Wendy had met him online, but the man who turned up for their first date was very different in real life
Sitting at the mirror, Wendy looked down at the array of eyeshadows, blunt lipsticks and blushers that she had unleashed from the furry insides of various handbags. Lilac would do it, she thought. A colour that could trick her hazel eyes into looking green, and hopefully more alluring.
She hadn’t been on a date for five years. She’d been careful. Careful about who she brought into Tom and Sophie’s life. Mark was the most recent, and he had come and gone like a tornado. It had been exciting at the time, but his sudden disappearance had left a hole, not just for her but the kids too.
Now the children were older and were happy to spend more time away from her and, well, she thought she would give online dating a go.
She was surprised it had been her mum’s idea. Pragmatic as usual, her mother had said, ‘What have you got to lose, Wendy? I mean, being a teacher, you’re not going to get too many spare men chasing you up the school corridors, are you?’
Now, it felt as though the house was sleeping. Tom and Sophie were with their father for a couple of weeks. She hadn’t wanted them to go, but she was surprised she was enjoying the quiet.
She looked at herself with one raised eyebrow. A line of yesterday’s mascara had found a crow’s foot. She hadn’t noticed it there before. Maybe it was just a crease of sleep that would iron out during the course of the day. Or maybe it was a permanent feature, stuck on her face forever more.
She still felt a bit woozy with sleep. She’d been sleeping more heavily recently. Gone were the days when she had to rise to a needy child. That instinct of waking at the slightest noise or movement was dying in her.
She looked in the mirror again. The morning sun played with the chestnut in her hair, which had been cut into a chic bob.
She had lied about her age in her profile, but her photograph had been pretty much up-to-date. She and her mother had laughed about the ‘cyber winks’ she had received from men on the site. Not the real thing, but better than nothing.
She’d chosen James. They had arranged to meet for lunch. It was 9am and she had four hours to get ready. She’d gone to bed in her make-up. But who cared? It was the weekend.
Squirting some cream onto cotton wool, she took off yesterday’s face. Then she decided to have a soak in a bubble bath. She let the luscious froth encase her bod
