Chapter 41
ED
Now
I awake with a start and notice that I’m in my own bed. My brand-new suit is a crumpled mess, half-heartedly thrown over the chair in my bedroom. I glance down, relieved to see that I’m at least wearing pants, and I’m alone.
I start getting flashbacks from last night.
I remember the christening and that all seems like a clear memory and then I remember taking a cab with Manuela, Jez and Isabella and buying champagne and then I think I remember another taxi.
My head is thumping with that awful pain that you only get from drinking too much champagne.
I reach for a bottle of water on my bedside table and drink almost half of its contents before running to my ensuite bathroom, promptly throwing up as the water hits my empty stomach.
I feel better almost immediately apart from cramps from an empty stomach.
I brush my teeth and pull on a t-shirt and joggers and walk towards the kitchen to fix myself a coffee.
And as I walk through the sitting room there is Manuela, asleep on the sofa, covered by a throw.
She looks peaceful so I continue through to the kitchen.
I clearly underestimate quite how noisy my coffee machine is, and I’m soon joined by Manuela.
‘Good morning, Ed. How is your head?’ Manuela enquires with a kind smile.
‘Umm. Yeah. Err better than when I first woke up. Coffee?’ I reply, wondering if I need to apologise to Manuela for my behaviour.
She smiles and nods in answer to my offer of coffee and I shudder as to what else I may have offered her in the early hours of this morning.
My hands shake as I pass her a coffee and point towards the milk and sugar, which she declines.
‘Thank you. How are you feeling this morning?’ she continues.
‘As I said earlier, better than first thing. The coffee’s helping.’ I reply with a fake smile.
‘No, I don’t mean your head. I mean how is your heart? You were so sad last night, and I think you just wanted to drink more to forget all about Evie.’ she says with a real look of concern.
‘Oh, to be honest, I don’t really remember much about last night. I’m so sorry. I do hope that I didn’t do anything to upset or offend you?’ I ask tentatively, hoping that somehow, she can help fill in the blanks. She shakes her head.
‘Of course not. I believe there will be some, er, how you say, some paparazzi photos of you today, I tried to cover our faces but I’m not so sure that it worked, and my phone is out of charge, so I haven’t been able to check.’ she further elaborates.
‘There’s a charger here.’ I say pointing towards the charger, next to the Alexa. ‘Pass it here.’
Hands still shaking, I just about manage to plug her phone in while I search for my own phone, which is on the coffee table.
Surprisingly it has some juice left in it, so I take a look at the showbiz headlines to be greeted with photos of myself and Manuela stumbling out of Blaze nightclub.
They’re not particularly flattering photos of me, but I’ve seen worse.
‘Sorry, Manuela that you’ve been dragged into my mess.’ I say as a way of an apology.
‘It’s fine. I like you, but I have realised that you need to find some closure with finding your ex-girlfriend. I know from Rosita what a good friend you are to her and Mark. She says that you always make time to talk to her and she is forever grateful.’ Manuela replies.
‘Thanks. I love Rosita. She’s good for Mark and I know how settled she makes him feel.
’ I start to explain as I pass my phone over to her.
‘And don’t worry about the photos. You look gorgeous.
Nothing to be ashamed about, apart perhaps from the company that you keep. ’ I say, trying to lighten the mood.
‘You are funny Ed Nash.’ Manuela replies with an amused smile as she drains the rest of her mug. I think carefully about what she has said about needing to heal my heart and although we have only just met, I realise that she has got the measure of me perfectly.
‘Can I offer you some breakfast?’ I ask, when all I really want to do is drag myself back to bed, my champagne hangover really starting to kick in.
‘No. I’m ok thanks. I really should be getting back to Rosita and Mark’s house.’ She replies as if reading my mind.
‘Let me at least pay for a taxi.’ I offer, feeling that I really do owe her for looking out for me last night.
‘Yes. Ok. I would appreciate that. Thank you.’ She replies, reaching over and chastely kisses my cheek.
Once Manuela has left, I grab a bottle of water and a couple of paracetamol and return to bed and toss and turn for about an hour as my hangover threatens to take over.
I shoot Jez a message and he tells me about Isabella staying the night – in the spare room – he hastens to add.
I explain that Manuela crashed on the sofa as I was in no state to even show her to my guest room!
Jez casually mentions the recent photos and I kind of shrug them off and Jez knowing me so well, doesn’t pursue things but suggests meeting for a healthy lunch the following day, more for my benefit than his I think, and I jump at the chance to meet up with him.
I could take a leaf out of his book with doing all things in moderation.