The Reunion

Friday and Monday off. They’d have the run of the house for an entire long weekend.
    He never mentions, because it doesn’t seem particularly important, that Dan had recently purchased his first ever car: a red 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce. Jen and Natalie (Nat crammed into the tiny back seat with her knees up by her chin), were riding with Dan. Andrew was driving the other car, a rather less racy dark blue Vauxhall Nova which used to belong to his mum. His girlfriend, Lilah, was at his side, with Conor in the back seat.
    The plan was that he would drive as far as Weyhill, where they were going to stop for lunch. After that, Lilah would take over the driving, because it was his celebration after all. He should be allowed a pint or two.
    He never tells anyone about the atmosphere around the table at lunch, which was odd, strained, with everyone either talking a bit too loudly or not at all. Conor hyper, Jen a bit subdued, Dan showing off, Lilah veering wildly between silence and shrieks of laughter.
    He never mentions what Natalie has just said, that she caught Lilah doing a line in the toilets and got her to admit that she hadn’t been drinking orange juice after all, that she’d got the barman to sneak in a couple of vodkas, too. He doesn’t say how he and Lilah ended up in an argument when he said she couldn’t possibly drive. He was in a better state. After all, he hadn’t quite finished his second pint.
    Lilah was furious with him, insisting that he was over-reacting. Fucking Captain Sensible. She let him drive but insisted on switching cars: she couldn’t bear to sit beside him, the sanctimonious, self-righteous wanker. Conor, could she switch with Conor? She wanted to be in the cool car, anyway. Come on, Dan, let’s see what this baby can do.
    Heading out of the village, the road wound down a hill. Dan was driving a little too fast given that they didn’t know the roads. Andrew, with Natalie by his side, Conor in the back seat, was left way behind. At the bottom of the hill, there was a long, much straighter section of road, running in between two fields of glorious yellow rapeseed. He never mentions Conor telling him to put his foot down, to catch them up. Come on, pedal to the metal, mate. Can’t let that flash git get away with this, got to take him down a peg or two. Andrew put his foot down, the old Nova had more poke than he’d thought.
    Conor was cheering him on, Natalie was laughing. They were catching up with the others, speeding along, sixty miles an hour, seventy, hedgerows a dark green blur. Windows open, music up loud. Conor’s yelling, come on, come on, you little beauty, as though he’s cheering on a horse. Andrew looked over at Natalie and she was looking back at him, doing that thing she does, where she smiles and bites her lower lip at the same time and it just kills him, the way she looks at him. His heart is breaking, his heart soars. He’s in love with her, he’s in love with her, he can’t be, it’s impossible, but he’s in love with her. He wants to drive, with her by his side, forever. He put his foot down harder, steered out to the right, coasting past Dan’s boy racer, Conor hanging out the window, jeering at him as they went.
    Once past them, Andrew slowed back down, aware that the buzz he was feeling wasn’t just due to the sunshine and velocity and falling in love with his girlfriend’s best friend, there was beer buzz in there too.
    When he tells the story, he never remarks on how Dan just
wouldn’t let it go
, driving right up to his bumper, beeping his horn, messing around, eventually racing past them, blowing kisses as he went. Natalie waved at him, she blew a kiss back. He doesn’t mention how Conor just
wouldn’t let it go
, goading him from the back seat, come on, come on mate, you’ve got the rest of your life to be boring, let’s go.
    There was a bend in the road, Dan raced around it, Andrew following. After that, there was another straight section. They’d left the farmland behind them now and they were driving through forest, an emerald canopy above. Come on, mate, come on. He was thinking about the kiss that Natalie blew to Dan, wondering if she meant it. There was a cassette in the car stereo, a mix tape that he made years ago, second year at college maybe, all Lemonheads and Suede and Nirvana. ‘Sodajerk’ came on, by Buffalo Tom, and Natalie gave a little yelp. Oh, I love this song, I haven’t heard this song in forever. She turned the