‘Ah, Ana. It seems bad now, but it will all be worth it when you have a little Rex or a little Ana running around. You have great genes, look at you. You’re a Chilean princess.’ Dixie seemed to be acting genuine, so Ana was relieved when she continued, ‘Rex, well, Rex, I’m sure he’s partly inbred, but he’s a decent man, I suppose.’
‘Honestly, Ana, the more you can streamline the process, the better. If I could go back I’d have the whole pregnancy carried out in an incubator. It would be so much less stress. And as for the wear and tear, don’t get me started. Remember this: You. Never. Recover. Believe it.’
‘Can you afford it?’
‘Aaah, I love you, Dixie. Straight in with the financials.’
‘Well, doesn’t it cost a fortune? Do they do Hire Purchase?’ teased Dixie.
‘We get one free go on the NHS, so we’re going to take it – nothing to lose I guess! But then that’s it, I don’t think he will do it again as we would have to pay, and that would be 8k! If it doesn’t work, I’m… well, not stuffed, obviously. If it doesn’t work, I don’t know what I’m going to do. We have a good life, me and Rex, and all we need to make it perfect is a baby.’
‘Yeah, shit-a-brick. That’s some mind-bending existential shit, right there,’ said Dixie, being unusually reflective.
‘Fucking men, honestly. Where the do they get off? One strike. What is this, a stupid game!?’ Stella said.
Ana could see Stella was angry. Very angry. Not just wine in the sun indignant, she was genuinely mad as hell and someone was going to pay. ‘He owes you. Shit, he’s lucky to have you. He’s lucky you put up with him. It’s not like he’s the best car on the lot. Look at you! You’re smart, stable, sex-mad. I mean. What the actual fuck! One strike. Puh!’
Ana couldn’t control her laughter.
‘Stella, I love you, but I’m sure if we can afford it, Rex will come round.’
‘Fuck him, even if you can’t afford it. This isn’t some holiday in Mauritius he’s blowing off. This is your goddamn right as a woman. The gift of fertility and he thinks he can deprive you of that cos he’s got cash-flow concerns. Off with his balls. He does not deserve you!’
‘Jake still not putting out, hey, Stells?’
‘Fuck you, Dix!’
And then they were all laughing.
‘Stella’s right. Go and do what you need to do. If Rex is prepared to pay, and you feel it is the right thing, then go and do it. You know in your gut. It isn’t for anybody else to tell you whether or not you should have a child, and how you should do it.’
Dixie gave her a reassuring pat on the arm.
‘Dixie, are you high?’ asked Ana, confused by the out-ofcharacter gentle solicitude.
‘God, can’t I just be nice? I care about you.’
‘I know you do, but you don’t, like, pat people. Anyway, while you are in a nice frame of mind, where are we with plans? Anyone coming round to Provence yet?’
‘Noooo!’
‘Absolutely not!’
‘Then what? Any progress on Edinburgh, Dix?’
‘I have had way too much to do to talk to Peter about that. I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s going to happen.’
There was an awkward silence. Ana was crushed. She needed a break. She needed some time away from London, work, Rex. She needed some time with her friends.
‘Dixie?’
‘Yes, Stella.’
‘What’s going on with you? You’re up to something…’
‘I am not.’
‘What is in NY? Who is in NY?’
‘Listen. It’s nothing. I have a lot on.’ Dixie was on her feet. ‘I’m just going for a wizz. Get another bottle. Watch that.’ She placed her bag on her seat and was gone.
‘She’s hiding something.’
‘I know.’
‘Stella… don’t!’
Stella was opening Dixie’s bag. She pulled out an A4 sketch pad and flipped it open.
‘As I thought,’ said Stella and turned the page to Ana.
The sketch was a highly stylised, almost anime conjuring of a New York skyline as backdrop to a sexualised image of Dixie at her most erotic, a post-coital sex-kittenish look of satisfaction on her face, a glass held aloft in a toast and in the glass a reflection of a tall athletic man taking a photo of her with an iPhone.
‘So that’s the New York drug.’
‘Put it back, Stella.’
‘No. We don’t have secrets.’ Stella closed the pad and placed it on the table. ‘Waiter, can we get another bottle?’
‘You utter bitch,’ were the first words Dixie said when she saw her notepad on the table.
‘It was too easy.’
‘I tried to stop her.’
‘You did? I can see the bruises…’
‘Who is he?’ asked Ana.
Dixie sat back with a sigh, twiddling her glass. ‘Freddie Eastman. Millionaire Biotech entrepreneur. British. Forty-seven years old. Looks 42. Lives on Central Park. Healthy seven-inch penis with appropriate girth. Likes hot pussy and redheads. The game is on.’
‘Look at her!’ laughed Stella. ‘Literally the cat that got the cream. How long’s this been going on?’
‘Seven weeks.’
Ana and Stella’s jaws dropped. They gawped at each other and Ana mouthed SEVEN again. Dixie hadn’t had a seven-week relationship since her divorce. Ana picked up the artist’s pad and leafed back through the pages. Each page revealed Freddie from another angle. Freddie eating sushi. Freddie in a towel. A close-up of Freddie. Freddie kissing Dixie. The top of Freddie’s head buried between Dixie’s thighs. She turned the page to Stella.
‘Ah ha!’
‘When do we get to meet him?’
‘Oh my god,’ said Ana. ‘Yes. When?’
‘I don’t know. He’s not here much at the moment.’
‘Then,’ said Ana, ‘we will come to New York. Forget Provence. Forget Edinburgh. It’s Manhattan, ladies. The sexy in the city.’
‘Yes. When?’ said Stella.
‘I don’t know. I hadn’t planned.’
‘Do not play coy, Dixie Dressler. We are coming to New York to meet Mr Fred just as soon as humanly possible.’
‘Really? Oh god. Then I suppose… I wasn’t going to say anything. It felt too early. I didn’t want to jinx it. In three weeks, Saturday 28th. It’s Freddie’s birthday. He’s having a massive bash on Long Island. One of his investors has a pad there, so they are celebrating Freddie’s birthday and the tenth anniversary of the business. There’s a band. Dancing in the gardens. Do you want to come? Will you? It would be fantastic.’
‘Will I? It’s a Saturday. I’ve already picked my outfit! I’ll wear the vintage Chanel two-piece. It’s black and white. Chevrons. I knew I’d find a home for it. This is kismet.’
Stella was silent.
‘Stella?’ asked Dixie.
‘I don’t know. I didn’t want to say anything. Jake’s having a bit of a cash-flow issue. He’s asked me to rein things in for a while.’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ said Dixie. ‘He’s a partner in a law firm.’