Chapter Fifty-Two
Fifty-Two
‘So, Mary, tell us – how did you and Quaddra meet… business trip somewhere?’
It took less than five minutes from the formal introductions as Quaddra’s guests arrived for the evening, for the first question to be thrown at Mary, and it came from Carol, who was standing next to Rachel.
They had both met Quaddra years ago, at university, and there was zero doubt in Mary’s mind that he had slept with both of them – probably even together – but jealousy, especially of things that had happened in the past, had never been Mary’s style.
She truly couldn’t care less. Everyone had a past.
Carol and Rachel were both holding half-empty glasses of white wine and staring Mary down as if they were about to go into a boxing ring with her. All three of them were by the cheese table, though only Mary was holding a plate.
Mary licked a blob of plum chutney from the tip of her index finger before turning to look at them. They were both unnatural blondes, and their hair and makeup seemed to have been professionally done for the evening.
From the get-go, Mary could tell by the way that they were looking at her that those two couldn’t wait to get her away from Quaddra so that they could launch their first assault. And they seized the very first opportunity they got.
Mary was about to reply to Carol when Quaddra, who was standing with two of his buddies by the drinks table, came to Mary’s rescue. He knew exactly how intimidating Rachel and Carol could be, especially when they ganged up on someone.
‘How are we doing, babe?’ he asked, approaching the three women.
As soon as Quaddra said the word ‘babe’, Mary saw the glance that Carol gave Rachel, silently communicating that that would definitely be a topic for discussion once they were by themselves, but they weren’t alone in their communicating glance.
Quaddra also sent one Mary’s way and his came accompanied by a very subtle bottom-lip biting that clearly said – ‘I’m so sorry about this’.
Mary gave him an almost invisible smile that replied – ‘Don’t worry, honey… I’ve got this’.
‘We were just asking Mary how the two of you met,’ Rachel said, smiling at Mary, who easily understood the importance of the question.
That, right there, was a tight group of friends.
Some of them had probably known each other since kindergarten, with that circle remaining pretty small throughout their whole lives.
Joining that ‘elite’ group was a task that, most who had tried, had failed, Mary was sure of it.
But Mary also understood where they were coming from.
They were simply trying to look out for their friend.
‘We met at an indie art exhibition, in the Dogpatch,’ Mary replied, as she dropped a small dollop of plum chutney onto her plate.
‘What actually happened was…’ Quaddra quickly took over, before the onslaught of questions began. ‘We were both swinging from left to right and angling our heads in front of a black canvas.’
‘What?’ Brian, Rachel’s partner, asked, though everyone frowned at Quaddra at the same time.
Quaddra told them the story.
‘After that,’ he added, ‘I sort of acted like some creepy little stalker, I’m afraid to say.’ He lifted his hands at the group, as their questioning stares settled on him. ‘At the exhibition,’ he explained. ‘I missed the chance to ask Mary for her phone number, so I…’ He glanced at Mary and smiled.
She smiled back.
‘Had to pull a few strings to find out how I could get in touch with her,’ Quaddra continued. ‘Luckily, Mary was friends with one of the artists who were exhibiting that evening. I managed to get a message to that artist, who kindly passed the message to Mary.’
Mary knew exactly why Quaddra had added those details. He wanted all of his friends to know that he was the one who had chased Mary, and not the other way around. That would certainly give them all food for thought.
Just seconds after Quaddra finished telling his story, the doorbell rang.
‘That’ll probably be Megan,’ Carol said, nodding at Quaddra. ‘She’s always fashionably late – French style.’
‘That’s for sure,’ Quaddra agreed.
There was something in the way that Quaddra said those words that made Mary frown at him, but the mystery didn’t last long because Carol wasn’t about to miss such a great opportunity for a quick dig.
‘Quaddra and Megan used to date,’ she said.
Next to her, Rachel nodded before adding, ‘For quite a while.’
‘It wasn’t that long,’ Quaddra was quick to counter.
‘You guys dated for about a year,’ Carol said before looking at Mary.
‘For Quaddra, that’s a hell of a long time.
’ Those words were followed by another silent communicating glace between her and Rachel, but this time everyone in the room could read it.
It clearly said – ‘Let’s see how long this one will last’.