Chapter 23
It didn’t take us long to whizz up the Thames on the boat as it was only a couple of stops from where we were.
We really could have walked, but Caz was right, it felt more of an event cruising down the Thames.
I’d found myself standing next to her at the back of the boat, the spray hitting us as it blew up in the wind.
She wasn’t ready to talk about her meeting with Nick, so we talked about her job up in Edinburgh.
The one I still thought of as new even though she’d been there for five years.
It was going well, as I’d expect from Caz; she was always going to be one of those people in life that succeeded.
She’d always achieved what she put her mind to.
But the more she talked about the world that I didn’t understand, one that she obviously did, the more I got the impression she was just going through the motions of telling me about it.
The old power station, home to the Tate Modern, never failed to impress. It was always so much bigger than I remembered it to be.
‘I’m glad the Edinburgh move was a good one.’
‘Jury’s still out on that,’ she said, with a sigh.
‘Workwise?’
‘Oh, no workwise, best decision I ever made. And probably financially too, buying when I did.’
An unspoken look passed between us; I knew there was more to it. But now wasn’t the time or the place. We were sharing a hotel room tonight, and I hoped that away from everyone else I’d get to find out what was really going on, because her sparkle was missing and it was making me worry.
‘Right then, gather round,’ said Paul.
‘Um, can’t we just walk around and soak it up?’ asked Amy. ‘We’ve all been here before.’
‘Are you feeling OK?’ I put my hand to her forehead. ‘Since when do you want to just wander?’
‘Amy’s been tired lately so I thought I’d prepare something,’ Paul said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a clipboard and flipping through pages until he found the right one. ‘I’ve been preparing for this all week.’
‘Right, so that’s what you’ve been doing when I’ve been trying to tackle the laundry mountain. Nice.’
‘Obviously I didn’t know which envelope was going to be picked, so I had to be prepared.’
‘Where’s first on the list?’
Paul shot me a grateful look. ‘Glad to see someone is enthusiastic, Lucy. We’re going this way. Onwards.’
He reminded me of the tour guides you’d see in city centres, with his backpack and his clipboard in hand; all he needed was a colourful umbrella to hold above his head and he’d be all set.
‘Please, Sir, can I go to the toilet?’ asked Noah, causing us all to giggle.
‘Be quick, there’s lots to squeeze in.’
We walked into the Turbine Hall and it was busy, as you’d expect on a Saturday, but it was the large fountain that dominated the centre. It was so high; I’d never seen anything like it.
‘A whole day of art galleries,’ said Caz, as we got ready to go through the bag check. ‘That reminds me of when we went to Madrid.’
Amy and I winced.
‘Don’t mention that; I think I can still feel that hangover,’ said Amy, clutching her head.
The three of us had had a long weekend there in our early twenties and after a long night drinking too much rioja, we’d headed to an art gallery with raging hangovers.
‘I just remember how long it took us to walk between rooms,’ I said, laughing at the memory of the slow shuffle we’d had to do.
‘Thank goodness they had all those benches.’
‘And a lot of toilets.’ Amy shivered, her face pale. ‘At least today we’ll be able to enjoy the experience and walk at a decent pace.’
‘That’s true. And maybe I’ll remember what I saw. I can’t think of a single thing we saw in Madrid.’ No matter how hard I wracked my brains, I could only remember the floors of the gallery. I’m not sure I could even lift my head.
‘Everything was too hazy.’ Caz shrugged.
‘And that had nothing to do with the modern art,’ said Amy.
Caz laughed, and then sighed.
‘We should do another one of those trips; I think that was the last time we were away just the three of us.’
‘I’d love that.’
‘Me too,’ said Amy, looking over at Paul. ‘I’ve had to endure far too many weekends alone with the kids whilst he’s off on stag dos. I’m pretty sure when the kids were babies he invented friends to go on weekends away. If it was just me rather than us as a couple, we’d be able to afford it.’
‘We don’t have to go far,’ said Caz, ‘and I’m sure we could get a cheap B it had that industrial modern vibe that made it feel like you were staying at a hotel rather than a home.
