Changing Times Moving On

I was at the Christening in a very nice church in the heart of Hammersmith, in West London, where Esme lived, in the crowed I noticed quite a few Russian escorts who where friends of the couple. The day was much warmer than any of us had anticipated, so most people had taken off their coats. I wore a thin nude pea coat in a fine wool mix, to go with my dress and heels.

I was surprised at how much Esme a workaholic Russian girl had left escorting and settled in the past eighteen months or so. She really was a wonder. With a whirlwind romance with a guy who swam in our private health club pool, to getting pregnant after seeing him for six months, to getting married secretly eight months ago, to having a bouncing three-month old baby boy, with chubby cheeks and tons of wriggling energy. She did it all so quickly.

We sat down and drank a small glass of champagne. When I told her she was a marvel, she laughed. “I can’t be a plus-size model anymore, even with a stomach like this.” I told her she looked fabulous. She was never going to be skinny with a frame like hers, but she was so beautiful and a size sixteen and that’s a UK-size, not a US size, at her height of around six foot, well, I didn’t think she looked too big anyway.

I received a text message. Josh had finished an hour early, so his fiend would drop him off in the car. Of course, we were way outside the congestion zone anyway. I gulped. Perhaps he did really want to meet one of my friends. He knew I wasn’t friendly with Anna, but she’d been an awful snob. He’d met Rachel, Franz, my mum and another friend, but that was it really. I was too busy with my life with him the rest of the time.

I mentioned Josh arriving to Esme and she smiled. “I guess it is serious between you then.” I nodded and she happily passed me the baby, showing me how to hold his head properly. I knew I was no way near to this stage in my life. Esme was three years older, and would be thirty next birthday. Imagine the look on Josh’s face as he walked in and saw me sat there, holding a large baby in my arms. He burst out laughing and asked where the beer was as he needed one. I introduced him to Esme and Guy and passed the baby back. I looked at Josh directly. “That sort of thing is at least three years away for me.”

Josh kissed my cheek. “You are assuming then, I’m the one for you!”