Like those flat bags you’re meant to wear around your waist this season. I mean, great for a credit card, but hopeless if you’re carrying round a hairbrush and a couple of tampons.’
    Manon stared.
    ‘Joshua Street has been sold,’ she said, as if to explain her presence.
    ‘Yes, Ursula’s just told me. She’s over there.’
    ‘Oh.’ Manon hesitated in the entrance.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I didn’t expect to see her until tonight.’
    ‘She’s not that bad,’ Annie said, bringing her voice down to a whisper. ‘We’ve been through all the children bit already.’
    For a moment Manon didn’t know what she was talking about. Then