Families, relationships and home lives may ebb and flow, but a quiz team friendship is forever . . .
BY S. BEE
Jill
The winning team is . . . Brad and co!” the landlord announced. The pub crowd all cheered. Our team smiled and clapped along.
“Is it the same prize next week?” my fellow quizzer, Sarah, called out.
“Yup. A hundred quid cash,” the landlord replied.
A hundred pounds was good, but it wouldn’t go far shared between the three of us, I thought.
Yet it wasn’t really the prize that motivated us to meet as a quiz team every fortnight.
It was more the getting together to enjoy a brief escape from everyday stress and offer each other a listening ear – plus, there was always a giggle or two to look forward to.
There was me, Jill, admin support for the council; Laura, an estate agent; and Sarah, a primary school teacher.
We’d named our team the Friday Night Girls.
We all lived nearby and had met via the Neighbourhood Watch group. We’d bonded straight away.
My general knowledge specialist subjects were pop music from the ’70s to the early ’00s, plus science and chemistry.
Sarah’s were politics and Greek and Norse mythology, while Laura excelled in history and nature.
After the prize had been handed over, I bought another round of drinks.
“How are things going with organising the holiday with your flatmate?” Laura asked Sarah.
Sarah took a sip of wine.
“I chose last year, so it’s Jay’s turn. She wants to go rambling in the countryside, here in Britain.
“I know the weather can be nice, but – even in summer – there’s no guarantee. It seems unfair to knock back her suggestion, but I just don’t fancy having to swat swarms of midges away whenever we’re picnicking near rivers.”
I pulled a face.
“I wouldn’t either.”
Laura shuddered in sympathy. Turning to her, I asked, “So how about you? Have you reached a decision yet?”
“About getting married? No. Look, you know I’ve talked about this until the cows come home. Can we move on to something else, please?”
“Of course,” I said breezily.
Yet strangely, we fell silent. Then I broke the tension.
“If it’s any consolation, Laura, I haven’t come to a decision yet, either, about relocating.”
I, too, had a dilemma. Should my husband Terry and I move two hundred miles away to be near my parents?
T
