Chapter 29 Kate
KATE
The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on.
They are in the Angry Beaver, all gathered around Tay.
She looks embarrassed and flushed, but Kate thinks she is more relaxed than she has ever seen her.
Relief, she supposes. She is even having a pint of cider.
She is perching on the back of a sofa, Pia beside her.
Pia looks radiant and is quietly smiling.
The story of the meeting has been told and retold.
Linda repeating it loudly for Leonard’s benefit.
Leonard proclaiming, “Oh, well done. Well done!” Jack has come along with Satya, which at first Kate saw as a good sign, but they have barely spoken all evening.
Jack is talking to Bardy, while Satya is asking Pia about her company and her work.
Lou just beams at Tay (when she’s not looking).
Tay catches him at one point, and Kate hears him say, “What? What?” His belligerence fools no one.
Two things happen at once: Hana walks in one door of the pub and Simon walks in the other.
For a ridiculous moment, Kate feels like she is in a sliding doors moment.
Simon is with two other men. Hana is on her own.
Neither notice Kate, and she is glad of the breathing space to calm down.
Leonard is talking at her, and so she just focuses on his face, nodding, and lets his words wash over her.
It is only as she looks up that she sees Linda studying them.
The memory of the words come back to her: I think I am going to be spending the rest of my days with a boring, selfish old fart.
She wishes she could do something for her.
She genuinely would hold Leonard down while Linda put his hearing aids in, if it would help.
Over Leonard’s shoulder, she sees Tay spot Hana.
She puts her pint down and walks over to her.
Hana wraps her in a huge hug. Gosh, Hana must mean a lot to her.
Kate can tell that Tay isn’t the sort of girl who likes to hug.
Kate has one of those. Jess and Ellie: big huggers.
Bella: prickly pear. She glances at Bardy and sees such a look of longing that she is swept with a massive wave of sympathy.
Whether the look is because of Hana’s relationship with Tay, or because he finds it so hard to be around his ex-wife, Kate has no idea.
She touches Leonard on the arm and says loudly, “I’m going to get another drink. Would you like one?”
“No, no, I’m the designated driver.”
Kate smiles at him and heads for the bar. She is joined a moment later by Simon. Had she timed it for when she saw him moving that way?
Maybe.
“Kate, we must stop meeting like this.” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe I actually said that.”
“Me neither.” She grins.
“Look, I’m no good at this. Never was, if I’m honest. I keep mentioning supper, but we haven’t done anything about it. Can I just take you out sometime? I don’t even know if this is how it’s done anymore.”
Kate suddenly realizes she has no idea if this man is married, divorced, single, or a bigamist. It has been so long since they met.
One thing her brief foray into online dating taught her was that it is best to ask, which is not the same as believing you will always hear the truth. “Did you ever get married?”
“Twice.” He looks at her. “Now I don’t know whether to say I’m really not that bad. Two divorces. What’s wrong with him? But if I say that, you’ll think I’m trying too hard. The man doth protest too much.”
They are both laughing now.
“I told you, completely useless. Never going to get laid again.”
Oh, I don’t know.
He flushes. “Did I really say that?”
“It’s The lady doth protest too much.”
They turn in unison toward the voice.
Bardy is standing behind Kate’s shoulder, queuing for a drink.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to overhear, it’s just that quote. It’s from Hamlet.”
“Oh, thanks mate,” Simon says, glancing at Kate and raising an eyebrow.
Before Kate can do or say anything, Bardy moves away, heading back to where Hana and Tay are standing. He seems to have forgotten to buy a drink.
“Do you know him?” Simon sounds baffled.
“Yes . . . uh, I don’t know what that was about.”
Simon glances toward his friends. “I’ve got to go.
But could we go out?” Before Kate can answer, he appears struck by a thought.
“I don’t know if it’s your thing or not, but I’ve got a couple of tickets that my sister can’t use, in a week or so, to see the new production of King Lear in London.
It’s not Hamlet,” he laughs, throwing a look at Bardy, and Kate likes him just a little bit less, “but it could be fun.”
She doesn’t think anyone has ever called King Lear “fun.” But a night out in London with Simon? She has been planning to go to London to look at some art galleries, to study some oil paintings up close. She could do both. “That would be great. If I’m free, I would love to.”
Simon shakes his head. “Now if you say you’re busy, I’m not going to know if you were ever seriously considering it.” He smiles at her and walks back to his table.
