As it was a lovely day, Jack left the top down, and Paula was unable to decide whether it was better to stay quiet and not swallow any flies, or to break up Tara's ceaseless monologue from the back seat. She had sat herself forward between the two seats, so that her chest rested on the edge of his seat, and every time he changed gear, he was forced to brush past it. Although Paula didn't drive, she did feel he was changing gear rather more than was strictly necessary, surely the brake was designed to slow the car, you didn't have to use the gears all the time did you?

"So who is Simon then?" Paula finally decided to brave the insect life,

"He's a mate of mine, we all went to the same school. He's a good mate, but he's having a real hard time of it at the moment, his girlfriend has just finished him."

Paula grimaced sympathetically, "Sounds like Helen, she's still really cut up about her break-up with Ed."

"Mmm, perhaps, but maybe you shouldn't mention it, Lisa left him for Toni!"

The way he emphasized the name made Paula think that Tony was obviously a wide-boy, and should be avoided at all costs, probably a real sleaze, who thinks he is God's gift; hey maybe she should introduce him to Tara, but before she could make the suggestion, a loud tooting from behind made her turn round in her seat to see what was happening. Anna's green mini was coming up behind them at a speed that would make Penelope Pitstop flinch, and sat in the back was a large bloke with floppy hair and an obviously recent broken nose.

"Not another rugby player" Paula groaned, "that's too much, even for Anna".

"What, oh the nose, no, that was, erm, an unfortunate accident with Toni" Jack said with a grin, "but please don't mention it, as you can imagine, he is rather sensitive about the whole episode".

As they reached the car park at Weston, Paula was feeling really windswept, and was thankful when Tara announced that she would have to find a Ladies to make repair work to her face. "A woman should always look her best, when she is trying on clothes, you know". And with this statement, she pulled Paula into the nearby café, leaving Jack to feed coins into the meter.

"Well, he's a bit of alright, isn't he, Annie kept him quiet, and how come he never ended up at the flat when we were at uni?" Tara flickered her newly mascara'd lashes at herself in the dusty mirror, before attacking them with her eyelash curlers "… and I think he likes me, you know he was looking at me in the rearview mirror the whole way down here". As she babbled on, Paula started to feel the familiar feel of rejection heading down to the pit of her stomach. Of course Jack would like Tara - she was gorgeous. But then again, she herself was no slouch in the looks department, and hadn't Tara an ego bigger than Robbie Willliams? Paula mentally shook herself, and pinched Tara's new Clinique lipstick, smiling to herself as she asked "How's Iain?"

Iain had come to stay over a few times at university, and all the girls liked him. He was a gentle giant of the Merchant Ivory tradition, who obviously doted on Tara, but was one of the few people, apart from her stepmother, (whom Tara referred to lovingly as step monster) who could actually make Tara toe the line.

"Oh, he's all right. I just wish he were a bit more exciting. He is still insisting that we wait until after the wedding before we sleep together, which I suppose is lovely, and really refreshing nowadays, but if only he knew how much time I am spending in Anne Summers, he would have a fit".

Paula laughed, "he just loves you, and wants everything to be right for you both, you should be honoured," she broke off as two ladies came through into the toilets. Paula waited while Tara gathered together her make-up collection, "So are you looking for anything special then?"

Paula smiled, "no, I bought a new dress before I came down here, that I can wear tonight. What about you?"

"There is a new dress in Paul Smith that is to die for, and at the bargain price of £249.99, I may have to treat myself. And perhaps some shoes to with it."

Paula rolled her eyes and laughed as they both re-entered the sunshine to find the others all stood around waiting for them.

"Are you all right Paula?" asked Jack, "I hope the drive down didn't make you too ill?"

"No, honest, I'm O.K. thanks" I'm going to kill you, she thought to herself, as out of the corner of her eye she could see Anna quickly turning her smothered laugh into a cough, and Helen and Tara looking at her quizzically.

"I didn't know you got travel-sick Paula," said Helen

"Paula have you met Simon" chipped in Anna, and before anyone could answer, she linked arms with Tara and Paula, and started to walk off in the direction of the shops leaving Helen no choice but to walk with Jack and Simon.

As the six of them walked in the direction of the shops, Paula felt as though they were reliving the halcyon days of uni, where everyone was relaxed, friendly, and apart from the workload that the course produced, there was little stress. Simon seemed nice, she could hear him and Jack chatting behind, and they were both making an effort to include Helen in the conversation, and surprise surprise, Helen was actually responding, although more to Jack than Simon, Paula noted with some trepidation. Anna and Tara were discussing the dress in Paul Smith, and arguing good-naturedly about the colour.

"It's 2 o'clock now," noted Anna, glancing down at her watch, "How about if we split up, and meet up again at five, that should give us enough time to get back home, get something to eat, and get ready for tonight, shouldn't it?" she asked Tara, who would probably take the longest time. The others all nodded their agreement. "Right then, Tara should you and I go and buy some clothes? What are the rest of you going to do, Helen?"

