Sugar Secrets…& Confessions Read online

  “It’s OK,” she said. “Anyway, what are you doing calling me at this time? Aren’t you at work?”

  “Well, actually, I am at work, but I had to tell you. I’ve got some great news…”

  Glad someone has, thought Sonja. “Go on then…” she prompted.

  “I’m coming to the city. Next week, for a training course. I’m being put up in a swanky hotel on Monday and Tuesday, so I thought I’d come down a day earlier and stay with Anna on Sunday night. I’ve already spoken to her and she’s cool about it. So I thought we could get together on Sunday evening. That is, if you want to.”

  Sonja was stunned. This is a sign… she thought. For me to tell him face to face. Yeah, she reassured herself, far better to tell him like that than over the phone. At least then I can gauge his reaction a bit better.

  “That’s great,” she replied. “Really good news.”

  “Are you sure?” Owen asked, a little perplexed. By his reckoning, she didn’t sound too enthusiastic about the idea. “I mean, if you’ve already got something planned…”

  “No, nothing planned. Honest. It’ll be fun…”

  “So, I’ll call you nearer the time to arrange to meet up, OK?”

  “Great. Uh… look, there’s someone at the door,” Sonja lied. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you on Sunday, all right?”

  “Yeah, bye then.”

  Owen put down the receiver and sat staring at it for a few moments. Something was up, but he had no idea what.

  Sonja, meanwhile, came off the phone and began silently weeping tears of fear and relief all rolled into one.

  At last I’m going to be able to talk about this, she thought, because I don’t know if I can cope on my own for much longer. It’s good that I’ll be seeing Owen in a few days time. At least then I can tell him.

  She looked down at her stomach and began prodding at the flesh of her bare belly which was exposed between pink hipsters and a white cropped top.

  Won’t be able to wear these for much longer, she thought. I wonder when it will start to show? With a tummy as flat as hers, it wouldn’t be long, of that she was sure. Even if she wanted to keep the news to herself - and Owen - it would soon be obvious to anyone who cared to look that Sonja was pregnant.

  CHAPTER 6

  DOUBLE STANDARDS

  “Go on, you have to do it…”

  “You’ll never know unless you ask.”

  “Chicken out now and it’ll just keep on bugging you and bugging you. You might as well get it over and done with.”

  “Come on, Maya, just do it. For our sakes if no one else’s. You’ve been going around with a mouth like a dead fish ever since we decided to go to the festival.”

  Maya sat on the wall outside her house and laughed.

  “Cheers, Ol, you’re all heart.” She turned to Kerry and Joe and smiled. “I know you’re all absolutely right. It’s just that I reckon I’ve got about as much chance of my parents letting me go to the festival as I have of them letting me drop out of school to run aromatherapy classes for rugby players. Basically, it’s a complete non-starter.”

  “Hey, they might surprise you,” Kerry reassured her. “Look how they were about Alex.”

  Maya wasn’t convinced. “Hmmm, but that was only after they’d met him and realised what a responsible human being he was. Before that the thought of me going out with any guy, let alone one so much older than me, made them flip. They’ll be just the same about this.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Ollie said. “Why don’t you go into your house, put it to your parents, and we’ll all sit on this wall and stay here until you come back out and tell us what happened.”

  Ollie grinned then added, “No pressure!”

  Maya rolled her eyes. “You’re welcome to stay on my wall, but you might be there all night. Because I’m not going to promise anything like that. For one thing, I doubt Dad’s home yet. And for another, even if he is, I need to suss out what kind of a day they’ve both had at work first. If they’re tired and stressed, forget it.”

  Maya slid off the wall and headed up the drive. “Anyway, thanks for the pep talk and I’ll no doubt see you guys soon.”

  “You sure you won’t come to the pictures with us?” asked Kerry.

  “Honest, I’d better not. I told Mum this morning I was only going to the café after school. She’ll go ballistic if I don’t go home for tea when Brigid’s made it for me.”

  “Good luck!” Kerry called as they walked off towards the cinema to meet some of the others.

