Page 2 of The Three of Us
‘Projectile vomiting,’ Suze is saying when I come back to the table with our second round of drinks balanced on a tray. ‘It actually hit the wall, apparently. The far wall, you know, the one by the radiator, not the one by the sofa. Sprayed everywhere like someone had been pebble-dashing the place. Can you imagine?’ I try really hard not to. ‘I suppose she was lucky it was only one of the little buggers. Just think what it would be like if they were both at it at once.’
‘Stereo sick.’ Fran screws up her face. ‘Yuck!’
‘Must we talk about sick? It’s enough to put me off my chips.’ I slide back along the bench next to Fran, grab two lukewarm chips from the almost empty plate before anyone else can, and take a sip of my ice-cold cider to help swill them down.
‘Yeah, you’re right, Carls. We get enough of that from Rosie when she’s here. At least let’s spare ourselves the baby talk while she’s not.’
‘Here? She’s never here.’ Suze pinches the last chip, twirls it around in what’s left of both the ketchup and the mayonnaise until it’s bright pink and bites it in half.
‘True. When was the last time either of you actually saw her, or spoke to her? Other than on Facebook, I mean.’ Fran eyes the empty plate and reaches for her purse. She’s going to go inside and buy more chips. No surprise there. It’s what she always does.
‘Dunno. Three weeks, maybe?’ Suze shrugs her shoulders. ‘It’s all weighing clinics and mother and baby groups for our Rosie nowadays. Her idea of a social life. There’s no time left for any of us.’
‘Do you think we’ll end up like that?’ Somehow, I find the idea depressing, as if all my mother’s dreams for me are one day going to culminate in me turning into another Rosie. ‘All married and maternal and bored out of our brains?’
‘Oh, God, I hope not.’ Fran eases herself along the bench and stands up. I swear I can feel the seat tip in my direction as soon as her rather large bottom has vacated the other end. She and Suze are sisters but you’d never guess unless you were told. Fran’s a redhead, while Suze seems to change her hair colour as often as her men. Fran’s also two years younger but getting on double the size. She really shouldn’t keep buying more chips, but I’m not going to be the one to tell her. I’m sure her working in a sweet shop doesn’t help either. Far too many Crunchies and Dairy Milks and nowhere near enough exercise. I thought my love life was bad enough but, since I started sharing a flat with her, I get to see at close hand when she goes out and who with, and I can guarantee that poor Fran’s love life is currently non-existent. Not that she seems to care. She’s actually the happiest and most laid-back person I know, so she must be doing something right.
‘So, have you met the new IT consultant they’ve brought in at work yet?’ Suze asks once Fran has gone inside. ‘He was getting out of the lift this afternoon when I was on my way upstairs and I took the opportunity of saying hello. Drop-dead gorgeous, or what?’
Suze and I have worked together in the accounts department at Mandrake’s Insurance for three years now. She was the one who told me there was a job going and put in a good word for me, so I know I should be grateful, but sometimes I do wonder if mixing up our social and business lives quite so closely is such a good idea. Here we are, for instance, supposedly out for a nice relaxing drink or two and the conversation still comes back to the office. A place I’d like to get away from and forget about once I’ve walked away every night. There are other downsides too. We burst into giggles at work just a little too often for a start, and sitting side by side all day makes it hard to have any sort of private life. She sees everyone I speak to in the office and can overhear every call I make. Still, that goes both ways, I suppose, and it is nice having a buddy to work with instead of some of the bitches I’ve had to put up with in the past.
Suze can be a bit of a flirt though, even when she’s at work, and eyeing up any new male member of staff has long been a hobby of hers. She keeps a little not-so-secret star chart in her top drawer, just a jokey thing really, but it’s divided up into sections for looks, charm, sense of humour, bum… and she marks them all out of ten. This new guy has clearly scored highly.
I laugh as she waves her hand about in front of her face as if fanning it furiously will calm the red-hot thoughts that are clearly in danger of making her self-combust.
‘That good, eh?’
‘Oh, yes. Sex on legs. Tall, dark, handsome. I wouldn’t say no, believe me. He even smells divine!’
‘I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure. Well, not yet anyway. Maybe I’ll take a stroll up there tomorrow and take a peek.’
‘Well, he definitely smiled at me, so just you remember that I saw him first and don’t you go muscling in. Not that he’s exactly available, to be honest. I did just happen to notice he was wearing a wedding ring, but a girl can dream…’
‘I don’t know about dream. Looks more like drool to me! And haven’t you forgotten you’re meant to be going out with Sean Miller? He seems like a nice enough guy.’
‘He’s okay, I suppose. It’s only been a couple of months though, Carly. We’re hardly joined at the hip. I like to keep my options open.’
I laugh, because Suze has been keeping her options open for so long that I don’t think she ever has any intention of closing them. No matter who she’s seeing, she always seems to have one eye open for someone better. She’s so scared of missing that elusive Mr Ten-Star who could walk into her life at any moment and sweep her off her feet, that she never lets any real-life ordinary man get close enough, however nice he might be. That’s pretty much what my mother says about me, I suppose, but in Suze’s case it’s completely different. She’s still waiting for her ideal man and I’ve already met mine.
‘So, what’s his name then? This new dream of a man I’m not allowed to snatch from under your nose? Not that I would anyway. Probably best we both steer clear, if he’s married.’
‘He said his name’s Jack. Jack Doughty or Dockery, or something like that. I’m sure I’m going a bit deaf lately. I sometimes wish we all had to wear name badges, then I wouldn’t have had to try and work out what he said. And a badge pinned in just the right place would be the perfect excuse to stare at his chest. Still, I suppose we’d get the men staring at ours too if we all had to wear them, so maybe it’s not such a great idea.’
I’ve stopped listening. I’m sure my heart rate has suddenly shot up because the blood is thumping around my system and making my pulse race. There’s heat rushing to my face and I think my hands are starting to sweat just a little bit. Jack? A gorgeous IT man called Jack, with a surname that sounds something like Dockery? That’s what she said. But it can’t be him, can it? Jack? Jack Doherty? My Jack Doherty? Back in London, after all this time? And working right here in the same part of town, in the same building, for the same company, as me?
Fran has come back from the bar and is settling down beside me, a chip from the plate she’s just plonked on the table already halfway to her mouth. ‘What have I missed?’ she asks, chomping down on the chip and blowing frantically because it’s too hot. ‘Whatever it is you’re talking about, our Carly’s gone all pink.’
‘Or whoever,’ Suze says, suddenly noticing what Fran saw straight away. ‘What is it, Carly? Is it Jack Whatever-his-name-is? Do you know the guy?’
I close my eyes for a moment and try to stay calm. ‘If it’s who I think it is, then yeah, I probably do. Or did, anyway. A long time ago.’
‘Really? Come on then. You can’t stop there. Don’t keep us in suspense. Tell all. And we want all the juicy bits. When? Where? How? And, most of all, did you?’
The truth is that Suze and I just know each other so well. Too well, maybe. If I had met Jack at any time in the last three years, she would have known about it, sensed it, squeezed every last detail out of me. Luckily, my Jack time was long before I came to work at Mandrake’s, back when Rosie was my best friend and Suze and I would only see each other a couple of times a month at most, so he’s managed to pass under her radar.
Nowadays, nothing gets past her, and now she’s got Fran interested too.
Four curious eyes are staring at me, waiting.