Chapter 4
Adam
Whoever decided that sharing function rooms was a good idea must be raking it in.
It only took an hour of the free bar for people to start mingling, and now the tab’s used up, nobody wants to go home. Janie, Katie’s ward manager, would usually have left by now, but she’s deep in conversation with a smart-looking middle-aged guy, one of the first to slide through the partition before it became a gaping walkway, and is hammering the bar like her life depends on it.
I turn away from people-watching and back to my table. Conversation is excited and screechy over the music; everyone is hyped up after the awards and gossip is floating on the air. Most people have abandoned their seats and are dancing, grabbing each other’s hands and throwing their heads back to scream choruses at the panelled ceiling. I love working for myself, but if there’s one thing I miss, it’s the social life.
I catch Katie’s eye across the makeshift dance floor and smile. She looks beautiful tonight in a long, black dress and bright red lipstick. Post-box colour, I’d say, but I’d probably get an eye-roll for it. It’s most likely called ‘vixen’ or ‘vampire’ or ‘blood of twenty virgins’, or something. Katie meets my gaze and looks away quickly.
‘How long have you two been together?’ The red-faced guy sitting next to me leans over and shouts into my ear. Jeremy? Dominic? God, what’s his name?
‘Six years!’ I hold up my fingers in case he can’t hear me.
He leans back in his chair and puffs out his cheeks. ‘Jesus, that’s a stretch, isn’t it? Probably get less for mugging someone.’
‘Yeah, probably, but then you’d be a mugger,’ I reply. ‘You’re single, then?’
‘Nah, got a missus.’
‘Ah, how long?’
‘Six months, and she’s already reining me in.’ He raises his eyebrows at me, as if I know what he means. I don’t.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You know, telling me I can’t go here, can’t go there, got to stay home and watch films and all that bollocks.’ He’s beyond pissed, and he takes another slurp of his beer.
‘Why don’t you break up with her, then?’ I ask.
He looks at me. ‘You’re funny, you are.’ His gaze travels across the room and lands on a couple just beyond the partition; a guy in his early thirties from the company next door, and one of Katie’s colleagues, another nurse whose name I can’t remember. ‘Look at them, there. Don’t you miss it?’
I look at them. They’re all over each other, close whispers and stroking arms. ‘I think if you’re missing that, you’re probably in the wrong relationship.’
My phone starts buzzing across the table, so I reach for it. Chloe. I reject the call, switch my phone to silent and bury it in my pocket.
When I look up, the man is staring at me, his eyes bloodshot. ‘We were like that, at the start.’
It takes me a second to remember what we were talking about. ‘We all are. You can be like that with anybody, in the beginning.’ I look around for Katie, to see if she’ll save me, but she’s disappeared.
‘What’s the general expiry date, do you reckon?’
I turn back to him. ‘What, on a relationship?’
‘No, on that fun bit before it all turns shit.’
‘Depends.’ I look over at the couple again. ‘If it’s the right person, it’ll morph into a different kind of fun.’
The kind of fun Katie and I have, I think. Easy Sunday mornings and walks into town. No second guessing, just knowing. Closeness. Sixth senses. Showering together replaced with showering while the other person brushes their teeth. Never going to bed alone. Favourite films and surprise discoveries.
Dominic-or-maybe-Jeremy snorts. ‘Yeah, alright, mate.’
Katie appears by my side and I wrap my arm around her waist.
‘Shall we go?’ She riffles through her handbag, turning her body, and my hand slips from her side.
‘Sure.’
Katie nods at Dominic-not-Jeremy. ‘See you on Monday, Dom.’
‘See you.’ He goes back to staring into his pint, and we shout our goodbyes to the rest of the table before heading for the exit.
‘God, he was a total nightmare,’ I say, skirting around two girls leaving at the same time as us.
‘Who, Dom? He’s alright.’
‘I feel sorry for his girlfriend.’
‘Oh, it’s fine, she’s a bit of a slut anyway.’
‘Wow.’ I stop walking and laugh, looking at her. ‘When did you get so judgy?’
She won’t meet my gaze. ‘It’s not judgy, Adam, they both cheat on each other all the time.’
We keep walking out onto Oxford Road, and I wave my arm for a taxi. One rolls up but one of the girls we overtook a moment ago strides purposefully to the door and gets inside before I can even open my mouth. I turn back to Katie. ‘Did you have a good night?’
‘Yeah, it was nice.’ She smiles. ‘You?’
‘It was good to be out at a work event.’ I grin at her, feeling a sudden pang of gratitude for just having her here, with me, asking about my evening. ‘I never thought I’d say it, but I do miss them.’
‘Hmm.’ She checks her phone. ‘Should I get an Uber?’
I let the knowledge that she isn’t listening to me slip away. She’s had a long week, and it’s been a long evening. ‘Are there any? It’s busy.’
She’s tapping on her phone, presumably sourcing a taxi, so I move back to the street, flagging black cabs as they approach from the distance and letting my hand drop as they near with their lights off.
‘Have you found one?’ I call over my shoulder, but she doesn’t reply, so I pull my phone out and check the Uber app. There are six cars hovering around the building, each a one-minute drive away. ‘There are loads, shall I order one?’
Katie still isn’t listening, so I walk back and reach out my hand to touch her shoulder. She jumps and locks her phone, slipping it into her bag. ‘Sorry, I was just telling Janie that we left. Didn’t manage to catch her.’
‘Shall I order one of these?’ I tilt my screen towards her and she nods.
Three minutes later we are sitting in the back of an unnecessarily large minivan, weaving through the heavy Manchester traffic towards home. I gaze out of the window at the city lights and drunk Saturday nighters, feeling a light warmth spreading through me. Aside from being collared by Dom, it was a good night. Katie won the Improving Personal Care Award for her trust, and seeing her up there collecting her trophy filled me with so much pride I thought I might cry. She works ridiculously long shifts, and having a rare night out together punctuated with her being rewarded for her efforts felt significant.
I undo my seatbelt and shift over to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. ‘Congratulations,’ I murmur into her hair.
‘Stop it, Adam.’ She bats me away, turning to look out of the window. ‘I’m tired.’
I pull back. ‘Everything OK?’
‘I’m fine. I’ve just had a long day, and you’re drunk.’
‘I’m not drunk.’ I had three beers over the course of the evening, and if anything, I just feel a bit wiped.
‘Just leave it.’
The car pulls up outside our front door and Katie gets out. I thank the driver and follow her, through the hallway where she kicks off her shoes and into the kitchen.
‘Do you want tea?’ I ask, as she pours a glass of water from the tap and glugs it thirstily.
‘I’m going to bed.’ She puts the glass down on the side heavily and brushes past me, kissing me lightly on the cheek. ‘Night.’
I watch her leave, her dress trailing on the floor without the added height of her heels, and wonder what I’ve done.