  “Thanks, I’ll need it,” Maya grinned cheerfully as she put her key in the lock and opened the door.

  Once inside, she could hear the distant drone of the television and the clank of pans coming from the kitchen. Other than that, the house sounded pretty peaceful.

  Nina Joshi poked her head around the kitchen door and acknowledged her daughter.

  “Maya, just in time. Brigid’s about to dish up. Have you had a good day at school?”

  “Fine thanks, Mum. You’re home early.”

  “Mmm. I just got in. I’ve brought some paperwork home for a meeting tomorrow which I’ll tackle later. I wanted us all to be together for dinner this evening because your father and I want to talk to you.”

  Maya’s heart sank.

  Sighing, she walked through to the kitchen, where her father was sitting at the table alongside Ravi, who was engrossed in The Simpsons on the little telly on top of the dishwasher. Sunny sat opposite, looking sullen {As usual, Maya thought). Brigid and Nina bustled about the cooker, between them slicing bread and serving up a stew.

  “Hi, Dad,” said Maya a little warily. “I didn’t expect to see you home at this time…”

  “My last few appointments were cancelled,” Sanjay explained, “so I managed to finish a little early for once.”

  “Will you not stay and eat with us?” Nina asked Brigid once the food was on the table and everyone was ready to sit down.

  “No, thanks anyway, I have to get back myself,” Brigid insisted, heading towards the hall for her bag and jacket. “I’ll see you all tomorrow,” she announced cheerily, giving a wave as she went.

  As Maya sat at the table, Sanjay Joshi picked up the remote control for the TV and flicked the off button, causing both Ravi and Sunny to pull faces at each other and glare at their father.

  “You know the rules,” he said. “No TV while we’re eating. And especially not tonight.”

  “What’s so special about tonight?” asked Sunny.

  “Well, your mother and I wanted to talk to you all about a holiday.”

  “Oh, wow, Daddy. Are we going to go on an aeroplane again?” Ravi demanded, wide-eyed with excitement.

  “Quite probably, Ravi.”

  “Brilliant!” Sunny cried. “When? Where? Will it mean I miss some school?”

  “No, Sunny, you won’t. We’re talking about going away towards the end of the summer. We thought we’d maybe go to Spain for a couple of weeks. What do you think?”

  Maya thought it was a rotten idea. The thought of spending so much time in the company of her little sister almost put her off her food. However, she didn’t want to get on the wrong side of her parents by complaining, not tonight.

  “That’s great,” she lied through gritted teeth. “When exactly?”

  “We’re not sure,” her father carried on, obviously enthused by the idea. “It depends on what sort of availability there is. But we thought it would be nice to rent a villa somewhere, hire a car and tour round. I think we could all do with a break. Both your mother and I have had a busy time recently and it will do you good to have some time off before your big year of exams. And it’ll be nice to do something as a family, don’t you think?”

  “Uh, yes,” said Maya uncertainly.

  “Excellent, well, we’ll keep you posted.”

  Maya smiled. This is the perfect opportunity to collar them about the festival, she thought. They’re on good form tonight.

  “Actuall
y,” she said, “since you’re both here, I wanted to have a word with you as well….”

  “Can I stay at Lucy’s this weekend?” Sunny suddenly butted in.

  Maya looked daggers at her sister. She’d obviously had the same idea about making the most of their parents’ benevolent mood.

  “Sorry, Maya,” Nina said, acknowledging that her daughter had been rudely interrupted. “What do you mean, Sunny?” she carried on. “The whole weekend?”

  “Uh, well, Friday and Saturday. Her mother’s invited me. They want to take us out for the day on Saturday to see some museums or something and it would mean getting up early and getting home late. So they thought it made more sense to stay.”

  “I don’t see why not, Sunny,” said Sanjay, looking at Nina who nodded her approval. “So long as Lucy’s parents are taking you we don’t have a problem with that at all.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Sunny smiled. She turned to Maya and gave her a superior smirk, then went back to eating her food.

  “So anyway. Maya, what were you saying?” Nina asked.

