Chapter 11 #4
Despite her rules, she had to admit that she was enjoying flirting with Ajay. “Just over a year,” she said. “Nigel got me the job really.”
“He’s a good bloke.”
“He is. I met him at a self-defense class that he was teaching and we just clicked. It was one of those lightbulb moments, like, ‘Oh, that’s what friendship is supposed to be like.’ ”
He smiled at her before taking a sip from his mug. “I love that,” he said, replacing his mug and spearing a sausage. “Was the class a requirement of the job? Because you’d be working at night?”
“No,” she said, shrugging. He didn’t need to know that she’d signed up for the class after being accosted in a dark alley by a reporter.
He studied her for a few moments and then said, “You’re well cagey.”
She laughed to cover being rumbled. “I’m not. I’m just not very interesting.”
“I don’t believe that.”
It occurred to her that he could probably run a background check on her and learn all about her sordid past. Or was that only a thing on TV shows? He was looking at her hard. “You can stare all you like,” she said. “It won’t change the fact that I’m ordinary to the point of dull.”
They had just pushed their empty plates aside and Casey was beginning to feel that kind of dreamy tired that only fried carbs can achieve when the DJ on the radio said, “And now for a cheesy festive throwback that we wish we could unhear. But it made it into the Christmas charts and therefore we must live with it. Here is the inimitable Sam Moon with his not-so-much-a-hit-as-a-miss, ‘Casey.’ ”
Casey felt the color drain out of her cheeks. Her breakfast felt suddenly heavy and all too greasy in her stomach.
“Are you all right?” Ajay asked.
If she acted casual maybe he wouldn’t notice the song; people never took any notice of ambient music in shops, did they? It was just background noise. “I just came over tired all of a sudden,” she said. “I think I need my bed.”
Ajay looked concerned. “Okay. Sure.”
“Great! Let’s pay up and get going.” She slithered along the padded bench, reaching for her coat and bag, her hands clammy as she dug around in the front pocket for her bank card.
The till was on the same counter as the radio and as they stood waiting for Shona—who was refereeing a heated game of Guess Who—to take their payment. Casey was painfully aware every time Sam warbled out her name.
“You’ve gone gray,” said Ajay, staring at her face. “I hope you haven’t got food poisoning.”
“I heard that!” shouted Gil from his position at the griddle. “I’ve got a level-five food hygiene rating. No one gets food poisoning on my watch.”
“It’s not food poisoning,” Casey said, wanting to stop this conversation its tracks. Too late. Heads all around the café swiveled in their direction. You can’t bandy about words like food poisoning in a food establishment and not expect to draw attention. Shona! Come on!
Finally, Shona ambled around to the other side of the counter and began to ring up their breakfasts. “Oh, I love this one,” she said, nodding her head in the direction of the radio where Sam was now practically screeching out Casey’s name. “That Sam Moon’s a bit of a dish.”
Casey felt faint.
“I don’t think I know him,” said Ajay conversationally.
“Oh, you’d recognize him if you saw him,” said Shona. “He does all the reality shows. He was in that meme.”
Oh god! Chunks rising. Got to get out of here…
Ajay shook his head as he tapped the card reader for both their meals. “My treat,” he said to Casey, and then to Shona, “Nope, still don’t know him.”
Casey mopped her forehead with her scarf. For fuck’s sake, Shona, don’t out me at The Greasy Spoon!
Oblivious, Shona pulled out her phone. “Here,” she said, “I’ll show you.” Shona’s nails clacked against her phone screen as the card reader refused Ajay’s contactless and demanded that he insert his card.
Please hurry up! Casey groaned inwardly as Ajay keyed in his pin and waited for the tick of acceptance.
The song ended, but Casey’s troubles were only just beginning.
It happened as if in slow motion. Shona turned her phone screen to face Ajay.
Casey saw his eyes rove over the checkerboard of memes with her face all over them.
“Ah, yeah, now I know which one you mean,” Ajay said, nodding and smiling.
“I guess she really didn’t want to marry him, huh?
” And then he frowned and moved his face closer to the phone, and Casey watched the cogs of his mind begin to make connections between the woman on the screen with long blonde hair and the woman next to him with the light auburn pixie cut.
He cocked his head at the pictures on Shona’s phone and then looked at Casey and back to the phone, once, twice, three times, the crinkle between his eyebrows deepening each time.
The card machine dinged to say that Ajay’s payment had been accepted.
“Okay, thanks then!” Casey said too loudly while looking anywhere but at Ajay. “Gotta go, bye!”
“Wait! Is this…?” Ajay began, but she didn’t give him a chance to finish his question. She threw a fiver tip on the counter and fled the café.