"Well, I thought I might go and have a look in WHSmiths, see if the new Terry Pratchett book has come out yet."

"Oh Helen," laughed Tara, "Don't they have any bookshops in Manchester then?"

"Hey, I'll come with you, if that's all right," said Simon, "I haven't got his new one yet."

"Well, I certainly don't want to go dress shopping, and I'm not into Terry Pratchett," laughed Jack. "What are we going to do Paula?"

WE…

"I don't mind. You're the local, you tell me what there is to do here."

"Well, we can just have a wander around, and see if we can find any good pubs."

Anna winked at Paula as they group split up, and the last thing Paula heard was Tara saying, "Lilac, with my eyes!"

"Welcome to Weston!" Jack stood on the prom and opened his arms wide to encompass the landscape. "Now you know why the locals refer to it as Weston-Super-Mud".

Paula laughed, "So did you used to come here a lot then?"

"When we were younger, the gang used to come here and stop over. Simon had a big dorma van, and we all just used to crash out on the beach if it was nice, or in the van. We always intended to go to Devon, or Cornwall, but somehow, we always ended up here. Jenny used to say that Weston had a strange magnetic pull for pissed-up students, and I think she was probably right."

As they walked along the prom, Paula felt at ease in Jack's company, but she wondered how Helen was getting on with Simon, and hoped that her friend was all right.

"The Spread Eagle, we used to come here all the time, to get bottles to bring back to the van," Jack broke into her thoughts, "it used to be a biker friendly pub, and was always full of aging Hells Angels wannabe's, but as long as there was no trouble, they were friendly enough. Some of the girls found it a bit intimidating though, so we never used to stay very long, just get the supplies, and then go back to the beach, where we would usually have a barbeque, and just generally chill out, before heading back home the next day."

"I know what you mean, we used to do something similar, when we were at uni, although we never found any Hells Angels, and I bet your barbeque wasn't a disposable one, bought from the nearest shop!

"Anna and I used to go out and get the stuff, because if Tara bought it, then nobody else could afford to buy any drink, because we would have to chip in so much money for the food. She never was any good at economic shopping."

Jack laughed. "Shall we go in then, do you want a drink?"

Jack got the drinks in, while Paula found a table. The pub was fairly busy, dealing with the last of the lunchtime trade, and Jack jostled his way back to the table with the drinks and a couple of bags of crisps between his teeth. "I thought we had better have these now, I don't know what Annie is planning to feed you all with before tonight, but knowing her, it could be anything or nothing, and it sounds as though tonight could get rather messy."

Paula gratefully accepted the crisps. She hadn't eaten anything since the fry-up at breakfast, and Jack could well be right about the food at teatime. When they were at university, both the girls had thought nothing of going all day on nothing more than a crisp sandwich, and then drinking all night, but Paula didn't think that she could carry it off any more.

They chatted easily with each other, putting the world to rights, and swapping stories. Jack worked in a garage. He had started out as a car valeter, and had worked his way up through the ranks, to be a sales assistant, and was hoping to finish up working in the management side of things.

"That's what the business was in Manchester," he explained, "I was enrolling on a business studies course, so that I can still work part time at the garage, but at the end, should be better qualified for a promotion. But will you do me a favour, don't mention it to Anna, I want to tell her myself, but later on, when I'm sure that things are working out. She is my best mate, but she is not really the most subtle of people, and is liable to make a big thing of it."

Paula agreed, then, catching sight of the time, gasped, "Do you realize we have been sat here for ages, the others will be waiting for us, and the only sight I have seen is the inside of this pub."

While they had been talking, the pub around them had emptied until there was only those two, another couple, and an old man, sat on a bar stool, with a black Labrador lying patiently at his feet.

Paula finished off her drink, and the pair of them left the pub, squinting slightly as they came out into the sunshine. After the dimly lit pub, the sun was bright in their eyes.

"I think this break is just what I needed," said Paula, as they walked back to where they had arranged to meet the others at the car park. "Work has been a nightmare recently, and I had to work so many extra shifts to get the time off, it was unbelievable."

"There they are, come on you two, we've been waiting ages!" The cry came from Tara who was sat with the others on a bench. Paula noted with some relief that Helen seemed to be o.k, in fact her and Simon looked like they were deep in conversation. Anna waved at them, and they hurried over to join the group.

"Did you get the dress then Tara?" Paula asked her friend, who held a Paul Smith bag up triumphantly.

"Yep, and just wait till you see it on, it's gorgeous. I can't wait till tonight, are we going now?"

"Yes, come on you lot, otherwise we will never be ready for the party. Just wait until you see what I have got for tonight." As Anna bustled everyone around, Jack held the door of the car open so that Tara could climb in the back, and this time, Anna made no effort to hide her grin as she caught sight of Tara's face.