‘Well, I don't want to be up late,' said Elsa. 'I get up really early these days.'

‘Oh,' said Bron. 'I was looking forward to a girls' night out.'

‘Well, maybe we should have one then,' said Sarah unexpectedly. 'Maybe we should go on the pull.’

The thought of sensible, well-organised Sarah going on the pull made the others giggle rather more than necessary, Sarah thought as the car pulled up to the kerb in front of the first bar.

‘Hiya! So you're Lily's big sister!’

The girl on the pavement confronting her was wearing white leather shorts, long white boots, a fringed jacket and a cowboy hat. Lily and her two other friends were dressed in the same way. Lily had various extras – L-plates, garters and feather sex toys – draped round her neck. Sarah did her best to smile.

‘That's right!' she said.

‘Lily says you can be a bit of a spoilsport, but you won't on her hen night, will you?'

‘Of course not! Whatever gave you that impression?’

Lily was examining her French manicure. Her shorts were pulled tight over her belly and Sarah thought she looked a bit deranged.

‘Well, I'm in charge,' said Lily's chief bridesmaid, who was called Charlene. 'And we're going to have a great time. Aren't we, girls?’

Everyone cheered – Elsa and Bron very quietly. Sarah could tell they wanted to go home too.

`So, where do we start?' said Sarah, faking enthusiasm for Britain. 'I'll get the first round in! Which bar are we going to?'

‘Let's have one here first,' said Bron.

‘Not so fast,' said Charlene. 'We can't just go drinking whenever we want. We have to play the game. Lots of games, really.'

‘Oh, come on, Charles,' said another of Lily's friends. 'You can't expect us to go paying forfeits and stuff without a few glasses of wine or a cocktail or two first! It's unreasonable.’

Sarah bit her tongue to stop herself reminding everyone that Lily was pregnant and shouldn't be drinking at all.

‘We're going to a club,' said Charlene. 'It's all arranged. We just have to get past the doormen.' She glanced at Bron, Elsa and Sarah, hinting that they were either inappropriately dressed for a hen night or just too old and unattractive.

It took them a little time to file into the club and the doormen seemed to check out the credentials of the girls for a lot longer than necessary. It took Sarah even longer to make her way to the bar but she persevered – all thought of spending the evening drinking mineral water or non alcoholic cocktails had vanished. She needed at least one drink to get through this.

She realised when she finally got back to the table with the drinks that Lily's friends were already fairly well tanked up. 'Here we go, girls.' She handed Bron and Elsa their drinks. 'We might as well get drunk. It's the only way we're going to get through this.'

‘OK,' said Charlene, unaware of any dissent among her audience. 'Here's what Lily has to do!’

There was a cry of 'Whoa' and everyone took a sip from their glasses.

‘First on the list…' She looked around at her audience, claiming everyone's attention. 'She has to kiss a stag.'

‘Maybe we should ring the RSPCA,' whispered Bron to Sarah.

‘A proper snog, mind, not just a kiss on the cheek.' Charlene was insistent. 'She has to collect three items of clothing from three different men; get a massage – it canjust be shoulders, we don't want anyone stripping off.’

‘You surprise me,' murmured Bron, who was starting to feel giggly. It was all so silly.

‘And, finally, she has to get up on that stage and swing round the pole!'

‘But she's pregnant!' said Sarah, unable to stop herself. 'She shouldn't be doing things like that!' Then she wished she'd kept her mouth shut.

‘Oh, and the drinks?' Charlene ignored Sarah's protest and was again checking to make sure everyone was listening.

‘We drink with our right hands for the first half-hour and our left for the second. Anyone gets it wrong, they have to put a couple of quid in the middle. Then we buy the next round.'

‘That sounds complicated!' said Elsa, struggling to join in.

‘Well, it doesn't matter if you mess up, it just gives us more money to drink with,' said Charlene.

‘Right,' said Elsa, hoping she wouldn't have to find a cash machine.

‘The male strippers come later,' went on Charlene. 'It's a full Monty, so I hope nobody's prudish.'

‘As if!' said Bron, with an Oscar-winning display of enthusiasm. 'Bring on Robbie Coltrane, I say.’

Elsa leant in and whispered behind her hand, 'I think you'll find you mean Robert Carlyle.'

‘Mm, maybe I do,' she agreed, laughing in spite of everything.

They had a few more rounds of drinks. Lily ticked off various things on her list while the others had to go through a collection of suitable hen-night games until Charlene suddenly called out, 'Flies!' and with a varying degree of alacrity, everyone except Bron, Elsa and Sarah, who looked on bemused, and Lily, who was allowed to just watch and laugh, threw themselves down on the floor and waved their arms and legs in the air. Sarah, feeling as if she was indeed a dying insect, looked at her watch. Ten past ten. No chance of going home for at least a couple of hours.

‘OK!' Charlene, who had obviously missed her vocation as a drum majorette or sergeant major, got to her feet. 'More drinks! Come on, you lot.' She looked pointedly in Sarah's direction. 'Join in.'

‘I asked those guys over there to play flies,' said one of Lily's other friends, 'but they wouldn't. They're wearing kilts. I think they're being spoilsports.’

Unusually for her, it took Sarah several moments to pick up the significance of this and she realised her brain just wasn't operating at its usual speed. 'Could I just have water this round?'

‘Nope,' said Charlene. 'You had water last time. I want everyone to have a proper drink while the show is on.’

Lily, who had discovered a real talent for picking on men on stag dos who were up for a laugh, said, 'Yes, lighten up, Sares. You're supposed to be having fun. That man was only being friendly, you know.’

Sarah smiled guiltily, remembering the young man she'd sent away with a flea in his ear. 'I know and I am having fun. How are you getting on with your list?'

‘I've just got to snog a stag.'

‘But you've snogged at least three people, haven't you?' Lily nodded. 'But they lied to me and said they were the stag when they weren't. It's my last dare,' she said comfortingly, as if that made everything all right. Gaily, she went off on her mission.

Charlene came back and handed out the drinks. Sarah took a glass. It was pink and fruity and sweet and for a blissful few sips, Sarah thought it might be non-alcoholic.

Too late she felt its kick and realised she'd drunk a very strong cocktail very quickly. How many had she had? she wondered. She'd lost count. She would definitely have water next time.

The crowd were going wild. The five men on the stage were gyrating wildly, their polished muscles gleaming. Sarah, who'd accepted yet another cocktail by mistake and then decided she might as well give up her futile attempt at counting, did appreciate they were good at what they were doing, and all had very good bodies, but she didn't really enjoy it.

She glanced at Elsa and Bron who also had glazed expressions on their faces. Lily, Charlene and the other two, whose names Sarah had never quite grasped, were jumping up and down screaming with glee. Lily had already been invited on stage to join in the show. She'd been very good, Sarah admitted, not at all embarrassed by the things she was asked to do by a man wearing nothing but a feather-thong. If only she felt more in the mood for all this. Being a wedding planner was making her old before her time! Maybe she should stop feeling so responsible. Lily was an adult, after all.