  Encouraged by their response to Sunny’s request, Maya took a deep breath and began again.

  “There’s a music festival not too far from here the weekend after - it’s at Dansby.”

  “Mmm, I think I’ve heard some of the youngsters talking about it at work,” Nina nodded.

  “Anyway, it’s over two days and The Loud are playing and all my friends are going - you know, Kerry, Sonja…” Maya was careful to mention her more sensible friends, the ones she knew her parents approved of.

  “There’s a big camp site there so everyone’s planning on staying overnight,” continued Maya, gabbling now. “We’ve got two enormous tents, with loads of space and sleeping bags and stuff, and it’ll be good fun and safe with the boys around and I’d really really like to go. What do you think?”

  By the looks on her parents’ faces, Maya knew immediately what they thought. No way. The relaxed, smiley faces in holiday-planning mode had been replaced by frowny, worried ones.

  Nina spoke first, as she normally did in these situations.

  “So tell me, Maya,” she said in a voice Maya knew meant she was about to probe deeper, “this festival. What sort of music festival is it? And what sort of people will be going there, other than your friends?”

  “People like me, Mum. Kids my age or older. Some younger,” she added quickly. “You know, normal people.”

  Silence.

  “And you’re planning on spending the night in a tent. Will Alex be there?”

  “Uh, yes. No. I don’t know. To be honest, I haven’t asked him.”

  “But assuming he is going, then he’ll be staying with you? And your friends?”

  “Yes, I guess so. But like I said, there are two tents. One for the boys, one for the girls.”

  Nina and Sanjay exchanged looks which perfectly matched each other and expressed the same emotion - complete disbelief.

  “I think what your mother is trying to establish is that you are absolutely sure of the sleeping arrangements,” Sanjay began. “And without wanting to sound patronising, we weren’t born yesterday. We know as well as you do what young people get up to at times like this. I worry about the drunkenness, drugs, sex… Maya, I would hate to think that you might be tempted by friends who might not be as sensible as you…”

  “Oh, come on, Dad…” Maya started to argue, frustrated that she wasn’t being trusted to use her own judgement as usual.

  “I’m only thinking of you, Maya,” her father continued, holding his hand up to silence her objections. “I’m sure we can compromise. You say it’s being held not too far from here. If that is the case, then why can’t you just come home at the end of the first day, then go back the following morning, if you’re so insistent on not missing anything?”

  “But that’s just not the same, is it?” Maya protested. “I’ll have to leave too early to see the best acts and I’ll miss out on all the fun…”

  As soon as Maya had said that she knew she’d made a mistake. However innocently she meant the statement to be, she was virtually admitting that any ‘fun’ was to be had at night.

  “I’m sorry, Maya,” said her father, “I would like to agree, but I - we - simply can’t. We would never forgive ourselves if anything happened to you because of someone else’s rashness. I think you’re much better off coming home on Saturday evening and returning on Sunday. I don’t see the problem in that.”

  “But, Dad…” Maya began to protest.

  Her father put up his hand again to silence her.

  “No. Maya, there’s nothing more to say. You do as I’ve suggested or you don’t go at all. That’s my decision and that’s the end of it.”

  CHAPTER 7

  DEKE ON THE PROWL

  “I can’t believe your old man lets you get away with mega house parties like this. Mine would throw a fit. How often did you say you stage these things?”

  “Whenever I like,” shrugged Matt. “To be honest, he’s not around much - always away on business and stuff - so I’ve pretty much got the run of the place.”

  Deke looked around Matt’s darkened den, unlit except for a powerful strobe and flashing coloured lights in front of his DJ decks. From what he could work out so far, there was Matt’s own room, which was kitted out with his sound equipment, most up-to-date CDs and regular lads’ hanging out stuff; there was a kitchen upstairs full of drinks and crisps; there was the conservatory, which was attached to the kitchen, and the garden, which was like an extension of the den in the open air. It was a great place for chilling out under the stars.

  “Can’t be bad. And your girlfriends are babes too,” said Deke, his eyes following Maya as she wandered across the den towards Ollie and Kerry.

