26. Audrey
Even though Theo let me borrow some of his clothes, I took a cab home, not wanting to tow a gown across London through public transport. I felt enough scrutiny in the back of my mind, and I didn’t need others looking at me like I was doing the walk of shame. Why did people have to make that such a grotesque term, anyway? How come a woman couldn’t enjoy an evening with a lover, without having to worry about society’s judgement upon returning to her home the next day? Either way, the taxi driver was very couth, and soon enough, I was standing outside our homely pastel-coloured townhouse. That’s when it hit me: Lucy. I pulled out the business card from my own purse, which I made sure not to lose during the evening’s events, and opened the door wide enough to hear that she wasn’t cooking—instead, she had her stress-cleaning playlist on. I could understand where she was coming from; she was waiting for feedback on her menu, and since I didn’t come home last night to give her the good news, the possibilities of how it went were eating her alive.
“How’s it going, Luce?” I called out, using it as my own way to play Marco Polo without actually resorting to those words. I heard her mutter something from the living room, and I bee-lined toward her.
“I’m fine,” she shouted—words people only used when they weren’t actually fine. And when I saw her, she had yellow and green cleaning gloves up to her elbows, playing with a mix of hot water and a jug of fabric softener. I’d seen this before, where she’d put her focus on the most random chore when something was outside of her control. In fact, it was the reason I first found an interest in stoicism, because I wanted a way to cope that didn’t involve incessant cleaning and helped to pretend worries didn’t exist. Even if they were clear as day, pasted across your face.
“Whatcha doing there?” I said, getting her to finally turn around.
“Nice outfit.” She smirked, giving me elevator eyes. “Very tasteful.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Oh, I read somewhere that putting fabric softener on your floor trims will stop dust and animal hair from sticking,” she explained, stepping up from her crouching position while the concoction dripped down her gloved fingers.
“That’s very helpful,” I commented. “If we had a pet.” The last time I saw her like this, it was back in Australia, where she found a way to ward off a specific type of termite with a spray bottle solution, even though we had no termite mounds around us, and hadn’t had any actual proof that termites were anywhere near the wooden structure she called home. That happened while she was questioning whether her first girlfriend was going to break up with her, before she ended up doing it first. Even now, I wondered if they would’ve lasted together for longer if she didn’t spoil it for the both of them. Moral of the story, Lucy couldn’t be left to her thoughts, so I needed to reassure her fast.
“I needed something to keep me busy while you were off gallivanting. How did that go, by the way?” She winked.
“Pleasant, dreamy, he made me a lavender oat milk latte this morning, too.”
“So, he does listen.” Lucy shrugged, like she didn’t think it was a possibility.
“I have news for you, though. Which I’m sure you’re dying to hear,” I said, given the state of her current manic episode. And just like that, Lucy snapped into desperation, rushing over to me.
“Please, dear God, please tell me it went well.”
Hearing her plea, I became very aware that if I handed over Mary’s card, that would be it for us. Even though my dream was Paris, it was clear that Lucy had found her ‘happily ever after’ in rainy London. But with an opportunity this huge, I would never let my selfishness get in the way. “It went better than well—I didn’t see a single dish leftover while we were heading out,” I said, even if we did duck off a little earlier than usual. “But that’s not all.”
“Get to the point or I’m going to pull my hair out,” Lucy warned.
I took a few moments, revelling in her torture, before clearing my throat. “Mary Mitchell was there.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Not just there,” I continued. “But sitting with us, at our table.”
She flicked off her gloves and clutched my arms with dry hands—a movement I was certainly grateful for. “How does it feel to have lived out my dreams?”
“Like a proud Mumma Bear, knowing I talked you up well enough that she’s dying to meet you.” I finally revealed her card, placing it in Lucy’s hand. I knew this meant a lot to her, but from the way she kept looking into my eyes and back to the card again, I clearly didn’t know it meant that much. “She wants you to call her when you’re ready, ‘to plan a day to pick your brains’, so she said.”
“Oh, God!” Lucy’s voice became shrill, stepping back like she was about to have a fainting spell. This time, I held her steady.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Will finally asked me on a date,” she said, breathing slowly to keep herself afloat.
“That’s great!” I said, but then I remembered she never actually admitted where she wanted their bout of flirtation to go. “Or isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is great! But it was going to be at Mary’s Kitchen, here in London. A place you know I’ve been dreaming of visiting since I was younger, and it was going to be picture perfect. But now Mary knows who I am!”
