It was the first time the five of us had been together for some years but eventually, inevitably, the conversation turned to the same subject, as it always had, at this time of the evening.
Sex.
Amongst the buzz of chatter and laughter that little word: 'sex', spoken in a quiet conversation between Mary and Lucy seemed to jump off the sofa where they were whispering and into the middle of the room.
There was a hush as we smiled at one another.
We had shared a lot of personal stuff over the years; secret crushes, shameful lusts, exciting desires, pent up frustrations and disappointments, confessions of dark taboo fantasies, kinks and fetishes about which we had been sworn to secrecy, intimate details of our marital bedroom activities and graphic descriptions of the equipment and performance of our husbands that provoked either pity or envy in one another.
I opened another bottle of wine as Tina broke the ice.
"So ladies. Sex. How have we all been faring since we last met up? How long has it been? It must be over 3 years now."
I looked around. This was nice. To be together again with women I'd known for so long. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed their company.
I had always assumed we were just thrown together because our sons were the same age.
Perhaps that's why I hadn't made much of an effort to stay in touch when my son Josh went off to university three years ago. Sure, I'd bumped into Mary and Anne in town a few times; we'd been for drinks once or twice. We had managed to meet up for a picnic in the park during the town's summer festival each year when our boys were back for the holidays.
But the close friendship that came from daily and weekly contact, the bond of shared experiences, of family crises, decisions, responsibilities, the hopes and worries of motherhood; the thrill of opening another bottle of wine in the garden on a Friday before our husbands got back from work, the impromptu sleepovers arranged so we could stay and drink and talk; you can't plan that. It just has to happen.
And tonight it had.
Lucy piped up: "It's 3 years almost exactly Tina. I know because we came back from France in the middle of August before Jamie went off to Warwick University in the September. And we were just back in time for us to all get together."
"It's exactly 3 years." agreed Anne. "I know because it was Ben's 21st two days ago. And they all got together two days after his birthday three years ago because he was the last one to turn 18 so it was the first time they could all go to the pub and get served a pint of beer legally. Remember? We each drove here to drop the boys off and then we stayed to help you set up the big tent in the garden because they wanted to sleep out that night. Then you opened a bottle of wine and we all sat on your patio."
Which is what had brought us together now, three years later.
Our boys had all graduated from university this summer. The three years of undergraduate student life in cities and campuses around the country were over and they remained the best of friends. They had decided to honour the durability of their friendship and mark the start of a new chapter in their lives as they had always celebrated their rites of passage: by going round the taverns, bars and pubs of the town and getting heroically drunk.
Josh had asked me if Ben, Jamie, Ryan and Tommy could meet up at ours for pre-drinks before heading out. Of course I was delighted. It's always a pleasure to have them over and an honour to be the host.
The following afternoon Lucy phoned me up: nervously introducing herself as if we barely knew one another, I guess because we'd rarely phoned and hadn't talked for so long.
"Angela? Hi, it's Lucy; Jamie's mum, you remember?"
"Of course I remember, bloody hell, don't be silly Lucy, it's so good to hear you. How are you?"
"Oh I'm fine. Great. Listen, I'm bringing Jamie over to yours on Saturday. I wanted to ask if I should bring a bottle or two maybe? Like we used to. We could have a drink while the boys go out. Like last time."
I was genuinely overjoyed:
"I'm so pleased you suggested it Lucy. I had the same idea. That's going to be lovely. I'll make nibbles. Tim's away at the moment, again, so it'll just be me."
"Oh thank goodness. Oh God, sorry, I didn't mean that, how is Tim? It doesn't matter. it's just I wasn't going to bring Gerry. Gosh no. I need a break from husbands. Just us girls, please?"
I laughed and agreed.
I made sure I had up to date phone numbers for the others and promised to phone them myself as it was at my house.
They were equally excited.
It was a warm summer evening as the four mothers and four sons arrived. The women looked great: we'd clearly all made an effort to dress for the occasion. We began to pretend otherwise but Tina dismissed our false modesty:
"Well I know I look fabulous and spent an age choosing this outfit; why shouldn't we look wonderful for an evening with the girls? At least you ladies notice what I'm wearing, unlike men!"
We all laughed in agreement.
Josh butted in:
"I noticed what you were wearing mum, remember I said how sexy you look in your new dress."
He became self conscious, looked around at the other women who were staring at him and blushed:
"I mean you all do. I think you all look absolutely beautiful and stunning."
His friends joined in and began to shower us with compliments and praise.
I took Josh's arm and we led the party into the conservatory before it all became too much:
"Thank you boys, you are perfect gentlemen. Now let's go and have some cocktails."
Josh and I distributed the margaritas we'd made earlier. We all stood around talking to one another's sons, letting them flirt clumsily and making the usual comments about how much they'd grown while they told us what they planned to do with their lives now. We congratulated them on passing their degrees and we listened to their chatter as the alcohol went to their heads.
The boys were dressed in the accoutrements of early manhood; sports jackets, cufflinks and cologne and full of that ignorant worldly wise talk that young men affect to show off their maturity to one another and their mothers: politics, cars, football and the state of the economy. The other mothers and I exchanged knowing smiles; proud of our boys but only pretending to be impressed with the mannish patter for their benefit.
Our sons finished their drinks and headed into town. We waved them goodbye, watched them walk down the street jabbering excitedly in the evening sunshine until they disappeared from view. Then we hugged and went back inside. Tina and Mary helped me wash up the cocktail glasses, open a bottle of wine and fill bowls with olives and nuts while Lucy and Anne chatted in the conservatory. Then we drank wine and talked as the sun went down.
And so here we are.
Drinking wine and talking about sex again.
Tina looked in my direction:
"What about you Angela? How are things with you and Tim?"
So I was to go first. I'd expected it really, given that it was my domestic dramas with my cheating husband Tim that had dominated our girl talk three years ago. I didn't mind. In fact I realised just how much I'd needed to talk openly and honestly with a group of friends who wouldn't judge or condemn.
Angela's Story
I filled everyone's glasses and sat down.
"Things with me and Tim are...well, not a lot different really Tina. Did I tell you he stopped fucking his secretary when I found out about the affair? Yeah, he did. Not straight away though, and I suspect it was only because she dumped him. He says he's been faithful since but I don't know. I still don't trust him. He's away more than ever with work now so whether he has one night stands or he pays for sex when he's away on business I wouldn't know.
What I do know is that when he's at home he certainly doesn't show any interest in fucking me. That's why it's been so nice having Josh here with me for the summer."
I realized what I'd said. I blushed and my friends raised their eyebrows:
"Oh yes. What are you telling us Angela? Have you been a naughty mum?"
I stuttered in denial:
"No! No no no. Oh shit. That came out all wrong. I didn't mean like that. Although..."
Tina smirked at me:
"Oh Angela: 'although' what? Do tell."
I took a deep breath and began to formulate my feelings into words.