Chapter Text
Even though she was working from home now, the universe still found a way to make Julia late to drop-off. If it wasn't her own incompetence, it was the kids losing their uniform, or her hairdryer breaking down, or Paul spending 45 minutes straight in the bathroom.
Julia, as usual, was a mess. She hadn't bothered to brush her hair this morning, tying it up in a haphazard ponytail which her tousled hair was already threatening to escape. She was wearing her favourite long blue coat and sweatpants; she knew it didn't match, and quite frankly she couldn't care less, she just wanted to get out of the house as quickly as possible.
She hurriedly rounded the corner towards the school, a flash of auburn hair catching her eye. It was always Liz who she spotted first. Her hands were resting in the pockets of her leather jacket, and she looked utterly done with the world despite the fact the day had just begun. By her side was Kevin, cycling helmet in hand, chatting excitedly away about... tents?
Right. The camping trip.
It was, unsurprisingly, Kevin's idea. Half term was approaching, and he insisted that he and the other mums make the most of the time off. Julia wouldn't mind, except his idea of a fun weekend was camping, and the thought of spending 2 days stranded in a forest with Amanda made her feel physically ill.
Still, it was better than the alternative: labouring away in her work corner whilst Paul was away on some business trip- or worse still, at home ignoring her. He had been doing an awful lot of that lately.
After frantically dropping Ivy and James off at the entrance she returned to greet Liz and Kevin, who she had completely blanked on the way in.
"Yo."
Kevin waved. Liz looked her up and down with a smirk.
"What happened to you? Crawl through a hedge to get here?"
"Funny. If you keep taking the piss I won't come on this bloody trip."
"You still going then? Surprised you haven't pulled out. Thought you hated camping."
"Yeah, well, I do, but I'd just rather be anywhere other than at home right now." Julia dramatically clasped a hand on the school fence for stability, as if the mere thought was making her feel faint.
"Paul still giving you the cold shoulder?"
"What? No, no, I've just got loads of shit to do, you know, emails to send, mould patch on the ceiling to fix." Julia began fiddling with the hem of her sleeve as she rambled. "It's not like Paul's any help though, christ, he's barely at home! And when he is here I suppose he does have this tendency to, sort of, distance himself from me and he's started sleeping on the sofa and-"
She averted her gaze downwards towards the pavement, realising that Liz was right. Even Kevin had caught on to how awkward things were between her and Paul lately. Not that their marriage had ever been perfect, but lately he had grown a little more absent, a little more cold, and Julia felt she got more physical affection from the kitchen tea towel. Was it because of the Garry thing a few months back? Or maybe her years of bitterness towards him were finally becoming too much? Regardless, there was no hiding it now.
"Yeah things are still bad." Julia admitted with a sigh.
Liz attempted a sympathetic smile which came out as more of a grimace.
Kevin, eager to help, piped up, "Oh you should try what me and Jill did. Honestly, counselling worked wonders for us, I think being able to hear her perspective really helped us sort things out."
There was a brief moment of silence, Julia and Liz exchanging bewildered glances.
"Kev, you and Jill are divorced. So I'll get my relationship advice from someone else, thanks"
"Well, yes, but..."
Kevin trailed off, instead occupied by waving to Amanda as she approached the trio. She was looking pristine as ever; her hair was perfectly curled and her white trench coat looked (and probably was) brand new. Julia couldn't help but feel a little self conscious stood next to her.
"Hey you three!" Her excitement sounded forced. "We all ready for camping this weekend?"
Kevin could barely even open his mouth to respond before there was a resounding "no" from the other two.
"Aww, come on, it'll be fun Lizzie! I thought you liked the outdoors anyway, it's how you met your Sam after a-"
"Don't call me that."
Amanda looked taken aback. "What?"
"Lizzie. Don't call me that."
A tense silence fell upon the group.
"Oh. Sorry. It's just that I heard Julia-"
"Just don't, alright?" Liz turned away, initiating a conversation with Kevin about something Julia was far too distracted to focus on.
What was that all about? Julia used that nickname for her all the time, why hadn't Liz brought this up to her before? Was she just in a bad mood today? Did Amanda touch a nerve? As she was making a mental note to bring it up later Liz's voice cut through her train of thought.
"What's up?" she asked, "You look like a tennis umpire."
"Huh?"
Julia suddenly realised that whilst her mind was wandering she had been subconsciously looking back and forth between Liz and Amanda.
"Oh, nothing."
Liz raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, I'm going for a coffee. Coming?"
Kevin shook his head and apologised, launching into a long-winded explanation about final preparations for the camping trip.
"Julia?"
"Oh, why not." She had work to do, but that could wait.
The two of them waved goodbye and separated from the swarms of parents hovering at the school gates.
As they made their way to the café, Julia decided now was as good a time as any to press Liz on her strange clash with Amanda.
"You alright?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"You seemed a bit offish with Amanda back then. More offish than usual."
Liz shrugged "Dunno. Didn't sleep great I guess. The boys decided to start a pillow fight at 1am so that was all hopes of a good night's sleep down the drain."
Julia chuckled. The pair took a few more steps in silence.
"Do you want me to stop calling you Lizzie? If you didn't like it you should've told me, babe."
Liz furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before remembering the subject of her spat with Amanda.
"Oh, nah, it's alright. I can just about tolerate you."
Julia's face softened at that. "Awww, thanks mate!" she squealed, moving towards her friend for a hug.
Liz immediately elbowed her away.
"Don't. Before you make me change my mind."
Julia withdrew, still grinning ear to ear. To the average person the comment would sound more like an insult but coming from Liz it meant a lot, and was probably the closest thing to a compliment Julia had received in weeks.
It was nice to feel special for once, even if the affection came from a woman who was possibly just as unhinged as she was.