“Perfect!” I exclaimed, trying to shift the tone. “She clearly wants to network with you. Maybe she’ll give you a free bowl of pudding as a friendly gesture.” Lucy didn’t look convinced, so I continued. “Or! Just don’t call until you’ve scoped the place out. She only knows your name at this point, unless she’s done a social media stalk. You’ll blend in just fine.”
Lucy paused, biting her lip harder than she should. “You’re onto something here.”
“It’s an amazing opportunity, and one you would be so incredibly happy about if you didn’t let the stress get to you. It was like me visiting Paris last weekend—you need to just let it go, lose the expectations, and it’ll be everything you hoped for,” I said, going in for a hug, then pulling back again. “Sorry, can we please return to the fact that Will has asked you out on a date? When on Earth did this happen?”
She hesitated. “Last week.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“Just like you didn’t tell me you and Theo kissed? Until I pried it out of you?” Her expression was humorous, a nice pivot from her earlier worries.
“It looks like we’re even.” I laughed. “Anyways, try not to scrub at these walls until your fingers bleed. I’ve got to go wash the night off of me.”
“Enjoy that.” Lucy turned back to her task with a new skip in her step.
It didn’t take long for me to freshen up, spritz on some new perfume, and moisturise my skin so that I didn’t look ashy. It was enough self-care to feel ready to face George and Ava, despite them clearly watching Theo and I leave together last night. Still, I’d been quick enough to not look like I was trying to get out of the clean-up job.
I booked another taxi, grateful that I opted for a comfortable sweater and jeans because of the outdoor chill, and before I knew it, I was back at the event hall. When I opened the front door, my eyes didn’t take long to find Theo, who wore a goofy smile in my honour. “Well, well, well. Look who’s finally here?” He came over to me, kissing me on the cheek.
I held an arm up defensively. “What if someone sees?”
“I didn’t agree to any secret arrangements.” He smirked, but stepped away respectfully. “Alright, I can keep it under wraps around work at least.”
“Thank you.” I breathed in relief, seeing that George and Ava must’ve been working backstage. Then, I beamed. “I gave Lucy Mary’s card.”
“How’d she react?” He blinked eagerly.
“Great, after ironing out a few nervous kinks. Best of all, though, I learnt Will was taking her on a date to Mary’s Kitchen as well?”
He chuckled. “I may have already been privy to that information.”
“I can’t believe you kept that from me!” I groaned. “Withholding that type of information about my best friend seems somewhat illegal.”
“Hey! I have to follow ‘best friend protocol’ too, you know!” His finger poked my side in jest. “Besides, you would’ve probably just told her about it and spoiled the surprise.”
“You think that lowly of me?” I crossed my arms. I probably needed to retract my ‘no affection at work’ rule, since he was clearly still flirting, and I was eating up every bite.
He came in closer. “It depends. What other secrets should we try keeping?”
Just as I tilted my head back, thinking about last night, Ava and George walked in the room, and I scurried back two or three steps in hopes that they didn’t notice how close we were. Theo shook his head, snickering just a little before clearing the air. “Is the back all packed up?”
“Yep, we can officially cross it off the list.” Ava grinned. “Oh, Audrey! Thanks for coming out today.”
“Sorry I’m late, I had to do a bit of a run around this morning.”
“Nonsense, any help is a big help.” George radiated positivity. But even though they were being polite, I could already see most of the work had been done. The venue hall looked completely different from last night. The flowers were no longer around, likely returned back to the florist to try and sell off at a discounted rate; the tables were empty, and there was nothing more than a stack of boxes that I assumed we needed to take from here to the storage trucks. I rolled up my sleeves, ready to start moving them, but Ava blocked my way.
“No heavy lifting! We don’t have that kind of insurance for our staff,” she explained. “Besides, George has some hired hands just for this.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “Well, what’s left to do?”
“I have a car in the parking lot, and I need help bringing some things back to the office. You could help me there if you like?” Ava asked, jingling her keys.
“Sounds great.” And then I remembered my conversation with Theo after Paris, knowing I wasn’t going to have many more chances to talk to Ava about my moving situation. “Is there any chance I can book in some time with you today? I know it’s the weekend, but it’s urgent.”
Ava nodded knowingly, putting a comforting hand over my shoulder. “I can always make time for you. Let’s break off for lunch when we get back, and then talk this afternoon?”
Her positive attitude meant it was a good time to approach the conversation, but I knew some things would still be out of Ava’s control. The best thing I could do was hope that after we’d finished everything with the event, there’d be more room for flexibility. Because looking over to Theo now, I didn’t know if I could leave him behind. “Yeah, that would be great.”