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Joe’s eyes flick away from the road for the briefest second to look at me. He’s got the most joyous smile on his face. I catch my reflection in the wing mirror and my cheeks are pink from grinning.
‘Now Sophie,’ Joe begins, in the way I imagine he might address an impish student. ‘I’m going to need to hear more about this punk-rock phase.’
‘Ha. Let’s just say I was big into Avril Lavigne for a while. Baggy trousers, black eyeliner all over my face, I think I even wore a tie for a bit.’
‘That’s quite an image. I did not have you down as a punk.’
‘It was all very low key,’ I counter. ‘It’s not like I was going out to gigs and smoking weed with my mates. It was more like I was listening to the music and then getting back to revising for my exams.’
‘Okay then.’ Joe chuckles before falling silent.
‘You all right?’ I ask.
‘Just thinking about the lyrics, all that talk about not wanting to waste time. Would you change anything, if you could go back?’
‘You’re getting a bit deep here, Joe,’ I say, taking another swig from the champagne bottle like a true lady.
‘Feeling nostalgic, I guess …’ he trails off.
‘I don’t believe in regrets, that’s for sure. Every single choice I’ve made in my life has led me to this point.’
‘Dancing in a car with your good pal Joe?’
‘See! Exactly. You are a good pal, even if you do say so yourself. I don’t have that many friends so I’m grateful. As for the other stuff, I do wonder if I could have taken my foot off the pedal a bit when I was younger. Did I need to dedicate so much time to revising at school and uni? Did I need to spend so many hours in the office when I was launching Mylk It? Did I, maybe, miss out on some fun stuff because of that dedication?’ I shrug. ‘I don’t know. Anyway, I’m making up for it now!’ I grin and take another swig. ‘How about you?’
‘I don’t think so,’ Joe muses. ‘Actually that’s a lie, I definitely wouldn’t have kissed Alison Hardcastle when I was fifteen.’
I laugh. ‘Poor Alison Hardcastle! It can’t have been that bad?’
‘It wasn’t. The problem was her twin brother. I spent the next two years at school in fear that he’d beat me up.’
‘And did he?’
‘No, but only because I promised to do all his English homework for him.’
I try to keep a straight face. ‘Just think, he’s probably a complete dunce now. Um, Joe?’
‘You need the loo again, don’t you?’
‘It’s creepy that you can read my mind.’
‘There’s a service station in a few miles. This time I can introduce you to some modern day snacks. Have you heard of the potato crisp?’ He smirks.
I make a mental note to kick him in the shins when we pull up.
It turns out that Tally’s idea of a little barn is, in fact, an architecturally stunning structure the size of an airplane hangar. It takes a good five minutes from the turn-off along a gravel track to get to it and then another five minutes to locate the actual door because the entire premises is clad in burnt larch. (I only know this because I watch a lot of Grand Designs).
Finally Joe finds a downlight with a doorbell underneath.
‘You’re here!’ Tally claps as a hidden front door swings open and we’re pulled into a warmly lit hallway. ‘Come in, come in. You missed dinner but you’re just in time for charades.’
Missed dinner? I check my phone and can’t believe it’s gone nine p.m. That’s what happens when you take so many stops! Bloody Joe. My stomach rumbles loudly.
‘Are you hungry?’ she asks. ‘I can get Chef to whip something up.’
‘There’s a chef?’ I ask, gobsmacked.
‘She’s amazing, babes. Vegan, naturally, and totally brilliant. OMG I heard about your Mylk It connection by the way. So cool.’ Tally gives me an admiring look as she leads us upstairs to our rooms but I’m quite keen to brush all thoughts of Mylk It aside for the weekend. As if reading my mind, Joe steps in to swerve the conversation back to safer territory.
