Free Tell Me No Secrets by Julie Corbin

time.’ I swallow down some water. ‘And a lot of travelling.’
    â€˜I guess so,’ she acknowledges. ‘Far East, Australia, Peru, Italy, Mumbai, all for three years or so and then time in Canada where I settled for twelve years.’
    â€˜And is there a man in your life?’
    She rolls her eyes. ‘Let’s not go there. Me and long-term relationships – always a disaster; until now, that is.’ Her face softens and she smiles into her neck.
    â€˜Until now?’ I’m interested. Maybe this is why she’s come back. ‘Are you in love?’
    â€˜I suppose.’ She grows thoughtful. ‘Yes, I am. But please! Now you! Tell me how you are.’
    â€˜I’m good. I’m fine.’ I reach for some bread and tear it in half. ‘Not much happens in my life. Same old, same old – you know how it is. Time moves slowly in the village.’
    â€˜I don’t believe you for a minute!’ She makes a petted lip. ‘Come on! Tell me about your children. How many? What are their interests? How old are they?’
    â€˜I have two girls, identical twins but Daisy has short hair and Ella’s is long. They have their dad’s eyes, and smiles that are all their own. Daisy is good at science and likes to make things with her hands. Ella loves to act. She’s more outgoing than Daisy.’ I stop talking while the waitress places a salad in front of us: buffalo mozzarella, melon and watercress. ‘They’ll be sixteen on Saturday,’ I finish.
    â€˜Sixteen? Wow!’ She shakes out her napkin and places it on her lap. ‘Are they having a party?’
    â€˜Yes. In the village hall. It’s been repainted since you left but otherwise it’s no different. We’ve hired a DJ, ordered lots of food and drink.’ I shrug. ‘All the kids do it now. It’s just a round of parties from one weekend to the next.’
    â€˜Do you remember my sixteenth?’
    I nod. ‘I was thinking about it yesterday. First the fight with your mother and then all that business with Monica. I’m hoping we get away with a bit less drama.’
    â€˜I never did forgive my mother.’
    â€˜What, even now?’
    â€˜She always had to be the centre of everything.’ She wrinkles her nose. ‘But, yeah, sure. It’s all water under the bridge.’ She finishes her salad and pushes the plate away. ‘So, two girls? Almost grown-up.’
    â€˜Well, Ella would like to think so.’
    â€˜Is she difficult?’
    â€˜Not exactly but she knows her own mind.’
    â€˜Like her mother then.’
    â€˜I was never difficult.’ I give her an appraising look. ‘I would have had to work hard to catch up with you.’
    â€˜I did have my moments, didn’t I?’ she concedes. ‘Thank God we don’t stay fifteen for ever.’ The waitress clears our plates and Orla reaches down into her bag and brings out her mobile phone. ‘I need to make a quick call,’ she says and steps outside the restaurant.
    It’s a good opportunity to watch her and I do. She is relaxed and smiling as she talks into the receiver. She looks completely harmless. There’s not a hint of the conniving or spite that she used to be capable of and I’m beginning to wonder what I was nervous about. She’s not the dangerous, impulsive Orla that she once was. She’s a calmer, more civilised version, I think.
    She comes back to her seat. ‘So what about the old gang? Monica, Euan, Callum, Faye.’ She reels them off. ‘What happened to them?’
    The restaurant is in full lunchtime swing. The waitresses weave between the tables, plates held high above their heads. Our main course is red mullet with spring vegetables and I take my first mouthful before answering. ‘Tastes good,’ I say, pointing with my fork.
    â€˜My mother comes here. You know how fussy she was . . . and