Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Maddy was face down, face squeezed into the cushioned hole in the massage table, trying not to think too hard about Hannah’s icebreaker game.
The spa smelled of eucalyptus, and the quiet tinkle of annoyingly soft music undercut by occasional vague water trickles from a fountain Maddy couldn’t see.
She assumed it was a fountain, anyway. Perhaps someone had just left the tap on.
Eva was on the next table, tucked under a sheet, the masseuse adjusting her gently.
It was quite a turn of events. Maddy had gone from trying to figure out how to make Eva her friend to being naked under sheets with her.
It was a bigger jump than Maddy was ready for.
This sort of thing was supposed to happen gradually.
You had to do a lot of non-nude activities before you could be in this position with someone.
Coffee, movies. Then maybe the gym, where you could gently segue into being naked with a partition between you.
And then, only after several years of that, should you do naked table time.
And the silence only made it worse. As the woman working on Maddy kneaded her spine, she thought she’d better break it. ‘So… I think you’re going to want the full story,’ she murmured.
Eva’s voice came back quietly. ‘About the archivist?’
Maddy exhaled, wincing as the therapist pressed firmly along her shoulders. ‘Yeah. I’m sure you noticed that I stopped Mary from saying something during the game.’
‘I did wonder.’
‘Mary was about to get herself into trouble. You shouldn’t mention that your boss is sleeping with someone at work. And I do mean at work. Even if it’s Aria, publicly embarrassing your boss is not a great move for your career.’
There was a pause. Then Eva chuckled, muffled by the table. ‘Yeah, good call. Nice of you to save her arse like that. Because it wasn’t your problem.’
‘Mmm, might have been. I was the one who nearly walked in on them in the accessible toilet. I thought Mary could keep a secret. Lesson learned.’
‘I think the lesson is keep Mary away from the booze.’
‘I guess so. Librarians don’t tend to go on the lash very often, so this is new information about Mary.’
‘You’re more of a tea crowd, I’m guessing?’
Maddy smiled. ‘Yup. English breakfast is our usual poison. Earl Grey if we’re feeling crazy.’
Eva laughed quite deeply at that. Maddy was delighted.
‘I think Hannah was a bit disappointed. Her game sort of petered out after that,’ Eva noted.
Maddy laughed softly, the sound vibrating into the table. ‘I’m not too worried about Hannah. She brings a lightness that seems indestructible,’ Maddy said carefully. The word she would really like to use to describe Hannah was ‘basicness.’ But she’d never be so rude. Out loud, anyway.
‘Oh, I’m sure,’ Eva said.
‘I’m more worried about keeping you from being bored…’ Maddy almost said, ‘With me.’ But stopped herself just in time. ‘With us,’ she said safely.
Eva’s laugh was warm. ‘Bored? Hardly. You’re a pretty weird combination of people.’
‘You think?’
‘No two people really make sense in combination.’
Maddy thought about that, and there was plenty of logic in it. ‘I see your point. Though Hannah and my mother sort of make sense.’
Eva paused. ‘Oh?’
‘She’s her dream daughter,’ Maddy said.
Jesus, how relaxed was this bloody massage getting her? Had she really said that out loud? She’d barely let herself think it before.
Eva shifted slightly on the other table, the sheet rustling. For a moment, Maddy wondered if she’d said something weird. Or too personal. Or both.
‘Dream daughter?’ Eva prompted gently.
Maddy groaned into the face cradle. ‘God, that sounded dramatic, didn’t it?’
‘A bit,’ Eva said, though her tone was amused rather than judgmental.
The therapist’s thumbs pressed into the base of Maddy’s neck, and she made a small involuntary noise.
Eva snorted. ‘You alright over there?’
‘I think so,’ Maddy moaned.
The woman working on her said something polite and spa-like about ‘releasing tension.’ Maddy made agreeable noises in response and then said, ‘Thank you,’ as the woman leaned on her neck like a wrestler trying to get her to tap out.
‘Can I say something about your mother that’s a bit impolite?’ Eva said suddenly.
‘Please,’ Maddy said with total sincerity.
‘I don’t think your mum likes complicated,’ Eva said. ‘But Hannah? She goes down smooth. Because she’s basic.’
Maddy didn’t respond for a second. And then burst out laughing into her cushioned hole. It felt so good to laugh like that. Not her usual polite chuckle, or her nervous titter. Real laughter.
‘I take that to mean I haven’t offended you?’ Eva said, and Maddy could hear the smile in her voice.
‘I probably should be,’ Maddy said easily. ‘Wait, does that mean I’m complicated?’
‘Too soon to say.’
‘You’re right. I could easily be basic, too. Maybe I just hide it better.’
