Precious Prosecco moments with friends
‘Surprise!’ Andrea and Lou were on the doorstep beaming at her, dressed in training shoes, shorts and tees, each bearing a bottle of Prosecco.
‘First, we run as planned. Then we party. Happy new home!’ Andrea announced.
It was the following Friday evening, the end of the first week in her new flat. The last thing Claire felt like at that moment was going jogging – she’d not long been home from work and she was absolutely jiggered – but once she got going, she was usually fine. They had got to two and a half fairly comfortable miles now, with two weeks to go to the Big Race.
Andrea looked down at Claire’s work clothes. ‘Had you forgotten the Friday training session, lovely?’
‘Might have done – sorry, guys. It’s been a topsy-turvy week, with moving in.’ She had in fact envisaged a night in with feet up, TV on and a box set at the ready, possibly with a trip to the Co-op for a tub of ice cream. It had just been such a busy week, with work as normal and unpacking every evening. But she rallied. ‘It’s fine – I’ll get changed in a flash. And thank you. Come on in. Welcome to my humble abode.’
‘Ah, it looks lovely,’ said Andrea as she entered the hallway, which was painted a pastel green – not Claire’s favourite colour, but she could live with it for now. She’d hung up an ivory shabby-chic-style mirror to give it a sense of space.
‘The living room is really sweet.’ Lou had popped her head in through the open doorway. Claire had more or less sorted that room out. Her comfy beige sofa was installed with a couple of new cushions, taking up much of the space. And she’d kept the small wooden coffee table and matching TV stand from the old house.
Andrea was already through into the kitchen. ‘Hmm, now this is nice.’
The kitchen had been recently done out with light oak-style units and a dark-grey marble-effect work surface. It did look good, and was Claire’s favourite room. It was fairly compact, especially with the kitchen table and chairs in it, but it was proving easy to work in. She’d give the oven a go soon and try out some baking; see how it handled cooking a loaf or two. It had only had to deal with warming up a pizza so far.
‘Okay, I’ll nip upstairs and quickly change. Let’s get this run over with, then we can chill out with that bubbly. Go ahead and pop them in the fridge, if you like. Thanks so much, guys.’
A quick trip round the corner to the shops once they got back would soon sort out some nibbles, she mused on her way to her bedroom. She’d get some spring rolls and starter-style treats to heat up, and she’d do some cheese and biscuits too. That would serve as supper for them all. Other than the ice cream scenario, she hadn’t even planned what she was going to have for tea up to that point, anyhow.
Sal turned up five minutes later in running gear with yet another bottle of Prosecco and some gorgeous-looking Belgian chocolate truffles, obviously having been kept in the loop too.
Five minutes later, Bella’s Babes were grouped on the pavement outside Claire’s new home.
‘Right, ladies – quads, squats and pods!’ Andrea was making up her own exercise terms for good measure, which made them grin. Lou started off the warm-up routine she insisted they do to ensure there were no pulled muscles before the big day.
The stretch they were currently performing involved balancing on one leg with the other leg pulled up behind as you held onto your ankle. As they were wobbling like a gaggle of half-drunk flamingos, two lads pulled up beside them on chopper bikes, smirking. They looked about twelve. ‘All right, ladies?’ One of them gave a cheeky grin. The other winked, then burst out laughing, before they scooted off.
‘Great, thanks,’ Andrea shouted after them. ‘Cheeky little gits.’ She turned back to the group.
‘All for a good cause,’ reminded Claire. ‘Let’s set to it.’
And they were off.
Twenty-seven minutes and forty-three seconds later by Lou’s Garmin measurements, they were staggering back up to Claire’s front gate.
‘Hah, we did it. And in under twenty-eight minutes. Well done, ladies!’ Lou congratulated them.
‘Blimey – that last bit nearly finished me off. I’m sure you were speeding up, Lou.’ Andrea was still out of breath.
‘Might have been just a teensy bit – I saw that we might do our best run yet. And we did!’
‘Yay!’ cheered Claire. ‘Right, time for showers, then Prosecco. Actually, did you lot think to bring a change of clothes?’
‘Ha-hah, yes indeed, we’re not daft, you know. All organized. There’s a bag of stuff we left in the hall,’ said Andrea.
‘Perfect. Don’t want you lot all smelly in my new lounge,’ Claire teased.
‘Well, you know who your friends are,’ quipped Andrea. ‘We’re doing all this for you, and what do we get for it?’
‘A shower, Prosecco and chocolates, and when I get back from the shop in a mo, you can have some supper too. I’ll nip for some nibbles while you lot get cleaned up.’
‘And what about you? God, I feel sorry for the checkout person. Are you going like that? You’ll be all stinky,’ her sister added.
‘Well, we can’t all shower at once.’
‘Might be fun.’ Andrea was on full form.
Sal looked horrified.
‘Don’t mind her, she’s only joking.’ Claire was accustomed to Andrea’s quirky sense of humour.
‘Might not be.’ Andrea kept it up with a cheeky grin.
‘Behave, you nutter. There’s no way I’m getting in a shower with you.’
The popping of corks sounded fabulous. Precious Prosecco moments with friends. They had a lovely evening chatting, griping about their aches and pains from their training, and discussing the impending run and the implications of the Pretty Muddy event.
‘God only knows what you’ve got us into, Andrea,’ Claire laughed.
‘Ah, it’ll be fun. We’ll just throw ourselves into whatever. And boss Dave from the office is fully backing us. He’s even sending a photographer from the paper on the day to get some action shots.’
‘Jeez,’ groaned Lou. ‘I can’t wait to see those plastered all over the newspaper. Us lot looking like a load of mud wrestlers!’
‘It’ll raise a load of cash.’ Sal was looking on the bright side.
‘And plenty of laughs,’ added Claire.
‘Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound,’ Andrea said, trying to look excited.
‘And let’s hope we make loads of pounds for Cancer Research,’ said Lou.
‘Absolutely.’
‘Well, if all those poor people can get though their surgery and their scars and the chemo and everything else, then I’m sure we can all put up with a bit of mud,’ Claire said bracingly.
‘Exactly,’ Sal agreed.
‘Well said, that girl.’
‘Cheers guys.’
‘To Bella’s Babes,’ they said together, raising their glasses.
‘To Bella’s Babes and the mud wrestling!’ added Andrea.