wearing Doc Martens.
‘The thing is, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last couple of days,’ she said. ‘And I’ve come to a conclusion. I don’t want a husband - at least not at the moment anyway.’ We gaped at her. Not want a husband. How could she possibly say that? This is what this club was all about - to fill in that missing void in our lives.
‘What on earth do you mean?’ spluttered Tash. ‘I know I always fall for other people’s husbands and I’m the worst possible example to follow, but I do eventually want one of my own.’
‘I know, and I do possibly one day too,’ said Rach. And then she dropped her bombshell. ‘But I’ve decided I want a baby more than anything.’ We all gaped for the second time at her. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Rach had always been mad about children. But she was a successful doctor - how could she possibly fit a baby into her life?
More to the point - how could she possibly have a baby if she didn’t have a man in her life?
‘You’ve forgotten one thing,’ Kaz pointed out to her. ‘You need to find a husband first. Babies aren’t created out of thin air, you know.’
‘It’s not as mad as it seems,’ said Rach. ‘I’m simply going to use a sperm donor.’ For the first time in the years that I’ve known the girls, not one of them could say a word, including me. We knew Rach loved kids, but not to this extent.
‘Don’t look so shocked,’ she said, smiling around at us. ‘It’s not a problem now to be a single mother, either by adoption or by sperm donor. Look at Angelina Jolie.’
‘But, Rach, think of all the practicalities,’ I said, desperately. ‘Angelina has a whole army of staff to help her out, and she earns about a trillion dollars for each film she makes. Not to mention having a sex god like Brad Pitt on hand too. You, on the other hand, will have to work all the hours God sends, with no one to help you out, for a fairly crap wage. It won’t be all sunglasses and glamorous baby slings, you know.’
‘The next thing we know Rach will have been inseminated six times, and she will have given birth to six rainbow children and be trailing them around the globe,’ said Kaz shaking her head and staring gloomily into her wine.
‘Look, girls, it’s something I’ve thought long and hard about, and I want to do it,’ said Rach. ‘Having a baby is more important to me than having a man, and that’s what this club has helped me see. It’s made me realise that I can’t settle for second best, and what the important things are in life. And if a suitable husband comes up later, then that’s great. But this is going to be my priority.’
I got up from the table and gave her a hug.
‘If that’s what you want, then I’m behind you,’ I said to her, looking around at the girls. They nodded in agreement. ‘As long as you don’t become too mumsy and disappear into a Wisteria Lane type bubble and drop all your friends,’ I added.
The girls knew I had a whole swarm of bees in my bonnet about women who ditched their friends when children came along. I’d had a friend called Sadie at the model agency when I first started, another booker on the front desk, whom I’d been good friends with for about two years when she fell pregnant.
I’d been thrilled for her, but then as soon as her baby daughter arrived, she disappeared into a domestic hellhole - a world of breast milk, rigid sleeping patterns that couldn’t be disturbed even if a nuclear bomb was dropped in Cheshire, and catchment areas for local schools.
She never wanted to get together for a natter any more, go out for a quick drink, or even have a normal conversation about the things we used to talk about. And she never answered her mobile phone after six. It was as if she’d turned into a Stepford Wife.
‘Honestly,’ I had grumbled to Rach at the time. ‘When children were born in Victorian times, people’s lives didn’t change at all. They had
‘The thing is, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last couple of days,’ she said. ‘And I’ve come to a conclusion. I don’t want a husband - at least not at the moment anyway.’ We gaped at her. Not want a husband. How could she possibly say that? This is what this club was all about - to fill in that missing void in our lives.
‘What on earth do you mean?’ spluttered Tash. ‘I know I always fall for other people’s husbands and I’m the worst possible example to follow, but I do eventually want one of my own.’
‘I know, and I do possibly one day too,’ said Rach. And then she dropped her bombshell. ‘But I’ve decided I want a baby more than anything.’ We all gaped for the second time at her. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Rach had always been mad about children. But she was a successful doctor - how could she possibly fit a baby into her life?
More to the point - how could she possibly have a baby if she didn’t have a man in her life?
‘You’ve forgotten one thing,’ Kaz pointed out to her. ‘You need to find a husband first. Babies aren’t created out of thin air, you know.’
‘It’s not as mad as it seems,’ said Rach. ‘I’m simply going to use a sperm donor.’ For the first time in the years that I’ve known the girls, not one of them could say a word, including me. We knew Rach loved kids, but not to this extent.
‘Don’t look so shocked,’ she said, smiling around at us. ‘It’s not a problem now to be a single mother, either by adoption or by sperm donor. Look at Angelina Jolie.’
‘But, Rach, think of all the practicalities,’ I said, desperately. ‘Angelina has a whole army of staff to help her out, and she earns about a trillion dollars for each film she makes. Not to mention having a sex god like Brad Pitt on hand too. You, on the other hand, will have to work all the hours God sends, with no one to help you out, for a fairly crap wage. It won’t be all sunglasses and glamorous baby slings, you know.’
‘The next thing we know Rach will have been inseminated six times, and she will have given birth to six rainbow children and be trailing them around the globe,’ said Kaz shaking her head and staring gloomily into her wine.
‘Look, girls, it’s something I’ve thought long and hard about, and I want to do it,’ said Rach. ‘Having a baby is more important to me than having a man, and that’s what this club has helped me see. It’s made me realise that I can’t settle for second best, and what the important things are in life. And if a suitable husband comes up later, then that’s great. But this is going to be my priority.’
I got up from the table and gave her a hug.
‘If that’s what you want, then I’m behind you,’ I said to her, looking around at the girls. They nodded in agreement. ‘As long as you don’t become too mumsy and disappear into a Wisteria Lane type bubble and drop all your friends,’ I added.
The girls knew I had a whole swarm of bees in my bonnet about women who ditched their friends when children came along. I’d had a friend called Sadie at the model agency when I first started, another booker on the front desk, whom I’d been good friends with for about two years when she fell pregnant.
I’d been thrilled for her, but then as soon as her baby daughter arrived, she disappeared into a domestic hellhole - a world of breast milk, rigid sleeping patterns that couldn’t be disturbed even if a nuclear bomb was dropped in Cheshire, and catchment areas for local schools.
She never wanted to get together for a natter any more, go out for a quick drink, or even have a normal conversation about the things we used to talk about. And she never answered her mobile phone after six. It was as if she’d turned into a Stepford Wife.
‘Honestly,’ I had grumbled to Rach at the time. ‘When children were born in Victorian times, people’s lives didn’t change at all. They had
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