“Mum,” Tim answered after only one ring. “Where are you? We’re at the house, but you’re not here.”

“You’re at my house?” Panic surged inside Diane. “What are you doing there? Did we have plans?”

Diane looked towards Tamsin. The sight of her wrapped only in a sheet drew Diane’s attention away from Timothy’s voice in her ear. The only thing Diane wanted right then was to drop the phone, unwrap Tamsin and do things to her she had never deemed possible before last night.

“Mum?” Timothy’s voice came louder now. “Are you there?”

“Sorry, darling,” Diane tried to drag her mind back to the call. “I lost you there for a second. What were you saying?”

“We’re on our way to a baby furniture sale near Eastbourne and figured we’d stop by to say hi.”

“Of course, I’m just out for a walk,” Diane lied. “I’ll be home in about fifteen minutes.” She hung up and looked down at herself. First things first, she needed her clothes. She went to stand in front of Tamsin.

“Do you have to leave?” Tamsin grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her close to her.

“Tim and Lucy have dropped by out of the blue.” Diane put her head on Tamsin’s shoulder.

“Then you should go meet them,” Tamsin said softly. “Even though I’m quite reluctant to let you out of here.” She kissed Diane’s head.

“I know,” Diane said on a sigh. “I don’t want to leave.” She extricated herself from Tamsin’s embrace. “They’re on their way somewhere, so they won’t stay too long. I’ll come back here as soon as I can get rid of them?” Diane couldn’t believe she was talking about her son and daughter-in-law like that.

“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere.” Tamsin kissed her softly on the lips and Diane rushed upstairs to make herself presentable.

Diane entered her home to find Timothy and Lucy in the living room, looking at something on an iPad. They stood when they saw her and Timothy came around the coffee table to come give his mother a kiss.

“Hello darling,” Diane said. Lucy had joined them and Diane embraced her. “How are you both? How’s the baby?”

As she was walking over from Tamsin’s cottage Diane had done her best to assume a calm and normal demeanour. She did not want to spark any suspicion of anything unusual in Timothy.

“We’re both doing great,” Lucy said, rubbing her hand over her belly. “I had a check-up on Thursday and everything is as it should be.”

“I’m more curious about how you’re doing, Mum,” Tim said, adopting a stern look. “I couldn’t help but notice the two empty wine glasses on the table here.”

Diane looked down at the table. In the excitement of what had happened last night, and the rush to get back to Bramble, she’d forgotten to tidy up the remnants of the evening. She looked back up at Timothy and saw the teasing look in his eyes.

“Did you have a visit from a suitor last night?” he asked.

Panic gripped Diane and she tried to keep her face as straight as she could. “Don’t be ridiculous, dear. It was just Isabelle. We had a drink, but I was too tired to clean up. If I’d known you were coming, I would have made the house spic and span.” She gave him what she hoped was an ironic smile. “Now, who would like a cup of tea?”

She walked towards the kitchen, hoping they wouldn’t follow so she’d have time to get rid of the evidence that someone had been there for breakfast.

The previous night had been amazing and exciting and like nothing she could have imagined, but it had also overwhelmed her. She was definitely not ready to talk about it with Timothy yet. Not that she expected he would react badly to the idea of his mother seeing another woman. He was a child of his time, after all, and she had never heard him utter a single negative comment about Rob or any other gay person he had encountered. It was Diane herself who needed to wrap her head around it, who needed to process what had unfolded between her and Tamsin.

“Is everything all right, Mum?”

Diane jumped. She hadn’t heard Timothy walk into the kitchen as she was gathering cups and saucers for their tea.

“Yes, darling, of course it is,” Diane said, sending Tim her most motherly smile.

“You just seem a bit…” He paused and tilted his head, as if examining a patient. “There’s something about you today. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Are you sure there’s nothing you need to tell me?”

Diane picked up the tray on which she had placed the crockery and handed it to her son. “I don’t know what you’re on about. Here, take that into the living room.”

She picked up her handbag and took out her compact. In her rush to get back home from Tamsin’s she hadn’t really looked at herself, other than to pull a comb through her hair. It was hard to say peering into the small mirror, but maybe she did look a little different. Her features seemed more relaxed, and she was smiling exuberantly. She tried to adopt a more serious expression, but every time the edges of her mouth seemed to inch up of their own volition. It probably had to do with the fact that images kept floating to the forefront of her mind. Tamsin as she pulled her in to kiss her; as she let her eyes roam over Diane’s body after undressing her; as she dipped her head beneath the sheets to—Diane gave her head a small shake to dismiss that image.

She looked into the mirror again. A slight blush had crept into her cheeks now. She hoped Timothy would not comment on it.