  “Yeah, and she’s taken,” Matt pointed out.

  “Shame. Anyone here who isn’t? Maybe a Britney Spears lookalike?”

  “Hmmm, well there’s my mate, Sonja - she’s a bit of a babe. But the only problem there is that she’s got a long-distance boyfriend up in Newcastle.”

  “That’s his problem, not mine,” Deke laughed. “Where is she then?”

  “Dunno, I haven’t seen her yet. Hang on…”

  Matt looked over to where Kerry, Ollie and Maya were chatting.

  “Hey, Kez,” he hollered. Kerry looked round and gave him a little wave. “Where’s Son tonight?”

  “She’s not coming,” Kerry called back. “She’s got a really bad headache. She asked me to tell you. I was just waiting for the right moment. Sorry.”

  “No worries.” He turned back to Deke. “She’s a bit too much in lurrve anyway, mate, if you know what I mean. Actually, though, I’ve got a friend who’s sort of a blonde bombshell. At least she is this week - she might have dyed her hair burgundy by the next time I see her.”

  Matt scanned the room looking for Cat. “Uh… there she is. In the skintight all-in-one and spiky boots.”

  “Yeah, I noticed her earlier,” Deke nodded. “Seems a bit scary-looking to me.”

  “Cat? Nah, once you get past the mad clothes and hair, she’s sound.”

  “I’ll take your word for it, mate! Personally, I prefer a more natural look, where you don’t get a mouthful of Max Factor when you snog ‘em. What about her, the one who’s just walked in. She’s gorgeous.”

  Matt turned and followed Deke’s line of vision to see that Anna was heading towards them. Wow, you look amazing! Matt thought as he watched her.

  She was wearing a little floaty, layered silk dress with shoelace straps and matching strappy sandals. Her brown hair was piled on top of her head with wispy bits pulled out to frame her face. She wore only a little eye make-up and a dark, berry-coloured lipstick which emphasised her perfect mouth. Matt practically melted at the sight of her.

  “Great!” Deke went on. “She’s heading right on over. I knew I looked good tonight, but I didn’t expect to pull quite so easily.”

  “Uh, you haven’t,” Matt smirked, “That�
�s Anna and she’s definitely taken.”

  “Hiya. Missed me?” said Anna once she’d got close enough to plant a kiss on Matt’s lips and stroke his face.

  “Uh, right. I catch your drift,” Deke chuckled, holding his hands up and backing away. “I’ll have a scout around then. See you later!”

  “Sure.”

  “What was all that about?” Anna asked innocently as Deke wandered off towards the kitchen.

  “That’s Deke,” explained Matt, “the promoter. Remember he was in the café with me a couple of days ago?”

  Anna nodded.

  “He’s after a bit of lurrve action tonight. I think he would have liked it to have been with you.”

  Anna moved a little closer and wrapped her arms around Matt.

  “I hope you put him right on that score…” she said, her head raised towards him, her mouth drawn upwards into a little smile.

  “Sure did,” came the muffled reply as Matt buried his head into her neck and began kissing her.

  Anna giggled. “Hey, that tickles!”

  “S’meant to.”

  “Hey, you two lovebirds,” OIlie interrupted, coming up and putting his arms around Matt and Anna, “any chance of putting some serious dance music on? Liven things up? This stuff is a bit girlie for me.”

  “Course, why don’t you help yourself? I’m sure you can find something with a harder edge. In fact, I think I’ve still got your Charlotte Church CD here,” Matt suggested sarcastically.

  “Ooh, touched a nerve, touched a nerve,” jibed OIlie mercilessly. “I see your mate Deke has turned up then,” he added.

  “Yeah,” Matt nodded. “I think he might be someone worth keeping in touch with. He’s got loads of contacts in the business and he was telling me he even booked some of the DJs for Dansby.”

  “Wow, really? I hope you put a good word in for yourself?”

  “I tried, but he’s already got it sorted. But you never know, do you? Something might come up in the future and if I keep tabs on him, I might get some work out of it.”