AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Oh … yes,’ I lie. ‘We’re hanging out on Friday, actually.’ This bit is true at least.
‘Auntie Poppy’s on babysitting duties,’ says my sister. ‘Lila’s been pestering me about that bear hunt in town, have you heard about it? She’s already made me download the map so we’re definitely doing it. Like, I have no choice in the matter.’
I find it amusing that Lila has Poppy wrapped around her little finger, just like Poppy has me wrapped around hers.
‘I could take Sid too?’ she adds.
‘Thanks, Pop, I’ll mention it to Joe.’
Sensing that I’m keen to move on, Denise steps in again and soon she and Poppy are swept away in a world of romance, with Poppy mooning after current crush Akoni Jones and Denise retelling the story of how she met Joe’s dad. It’s sweet that they get on so well, I think, returning to The Cookie Box’s financial projections. Because I just don’t get it. What’s the point in love? Other than weighing you down in emotional turmoil, that is. Look at Joe and I! Everything was going brilliantly until we let our guards slip, the lines blurred for, what, less than a minute? And now I’m not so sure we even have a friendship left. Romance, even a whiff of it, can get in the sea.
Chapter 25
Joe’s booked a staggeringly swanky restaurant for our Friday night which already puts me on edge. Joe at his happiest is propping up the bar at that rundown pub he took me to on our first date, pencil behind his ear as he marks papers with a beer in hand. This place is formal, almost stuffy, and somehow doesn’t feel like the right fit for me to try and salvage our friendship. Still, I’ve gone into overdrive, chatting about the complex origami shape of our napkins, filling the void between us with bluster and desperate not to mess things up.
‘I can’t believe we’re in such a fancy restaurant,’ I add. ‘It’s got a Michelin star!’
‘I know.’ Joe grimaces. Grimaces! ‘I booked it ages ago, way before we …’ and he pauses for an awkward clearing of his throat. ‘Anyway, turns out we haven’t seen each other for ages and I figured it would be good to still come.’
‘Definitely! It’s really good to see you,’ I say honestly.
‘We ought to get a picture to post online, it’s been a while.’
‘Oh, right, of course.’ He’s bringing it back to the plan. That’s … fine. That’s what we’re here for I guess. Although maybe I thought we were here for our friendship.
After smiling awkwardly for a photo, I try to bring it back to us. ‘So, how are you?’
I’ve missed you, I don’t add.
‘Good, thanks,’ he says brusquely. ‘All good with you? How’s Lila?’
‘I … yeah, she’s good. Mad as always. She’s made a spaceship out of carboard boxes and spends most of her time in it. She won’t take it off for meals and she’s not made a big enough hole for her face so the rocket ship is now covered in ketchup.’
Foolishly, I thought this might make him laugh but it becomes clear that the old Joe isn’t here tonight. He smiles, and it’s not like he’s acting like a dick, but he’s different. Distant. He won’t look me in the eye at all. It’s like he’s gone back into self-protection mode, the kind of closed-off bravado I saw him deploy at the school gates when we first met.
The menu arrives, a single embossed sheet detailing ten courses.
‘We allow four to five hours for our gastronomic experience.’ A suited man delivers this blow with a bow. ‘There is a wine flight to accompany each dish if you’d like.’ My eyes hover over the price of the wine flight, well into treble figures, and I find myself wondering if ten extortionate wines might be the only sensible way of getting through this evening?
‘Water’s fine for me, thanks,’ Joe says.
Ooh great. A sober five-hour gastronomic experience with a date who hates me! Not what I ordered, but the only thing on the menu.
The teeny-tiny plates of food arrive with pomp and ceremony and I try my best to eat them with the decorum of a civilised person, rather than a mother whose last meal was some questionable ham at 11am because she was ravenous and the cupboards were bare.
‘Next up is something called “cheese and onion”,’ I read from the menu. ‘Do you think it will be a giant crisp?’
Joe gives me a tight smile. By the time “cheese and onion” arrives – not a crisp but a miniature bowl of onion broth with an aged cheddar crouton floating on top – Joe’s barely said a word. The only topic of conversation I can find that musters any enthusiasm is The Cookie Box, which he seems grateful to me for. But we quickly run out of steam. Again.
Everyone else is having a brilliant time. Mouthfuls of food are taken reverentially, followed by oohs and ahhs. One couple, already at the dessert end of the menu, are feeding each other spoons of something elegant and chocolatey. Another pair are giggling through their wine flight.
God! Joe and I are so lucky to be here and yet the mood between us is ruining what should be an incredible experience. I’m desperate to fix it but I don’t know how. Transport back in time so we didn’t ever kiss? Although, would I actually be willing to not have had that incredible kiss with Joe? I just don’t know, because part of me feels like I’ll remember every detail of that moment until my dying day. But it was as I feared. We sacrificed our friendship for it, which completely sucks.
I spoon up the last of the broth deep in thought. This will not do. And with Joe currently talking in monosyllables, I guess it’s down to me to deal with it.
‘This is shit,’ I say abruptly. ‘I fucking hate this atmosphere between us.’
Joe trails his gaze up to meet mine but doesn’t say a word.
