‘Fine, thanks, fine.’ Rosie feels like she’s tripping up inside herself. Had she done something without realizing it, to make Abi act so cold suddenly? Or is Abi like this with other people, too?
But Abi’s all smiles as she says, ‘Here, let me take your coats.’
Once they’ve gone through the clumsy coat-removing motions, Abi says, ‘Eddy and Anna are already here, so just follow me.’
Lotte’s given them a prominent table in the middle of the small restaurant. As she follows Abi, Rosie immediately notices that their table is strangely silent. Their friends turn to look at them as they approach. Eddy and Anna, usually the first to speak, look away, grimacing at the sight of them. Eddy drinks his wine and Anna looks at her hands folded on her lap.
‘Hi, guys,’ Rosie says, frowning, and they both look up, nodding and mumbling polite hellos as Rosie and Seb take their seats. Once seated, they turn towards Abi standing under a soft spotlight, the only one seemingly at ease.
‘So delighted you’re all here,’ she says, looking them all in the eye. ‘Your menus are on the table.’ And while Abi tells them about the specials and the free opening-night cocktail, Rosie looks around the group.
Anna is scowling, like she’s trying to stop herself from spitting in Abi’s calm face. Eddy is scratching at something invisible on the tablecloth in front of him. And Seb, opposite her, looks like he’s about to puke.
No one is behaving normally and it’s in that moment that Rosie knows she is alone. Alone in her confusion, alone in her ignorance. She looks to Seb and he’s staring directly at her, directly
‘I hope you all have a wonderful evening!’ Abi concludes before walking away, shoulders back, head high, towards a newly arrived couple at the door.
Left alone, the friends size each other up as if they were strangers.
‘Isn’t it amazing what they’ve done to this place?’ Rosie says, looking at Anna who still has thunder in her eyes.
‘Yeah, it looks great,’ Anna replies flatly, glancing around briefly. No one is talking as their waiter arrives with their free cocktails. Eddy finishes his wine, immediately picking up the martini glass that’s placed in front of him.
‘What shop was it before? I can’t remember,’ Rosie asks out of desperation, before Anna picks up her hint and the two of them quietly start rowing about whether the unit used to be a craft shop or a newsagent’s. Seb looks around, almost as though he’s checking how and where to make an emergency exit.
Suddenly, Richard and Lotte appear by their table in a great puff of ego and cologne. Richard puts his hand on Rosie’s upper back; his palm burns through the fabric of her dress. They’re grinning from ear to ear and Rosie wonders if they’ve taken something as Richard exclaims, ‘Wonderful to see you lovely people here!’
Lotte makes a great show of going around the table, kissing each of them, chattering the whole time, not pausing for breath, until she gets to Seb and, making sure the whole table can hear, she says, ‘Mr Kent, headmaster, absolute legend!’
Then Richard slaps his forehead and says, ‘Mate! I’m so sorry, I’ve been meaning to message and say I’m so glad the sports pavilion is finally being sorted out. All my not-so-subtle hinting finally worked, I guess. I want to give you something to say thank you. Let’s have a bottle of champagne, shall we?’ He nods at Abi and says, ‘Champagne, please, Abi – a bottle and six glasses.’
Seb mumbles something about it not having much to do with him, that the staff and students were the ones who … but Lotte waves his modesty away with a manicured hand – ‘Oh, pfff’ – and Richard starts telling Seb how next he hopes he’ll get rid of grumpy old Mrs Greene. ‘Early retirement, maybe?’
They don’t notice as Eddy stands, a little unsteady, and starts to walk towards the toilets. Rosie watches as Anna leaps up after him and, just before he goes into the men’s, pulls his arm. They’re in the middle of an argument, that’s clear, but whether it’s about how pissed Eddy already is or something else, Rosie can’t tell.
Then Abi appears back at the table, obscuring Rosie’s view, condensation dripping from the bottle of champagne she’s holding. She opens it in one smooth motion.
‘So cool,’ Lotte says, like she’s flirting. ‘Wish I could open champagne like that! You’ll have to teach me one day, Abs.’
Abi smiles, a little taut, replies with a wink, ‘Lots of practice.’
She’s about to place the bottle on the table next to the champagne flutes but Lotte says, ‘Pour it out, would you, Abs?’
Rosie wants to tell Lotte to be more respectful because now, being back in the same room as Abi, Rosie is still drawn to her. She watches her pour, froth billowing up the glasses, and Rosie feels again with certainty that tonight, something’s going to change.