The kettle started whistling and she took it off the stove. She poured water into the teapot and took it into the living room.

Timothy and Lucy had not lingered at Diane’s after having a cup of tea, as they had to carry on to Eastbourne. The sale was all recycled stuff and they wanted to be as environmentally-friendly as possible and not buy all new stuff for the baby.

All the talk of vintage furniture had brought Tamsin to Diane’s mind even more than she was already. Maybe Diane could ask her to restore something that she could give Tim and Lucy for the baby’s room.

Diane was impatient to get back to Tamsin. It was still early in the afternoon and they would be able to spend quite a few hours together. At the same time she felt she should take this time she had away from Tamsin to consider what had happened. She knew that as soon as she went back to Tamsin’s she would be unable to keep herself from enjoying the newly rediscovered physical pleasures.

Of course, every time she thought about last night, and this morning, her desire to return to Tamsin kept getting bigger and more unavoidable.

She decided she needed to speak to someone neutral, to rationalise things. She picked up her phone and called Isabelle.

“Please tell me you have some juicy details,” Isabelle greeted her. So much for polite hellos.

“I’m very well, thank you Isabelle. How are you?” Diane decided she wasn’t going to give in to her friend’s request so easily.

“Come on, don’t keep me waiting,” Isabelle insisted. “How did the date go? What did you cook? Did you do some more smooching?”

Diane tried to think of diplomatic ways to tell Isabelle about the previous night, but came up short. “It went well. We had toast and Marmite. And yes, we did kiss some more. Any other questions?”

“Oh, oh, slow down.” Diane could hear the agitation in Isabelle’s voice. “Toast and Marmite? What kind of a dinner is that?” She went quiet for a second. Then Diane heard a gasp on the other end of the line. “Did you only manage to serve toast because you were too busy serving yourself up to her—so to speak?”

Diane giggled. “Maybe,” she said coyly.

Another gasp. “Diane Thompson, you sly minx, I can’t believe it. So how was it? I know I said I wanted the juicy details, but now that there actually are juicy details, I think broad strokes will do.”

Diane sighed. “It was unbelievable. She’s—she’s just unbelievable. I never knew it could be like this. I know I don’t have masses of experience to compare it with. I’ve only ever slept with three men—that includes Lawrence. But, Isabelle, it’s like she touched something deep inside me.”

Isabelle chuckled. “Quite literally, I would think.”

Diane pretended not to hear her friend’s comment and continued. “I feel like my life has been changed fundamentally and now I don’t know how to get on with it.”

“You’re in love,” Isabelle said, her voice gentle now. “You probably don’t remember what it’s like, but that’s what it is.”

Diane thought about this. Could she really be in love with Tamsin? So quickly and unexpectedly? She tried to recall the early days of her and Lawrence’s courtship. They had been in love, that was for sure, and passionate, at least in the first few years. But this felt so much bigger, so much more life-altering.

“I suppose you’re right.” Diane threw her head back. “But right now I feel more like a randy teenager. All I can think about is getting back to her place so we can go another round.”

“Do you mean she’s waiting for you right now?” Isabelle sounded aghast. “Then what are you doing on the phone with me. Go, be with her. Call me tomorrow. We can talk about it some more. From what I gather, you lesbians love to process.”

It was Diane’s turn to gasp, but Isabelle had already hung up before she could utter a word of protest.

Twenty minutes later, Diane arrived at Tamsin’s cottage. As she opened the gate, Bramble came bounding towards her, greeting her with a lick on the hand.

Diane walked around the house to the garden and found Tamsin in a lounger, fast asleep. Her head was turned slightly to the side and her hands were held together on her belly. Diane didn’t want to disturb the peaceful tableau in front of her.

She crept over to the chair next to Tamsin and sat, stretching her legs in front of her. The chair gave a small squeak.

Tamsin turned towards her and opened her eyes. She gave Diane a languorous smile. “I nodded off. I think you drained me of all my energy.”

Diane smiled back at her. “Aren’t you fourteen years younger than me? Shouldn’t I be the one exhausted by last night’s shenanigans?”

Tamsin gave a small laugh. “Is that what we’re calling it? Because seeing you is giving me back my strength. I think I might be up to some more shenanigans pretty soon.”

“I sure hope so.” Diane stretched out her arm and placed her hand on Tamsin’s. “This old lady seems to have discovered a new source of energy and can’t wait to tap into it once more.”

“If you put it like that,” Tamsin said. She stood and swung one leg over Diane, straddling her. She took Diane’s face in her hands and gave her a slow, sensual kiss. “We mustn’t let your levels dip.” She kissed her again, moving her hands down Diane’s body.

Diane could feel her body heating up at Tamsin’s touch. “Let’s go inside,” she said.