Lucy in the Sky

stayed over at a mate’s last night actually, so I’m here alone.’
    ‘Oh,’ he says. ‘Does he often do that?’ I know what he’s thinking.
    ‘No, not really.’ I smile. ‘But anyway let’s not talk about him. I want to hear more about you. Have you really got a job?’
    Twenty-five minutes later I’ve heard all about the boutique hotel he’s helping to build on the waterfront and he’s assured me I’m right to palm off Susannah and Edward in Henley and go to the theatre instead with my friends. I’d been feeling bad about it.
    ‘Why would you want to spend a weekend with people you hardly know or like when you could be catching up with mates you haven’t seen in ages?’
    ‘Such a wise head for such young shoulders.’
    ‘Stop taking the mick.’ He laughs, and I think: I wasn’t actually. But he speaks again. ‘Want to hear a joke?’
    ‘Have you got one?’
    ‘Yep, the Sound of Music debate reminded me. Two nuns are driving their car through Transylvania when suddenly Count Dracula lands on the bonnet, snarling at them through the windscreen. “Quick, show him your cross!” screams one of the nuns. The second nun leans out of the window and yells, “Oi! Get off the fucking car!’”
    I’m still giggling when James’s key turns in the lock and he comes in, looking bedraggled.
    ‘It’s been so good to talk to you,’ I say warmly, wrapping up our conversation as James takes off his coat. I don’t want to tellNathan that James is back. I’d rather not plant the thought of my boyfriend back in his mind.
    ‘You too,’ Nathan says.
    James is looking a little surprised. I suspect he was anticipating a shed-load of grief from me for coming in at this hour, but after my conversation with Nathan, I don’t really give a toss.
    James heads off in the direction of the bathroom.
    ‘Will you call me again?’ I ask Nathan hopefully.
    ‘Definitely. Next time I think of a joke. And you can always call me. Although I’ve only got a mobile at the moment so it’s not the cheapest.’
    ‘Shit, have you been talking to me all this time on your mobile?’ I gasp.
    He laughs. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
    We ring off and I’m so ecstatic I can hardly contain myself. When James wanders back through with a towel wrapped around his waist a few minutes later, I have a big grin on my face.
    ‘How was your night?’ I ask him merrily.
    ‘Good, thanks,’ he replies, still freaked out by my good mood. He comes over and gives me a kiss on the top of my head. ‘I’m just going to get dressed,’ he says.
    I sit there for a moment looking down at the receiver.
    ‘Who was that?’ James asks, when he reappears a few minutes later.
    ‘Sam’s younger brother, Nathan,’ I tell him truthfully, but slip the ‘younger’ in so it seems less threatening.
    ‘Oh, I didn’t know he had a brother,’ he responds.
    ‘Yeah.’ I hand him the wedding photos. He flicks through the first two, quickly, then pauses on the one of the wedding party.
    ‘That’s him there.’ I point.
    ‘You’d think he could brush his hair.’ He grins. I poke him in the ribs, good-humouredly.
    ‘Give ’em here.’
    James hands the pictures over.
    ‘Want to hear a joke?’ I ask.
    ‘Yeah, okay.’
    I tell him the nun joke.
    ‘I don’t get it,’ he says.
    ‘You know, “show him your cross”…your Jesus cross, and the other one takes it to mean “show him you’re mad”…’
    James shrugs his shoulders at me.
    ‘Never mind.’
     
    It’s a Saturday evening a couple of weeks later and I’m meeting Karen and Reena outside Strada in Piccadilly. James has gone to Henley on his own. He seemed fine about it.
    ‘I’m so glad you could come.’ Reena gives me a big hug. ‘You look gorgeous,’ she says, pulling away.
    ‘So do you!’ I exclaim. She’s dazzling anyway. Her parents are from Bombay (well, Mumbai, now) but she grew up in Buckinghamshire. She has the smoothest caramel-coloured skin, dead-straight dark chin-length hair and her eyes are a striking green. Everywhere we go, men–and women–stare at her. Karen and I always told her she should be a model in her spare time but she wanted to concentrate on her studies. She’s a doctor now. Beautiful and smart. I would be jealous if she wasn’t so bloody nice. It’s so good to see her again.
    We go inside, take a seat and have a quick catch up about life, love and work, until, ten minutes later, Karen arrives in a flurry of perfume and shopping