She gets her drink and wanders over to Pia, who is with Jack. Satya is now talking to Lou. “Jack’s been telling me about the band he was once in. It sounds like it was a wonderful time.”
Jack shrugs, “It was.”
“Do you play now?” Kate asks.
“No. When Satya started her company, we sold our flat and moved into a small rental. She . . . we . . . sold all my guitars. Didn’t have the room. Needed all the money we could lay our hands on.” He continues with a desperate attempt to sound more upbeat, “But hey! It worked.”
They all fall silent, Jack staring into his pint.
Kate feels so sorry for him but has no idea what to say. She turns to Pia, “It sounds like you were amazing today.”
Pia glances at Jack. But he is still gazing into his drink. She leans closer to Kate, “I nearly didn’t go in. I mean, it was totally unprofessional.”
“But?”
“I had found the social media posts and the comments, and I thought Grace would have done it. She would do anything for her friends. For me,” she adds, sadly.
Pia smiles very gently, more hesitant than the firebrand that Bardy and Tay had described.
“And I know she will never know about it, but in a funny way, I wanted to make her proud.”
“Is there any chance the two of you . . .”
“No. Grace really is seeing someone else now. A doctor.”
“Ah.”
Kate wants to say more. Something consoling?
But she is also intrigued; she has a feeling there is something that Pia isn’t telling her.
She glances at Jack, but he is still staring into his pint—miles away.
She asks, “Did it worry you, getting involved in Tay’s stuff?
I don’t know why, but I thought you seemed a bit reluctant to go there at first.”
Pia stiffens beside her.
Has she said too much, gone too far?
Eventually, Pia says, “It isn’t always that easy. You think you are going to do some good, but . . . sometimes it’s a mistake to get too involved.”
Had Pia ever got her fingers burned helping someone? Kate waits. But it seems that Pia doesn’t want to say more, and Kate is perfectly sure she shouldn’t push it.
In silence, they watch Tay, who is still talking to Hana and Bardy. Kate thinks they look like a family. “I did want to give Tay a fighting chance. I hate it when the little ones get trodden on,” Pia adds.
Jack has now finished his pint and is also watching the “family” group.
“You’ve known them a long time, haven’t you?” Kate says.
“Seems like forever. Still miss Tom, he’s been my best mate since primary school.”
“It’s a shame Bardy and Hana . . .” Kate can’t finish, feeling it might be tactless to talk of broken marriages.
Jack unexpectedly gives a small laugh.
“What?” the two women demand.
“Those two do make quite a team. Tom always said it was like being brought up by a botanist and a gardener.”
“Really?” Pia inquires.
“Yeah.” Jack is smiling now. “Hana can’t get enough of studying you.
I mean, the woman finds everything interesting.
And don’t get me wrong, she really is fascinated with what you have to say.
We used to love hanging out there, especially as teenagers, when pretty much everyone else gave us the go-by. ”
“And Bardy?” Kate asks.
“Gardener Bardy. Oh, he gets stuck in and gets his hands dirty. Lot of love in that man.” Jack looks at her, as if recalling where he is. “Better get a move on,” he says, putting down his empty glass, “got to get back to the babysitter.”
They all gradually start to drift away. Kate would like to have a word with Bardy, but he is sitting in one of the pub’s worn armchairs with Hana perched on the arm.
They look like a couple. She likes Hana and had said a few words to her earlier, but she doesn’t want to intrude on this.
Whatever this is. Hana puts her hand on Bardy’s shoulder, and Kate is thrown by how painful this feels. She thinks of what Jack said.
Maybe the team’s getting back together?
She can’t bring herself to join them to say goodbye, so she goes in search of Linda. Pia and Tay have already left. Having said goodbye to Linda, Kate is just heading down the short corridor to the back door of the pub when she hears Bardy’s voice. He is hidden in the stairwell.
Then comes Lou’s voice. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”
Leonard’s voice follows. For once, just a murmur.
Why are Lou and Bardy out here with Leonard?
“You want to do what?!” This from Bardy.
There is silence, and then Lou and Bardy start laughing.
“I’m sorry, mate. I didn’t mean to . . .” Lou can’t finish.
Bardy, still laughing, says, “Leonard, trust me. You really need to tell Linda.”
It is the last thing Kate hears as she disappears out the back door.