Now and Then Friends by Kate Hewitt

her lips together, unrepentant.
    â€œWhy didn’t you phone the prescription in, or text me? I could have picked it up on the way home.” Meghan didn’t answer, and for the first time since she’d come into the room, Rachel registered her sister’s outfit: tight miniskirt, clingy top, and way too much makeup. “You’re not working at the pub tonight, are you?”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œThen why . . . ?” Nathan started crying again, a halfhearted attempt that told Rachel he was either exhausted or knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere. Probably both.
    â€œI’m going out.” Meghan nudged Nathan with her foot. “Oy. A little quieter.”
    â€œGoing out? And I’m babysitting Nathan, I suppose?”
    Meghan flicked her gaze from her reflection to Rachel. “I’ll put Nathan to sleep first, if you can’t be arsed.”
    â€œHe’s your son,” Rachel snapped, then took a deep breath. This wasn’t Nathan’s fault. “Sorry.”
    â€œYou should be.”
    Meghan hauled Nathan up onto her hip, and he hooked one hand around the neckline of her top so Rachel could see the strap of a cherry red bra underneath. It looked new.
    â€œAre you going out on a
date
?”
    â€œMaybe.”
    Meghan had always been tight-lipped about her love life. No one even knew who Nathan’s father was, only that he wasn’t in the picture and never had been. One day she’d announced she was pregnant, she was keeping the baby, and no one was to question or even discuss it. Rachel had been overwhelmed at the thought of coping with a newborn along with their mother and Lily, but she could hardly demand Meghan not have the baby. And she loved Nathan, even if she felt as if her maternal affection had been spent on Lily.
    Since Nathan’s birth Meghan had gone out on the occasional Saturday night with some girlfriends, but never on a Wednesday and never looking like . . . that. “You’re not dressed like a maybe,” Rachel said, and Meghan smiled smugly.
    â€œJust because you haven’t been able to get it on with Rob Telford doesn’t mean I can’t try.”
    â€œYou’re going on a date with
Rob Telford
?”
    â€œNo, but then neither are you.”
    Rachel shook her head, exasperated. “So who, then?”
    â€œNever you mind. Come on, Nath.” Meghan yanked a pair of Thomas the Tank Engine pajamas from the top drawer of the bureau she shared with her son. “Time to get ready for bed.”
    â€œI haven’t even started tea yet—”
    â€œNathan and I had toasties down at the beach café.”
    â€œIn this weather?” It was still raining outside, the drops hitting the windows like bullets.
    Meghan shrugged. “It gave us something to do, and Nathan likes to play with Noah.” She picked Nathan up and plopped him on the bed, stripping the clothes from his toddler-belly body with practiced speed.
    â€œIf you need something to do, how about cleaning the house? Or making tea? Or getting Mum’s prescription refilled?”
    For a second Meghan’s eyes flashed with ire. “I took care of my own tea, and you’ll find the sitting room is actually decent.”
    â€œAnd Mum’s prescription—”
    â€œI forgot. I’m sorry, okay?” Her voice rose, and alarmed, Nathan let out an experimental cry they both ignored. Meghan took a deep breath and flipped her hair over her shoulders. “Look, I told you I’ll put Nathan to bed before I go out. What’s the big deal?”
    The big deal was Rachel wanted to go out. She wanted to escape the confines of her life for an evening, flirt with Rob Telford or anyone,
forget
for a few minutes. She stared at Meghan for a few seconds and then sighed. “There’s no big deal. Come on, Nathan.” She scooped the little boy up into her arms. “How about we do some