‘Exactly,’ Eva said dryly. ‘You could love Weatherspoon’s and ITV2. You might like signs that say, “Live, Laugh, Love.”’
‘Hannah’s favourite show is Love Island,’ Maddy noted.
Eva laughed. ‘Of course it is.’
The therapist’s elbow slid expertly into a knot in her shoulder, and whatever sentence she’d been constructing disintegrated into a strangled noise.
Once she’d recovered, she said, ‘I think I am basic, anyway. It’s just more of a cardigans-and-strong-opinions-on-the-Dewey-decimal-system kind of basic.’
‘That’s niche basic,’ Eva said. ‘I’ve never heard of that flavour.’
‘You don’t spend enough time in libraries then.’
‘Do the cardigans have elbow patches?’ Eva asked with real interest.
‘A few of them,’ Maddy admitted.
‘Incredible.’
Maddy felt herself smile into the table cushion. ‘You’d be disappointed,’ she said. ‘It’s a very normal cardigan situation on the whole. I’ve long since stopped trying to compete with Aria’s fashion sense.’
‘Her jumper is very exciting,’ Eva said.
‘You should see her at Christmas.’
The little chuckle from the other table made Maddy absurdly curious about Eva’s expression. Which was ridiculous, because she couldn’t see it without turning her head, and that would ruin the massage and possibly her spine.
Still. She imagined Eva lying there, cheeks resting against the cradle, eyes half-closed while she talked.
‘For the record,’ Eva said after a moment, ‘I don’t think you’re basic.’
Maddy wanted to like that. But she didn’t let herself. ‘You barely know me.’
‘Gut feeling.’
‘Everything your gut knows about me is wedding-based.’
‘Your gut told you Mary was about to commit career suicide in front of everyone. So maybe gut instincts have some merit.’
The therapist moved down to the middle of Maddy’s back, pressing along either side of her spine in slow, deliberate strokes. Maddy felt the tension there reluctantly giving way.
Next to her, Eva shifted slightly under the sheet again.
The fabric made a soft whispering sound.
Maddy became extremely aware once more that they were both, technically speaking, naked.
Which had been true the entire time. But she’d thought she was over it.
Until her brain decided to make a point of it.
You’re naked with Eva.
Yes, I know.
And you’re having a surprisingly nice conversation.
Also noted.
And you keep picturing…
‘Can I ask you something?’ Eva said suddenly. ‘Why were you trying so hard to make me comfortable earlier?’
Maddy’s brain stalled for a second. ‘Was I?’ she said.
‘A bit,’ Eva said. ‘You kept checking if I was bored.’
Maddy frowned into the face cradle. ‘Oh. Sorry. I guess I felt like you were a little above our league. Socially.’
‘I’m not sure what that means.’
‘I guess I just feel like you might need something a bit more…’
Eva broke in there. ‘You don’t have to do that with me.’
Maddy blinked slowly. ‘Do what?’
‘Take care of me.’
The therapist’s hands paused briefly before moving to Maddy’s lower back.
‘But you’ve done that for me,’ Maddy said tentatively. ‘Maybe I wanted to repay the favour.’
‘Maybe we should stop taking care of each other quite so much, then. Maybe we’re both pretty tough,’ Eva said.
‘Maybe.’ It came out more quietly than Maddy expected.
There was a small rustle from Eva’s table again. ‘Okay,’ Eva said.
And for some reason, that single word made the room feel warmer.
The fountain-or-tap continued trickling quietly somewhere in the background, and the soft music chimed on. The massage therapist began working slowly down Maddy’s back, firm but methodical. It was doing dangerous things to her ability to maintain normal conversational filters.
‘So,’ Eva said after a moment, voice thoughtful now, ‘if Hannah’s your mum’s dream daughter…’
Maddy braced.
‘…what does that make you?’
Maddy didn’t hesitate. ‘First pancake,’ she said. ‘Unfortunately, by the time she knew I’d turned out funny, the stove was cold.’
Eva burst out laughing. Maddy couldn’t believe she was talking like this. This was inside voice stuff. And it was out. And killing.
Then Eva said, softly amused, ‘You’re no dodgy pancake.’
Maddy wanted to think that was simple politeness. But something about Eva’s voice when she said it made Maddy suddenly very aware of the warmth in her shoulders where the therapist’s hands had just been.
‘Well,’ Maddy said after a second, aiming for lightness and mostly achieving it, ‘give it time.’
Eva laughed again. And Maddy suddenly realised that she was comfortable. Which was slightly alarming. Because she was still in a quiet spa room, half melted into a massage table, feeling oddly content just hearing Eva breathe quietly on the next table over.
They were still naked and vulnerable. Only, it didn’t feel that way now. It felt safe.