‘Don’t tempt me,’ said Amy.
Noah reappeared and Paul got his clipboard ready. ‘Right, we’re going to head to the Start gallery, which, does exactly what it does on the tin.’
‘So you spent all week preparing this, and you’re going to take us to exactly the place that the gallery suggests you start?’
Paul sighed. ‘Don’t forget I didn’t know what envelope she was going to pick; not all the attractions had such an obvious place to start. Although, I’ll have you know I have a few places up my sleeve too.’
Amy folded her arms, seemingly unimpressed and I looped my arm through hers as we followed Paul.
For a while we all moved as a group round the gallery.
It brought back the feeling of being on a school trip: Noah was the class clown; Amy, the sulky disinterested teenager: Caz and me the studious ones.
Paul was taking his role of educator seriously and it might have been to the detriment of the laundry pile, but his tour was a good one and he’d even gone a bit above and beyond with facts that had needed more than your average Google.
‘I’m impressed,’ said Noah, patting Paul on the back once more. ‘I didn’t realise you were so good with the old art history.’
‘I’m not just a pretty face.’
‘It was great, thank you,’ I said, still not convinced by modern art, but at least I felt that I’d learned just a little.
‘It wasn’t that bad,’ said Amy, and she gave him a thumbs up. It might not have been the highest compliment, but judging from Paul’s face exploding into a beam, it might as well have been.
‘Now then, I figured that we’d have a bit of a mill about for the rest of the time. I quite fancy going to see the tanks in the new bit.’
‘What have they got in?’ asked Caz.
‘Performance art,’ said Paul.
Caz wrinkled her nose up.
‘I think I need a coffee or something,’ said Amy. I was surprised she hadn’t jumped at it; it sounded right up her street.
‘That sounds like a plan to me.’ I wasn’t going to question why she wasn’t going; a coffee was just what I fancied.
‘Shall we meet at three p.m.?’ Amy led me and Caz away without waiting for an answer.
I turned over my shoulder to see Paul shout that was fine and give us a wave before they headed off.
‘I think I might go for a little wander, by myself,’ said Caz, pointing towards a gallery.
‘You sure you want to be alone?’ I asked.
She nodded. ‘I’ll call you in a bit. See where you are.’
Amy watched her go. ‘Is she OK?’
‘I don’t think so. But you know Caz, she’ll tell us when she’s ready.’
Amy nodded. That was the thing about having long-term friends. I knew that Caz was one of those people that needed to be left alone to tell what was bothering them in their own time. Unlike Amy, who wanted to be nudged about how she felt so she could spill all that was on her mind.
‘How about you?’
‘How about me what?’ she asked confused.
‘Are you OK?’ We stood back to let a large, organised group walk into the gallery with a tour guide who would have given Paul a run for his money.
She sighed.
‘Perhaps a conversation for over coffee?’ I suggested, peering at the signage to work out where we needed to go.
‘Definitely.’
It took us a while to get our bearings without Paul and his clipboard, but we eventually found our way to the terrace bar. I dispatched Amy to get a table whilst I ordered.
‘There we are,’ I said, placing the tray down and handing one of the matching flat whites to her. I gasped at the view behind us of St Paul’s. ‘That’s stunning.’
Amy looked up from her phone. ‘What is?’
‘The view!’ I pointed behind her.
‘Oh yeah, it’s pretty good.’
‘Pretty good? I wonder how much money you usually have to pay for a view like that.’
She laughed and shoved her phone back in her bag.
I put a chocolate tiffin in the middle too, cutting it into bitesize squares. ‘Couldn’t resist.’
‘Too right,’ she said, picking one up and eating it. ‘Oh, that’s amazing.’
‘So,’ I said, after taking a sip of coffee that was far too hot, ‘what’s up with you and Paul?’
She hung her head.
‘You noticed that, huh?’
Unlike with Caz who you had to handle with care when addressing a problem, with Amy it was always better to jump straight in.