Me and My Sisters Read Free Page A

given me a Tiffany’s box that morning, and inside was a lovely silver chain and a round silver pendant with J inscribed on it. I was thrilled and had shown it to my sisters when we arrived, but I knew Harry now felt belittled. Ever since then, all hope of the two brothers-in-law being friendly was gone. Jack had always been showy, but in the last few years he had gone to another level. Harry, who liked most people, couldn’t stand him. I knew Dad wasn’t keen on him either, but he tried not to show it out of loyalty to Sophie. To be honest, I thought Jack was a bit of an idiot, but I tried to like him for Sophie’s sake.
    I hung up the stockings on the fireplace and stood back beside Harry. Three big stockings, for Luke, Liam and Leo, and a mini-stocking at the end for Tom. I was suddenly overcome with love for my four boys. My little men. I fought back tears.
    Harry put his arm around me and kissed my cheek. ‘We’re very lucky.’
    I nodded, the tears now rolling down my face.
    We tucked Tom up in his cot and collapsed into our bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
    5.50 a.m .
    Three hours later, I was woken by a stocking smacking me on the head. ‘SANTA CAME!’ the triplets squealed, bouncing up and down on our bed.
    ‘It cannot be morning already!’ I croaked.
    Harry looked at his watch. ‘Well, it’s dawn.’ He leant over and kissed me. ‘Merry Christmas, Julie.’
    ‘Come on, Mummy! Come and see! Santa brought us a real live sleigh! It’s so cool.’ The triplets pulled at my arm until I stumbled out of bed.
    ‘Erry Issmas, Mummy.’ Tom clung to my leg.
    I bent down to pick him up and we all headed off to go sleigh-riding around the hall.

2
    Louise
    I hated being delayed. My plane to Dublin had been held up and there didn’t appear to be any good reason for it. It was infuriating. The flight wasn’t leaving until nine thirty, so I wouldn’t get to the hotel until eleven and I had at least two hours’ work to do. Thank God all the Christmas presents were organized. I had ordered all the children’s things from Hamley’s in November and the adults’ from Selfridges. They’d been gift-wrapped and delivered to Mum and Dad’s house.
    I poured myself a coffee – my second of the day: I never drank more than two, it dehydrated me – and sat down at an empty table in the lounge. I avoided eye contact with the man sitting at the table opposite me. He’d been trying to catch my attention since I’d walked into the Gold Club lounge and I was determined to ignore him. I didn’t feel like being chatted up. Not tonight. I had too much on my mind. Besides, he wasn’t very attractive and he had a beer belly. I never went for men who were unfit or overweight. They were clearly lazy, unhealthy and unfocused.
    I couldn’t imagine a life without exercise. It cleared my head in the mornings and gave me a physical and mental high. Over the last few months exercise had kept me sane as I tried to work out what to do with the mess I’d got myself into. I was still shocked when I thought back to that day. It was so unlike me to lose control. What an idiot I had been. I sighed, sipped my coffee and forced myself not to wonder how my family was going to react to my news. I didn’t want to think about it any more: I was worn out.
    Julie thought I was addicted to exercise and she might have been right, but at least it was a positive thing to be addicted to. I wished she’d start working out. She really needed to lose her baby weight and start taking control of her life. The triplets were a nightmare and she was always too tired to discipline them properly, which was hardly surprising considering she survived on a diet of chocolate biscuits and left-over fish-fingers.
    Last winter she’d rung me crying because she couldn’t fit into her fat jeans – her skinny ones were long gone – and I’d spent ages creating a detailed schedule of what she needed to do. I had typed up a day-to-day meal plan for