Page 23 of Just Date and See
‘It’s bingo,’ I say simply, all smiles. ‘Come on, let’s head inside.’
The couple glance at each other before following me through the big double doors, into… the lobby, I guess? There’s a woman sitting behind the desk.
‘Three for bingo, please,’ I say. I don’t really know what you’re supposed to say.
She taps on her computer keyboard a few times. I look back at my new friends and smile.
The guy approaches the woman behind the desk.
‘It’s Callum,’ he tells her. ‘I called earlier.’
She glances at her screen.
‘Yes, Callum, I’ve got your request here,’ she replies. ‘So, three, is it? That’s okay. Follow me, I’ll show you to your seats.’
‘Exciting!’ I say, turning to my new friends. ‘I’m Billie, by the way.’
‘Callum,’ he replies, even though I’d already worked that one out.
‘Alice,’ the girl says.
‘Quiet as we walk through the bingo hall, please,’ the employee instructs us. ‘I don’t know if this is your first time, but the other customers take this very seriously, so keep noise to a minimum.’
‘Sorry,’ I say quietly.
The doorway she walks us through leads us straight into the bingo hall.
It’s a huge room, about three quarters full, with an average clientele age of about sixty-five, but only if you factor the three of us into the equation.
We’re shown to a table that is different to all the rest. There are helium balloons attached to one of the chairs and a bottle of prosecco in an ice bucket.
Alice turns to look at Callum and smiles in acknowledgement. Aww, I guess it must be her birthday, and these two must have spoken before. How sweet of him, to call ahead and ask them to make it special.
We all take our seats. Bingo cards and dabbers are already laid out for us. I pick up my dabber and look down at my card. The bingo caller is in full swing, with a game or a round or whatever you call it obviously well under way, and he’s clearly going at full speed, but no one at any of the other tables seems to have a problem keeping up with him.
I try to get the knack of marking my card, but it takes me so long to find each number that at least two more get called before I’ve checked my card. I’m surprised it isn’t digital, although, given how many seats there are in this massive room, that would be a lot of tech, and a lot of maintenance. Everyone else here looks old school, like they’ve been coming here for years, and wouldn’t welcome the change to something techy.
I can’t believe we’re the only three here. I didn’t think the events would be packed, but I expected more than the three of us to be attending them. Perhaps the fact that it’s bingo has put people off? Anyway, I thought it was supposed to be boozy bingo, that made it sound like it was going to be way more fun than a bottle of prosecco in a bucket of melting ice.
I smile at Callum and Alice before grabbing the bottle. They haven’t even opened it for us, so I take charge and wiggle the cork free with my thumbs.
It all happens so quickly. As the cork finally budges it flies out of the bottle, up into the air, where it hits one of the balloons and pops it. It’s so loud – and the fact the room was so quiet before that only seems to amplify the volume. I place my hands over my mouth and giggle into my hands.
‘Oh, my God, how embarrassing,’ I whisper to Callum and Alice as I pour each of us a glass of prosecco. There are two wine glasses and a plastic cup, so I give myself the plastic one. ‘I thought boozy bingo would be more fun.’
‘What do you mean?’ Alice asks me.
‘Boozy bingo,’ I say back to her. ‘Boozy bingo.’
Saying it again doesn’t make things any clearer to them.
‘It said the event was called boozy bingo,’ I remind them. ‘In the app.’
I sip my drink. It’s not very good. I don’t know if it’s cheap prosecco or if the plastic cup has an off-putting smell to it. Either way, I doubt I’ll be getting too boozy on it, I can hardly stomach it.
‘What event?’ Alice asks me. ‘Wait, do you work here or what? I assumed you were like an events coordinator or something?’
I cock my head and stare at her for a second.