‘Really?’ Carole’s still operating at very high volume.
‘Definitely,’ the woman in red says. ‘I mean, this is Waterloo station. They must have practised this loads of times. Obviously. All big stations must have done.’
‘That is probably true,’ concedes Carole.
‘So we should all stay calm and do exactly what we’re told,’ says Carole’s partner.
‘Fuck off, Roger,’ Carole tells him.
A muffled choking sound like a swallowed gasp of shocked laughter comes from the direction of the woman in red, and then to my admiration she steps into the breach and says to the rest of us, ‘I think we might be stuck here together for a while. I’m Nadia.’
Carole and Roger stare at her.
The elderly women stare at her.
I take pity on her.
‘I’m Tom,’ I announce. ‘I hope your foot’s okay. I think I trod on it very hard just now.’ She looked as though she might be hobbling.
‘I mean, I’m pretty sure you broke my foot but other than that I’m okay.’ She remains completely straight-faced for a moment, and then she grins at me. ‘Joking. Totally fine. Honestly.’
‘Ha.’ I laugh politely. ‘You got me there for a moment. I’m glad you’re okay.’
‘I’m Bea.’ The taller of the two elderly women has released her companion and is holding her hand out, and Nadia and I both shake it.
After some hesitation, Roger shakes her hand too, and eventually so does Carole.
‘And I’m Ruth,’ the shorter elderly woman joins in. We shake hands with her too.
‘Roger,’ says Roger, and then he sticks his hand out, and Bea, Ruth, Nadia and I all politely pretend that we didn’t already know his name.
And then Carole says, ‘I’m Carole,’ and we pretend again.
And then we all stare at each other for a few seconds, before Nadia says, ‘Well this is a bit of a shock, isn’t it.’
‘It is, rather,’ Bea agrees. And then, as though the words won’t stay inside her, she says, ‘I’m so sorry, I appreciate that this isn’t exactly the best timing for a happy announcement and that we’re all complete strangers, but I just have to tell someone: after decades of being apart for various reasons, Ruth and I have just got engaged.’
Ruth nods, beaming and looking a touch tearful, and they slide an arm each around the other’s waist.
‘Oh my goodness, that’s wonderful news,’ says Nadia. ‘I’m so pleased for you. Congratulations.’
‘Yes, huge congratulations,’ I say.
There’s a bit of a loud silence from where Roger and Carole are standing, both very rigid, about a metre apart from each other, and then Roger says, ‘Great news. Congratulations,’ and then Carole adds, ‘How lovely.’ Both of them sound very flat, but at a guess, they’ve just split up, possibly due to something Roger’s done, going by the yelling Carole was doing before the loudspeaker announcement, and they probably aren’t totally up for celebrating other people’s news.
A few awkward seconds pass, and then Nadia says, ‘I’m so happy for you. When did you first meet?’
I check my phone quickly as Bea says, ‘Well,’ like she’s about to start a long story.
There’s no update on any news channel, and there’s no reply from Lola. I try calling her again, and again she doesn’t pick up.
‘Are you alright?’ Ruth asks me.
‘Yes, no, I mean, yes. I was just checking on a… friend I was supposed to be meeting.’
‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ Bea says quickly. ‘I was being hugely insensitive. You must be very worried. I’m sure, though, that they’re absolutely fine. What time were you supposed to be meeting?’
‘Seven.’
