‘Won’t that be a bit. . . weird?’ she asks. I nod in agreement. Taking your friend’s girlfriend as your date isn’t exactly normal wedding etiquette.
‘Why? I don’t want to be the reason my two best people miss out on free food and wine. Go and have fun.’
‘But—’
Adamant that he won’t take no for an answer, Sarah and I both finally say yes to Matt’s plan. I can tell that Sarah feels awkward, but probably not for the same reason I do.
‘Shall we go?’ Matt asks. ‘Film starts in forty.’
‘What are you seeing?’
‘There’s a special screening ofThe Babadookshowing,’ Sarah informs me. ‘Who doesn’t love some horror in the afternoon, right?’
The look on Matt’s face tells me that the answer is him.
Sarah hands Alfie his snack and settles him down on the couch. He’s brought over the Lego set his grandparents gave him for Christmas and I know I’ll be stepping on one before the afternoon is through.
‘Be good,’ she says, kissing him on the top of the head. ‘Matt and I will only be a couple of hours.’
She’s changed her hair over Christmas. It’s slightly shorter, just above her shoulders, and it’s all straight and glossy. I like it but it’s not quite the repulsive, tentacle-clad metamorphosis I’d hoped for. I’m starting to realise that Sarah could turn up with a Mohawk and face tattoos and I’d still be smitten the moment she smiled.
I say goodbye and dive into helping Alfie build his masterpiece, which he tells me is a truck but looks more like a skip on wheels. It makes me nostalgic for my childhood – me playing with Lego in my bedroom while Mum busied herself with housework for an hour before I inevitably messed up the flat again. I was never lonely as an only child, but I often wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. Someone on hand to play with or fight with or just vent to when Mum was being unreasonable by asking me to put my dirty washing in the machine.
‘I wish I was going to the cinema,’ Alfie states. ‘But Mum says I can’t see scary movies until I’m eighteen.’
‘Your mum’s right,’ I reply. ‘You don’t need that stuff in your head.’
‘But I already know who Chucky is.’
I raise an eyebrow. ‘You do, huh?’
‘Yep. Darren told me. He’s a doll who will stab you if you’re not his friend and he said that Chucky can hide in your wardrobe and jump out while you sleep.’
Darren sounds like an asshole.
‘Well, I’m very glad that Chucky is just a made-up character, then,’ I reply. ‘His movie was boring anyway; you’re not missing much.’
Alfie turns back to his Lego, obviously not convinced. Nothing worse than an adult trying to convince you that something which is clearly fun, isn’t.
‘I’ll tell you a secret. Matt hates scary films and evenhewasn’t scared of Chucky,’ I inform him. ‘I’m surprised he agreed to see one with your mum. He’ll be hiding behind her the whole time.’
Alfie giggles. ‘That’s silly. Mum loves scary films. Do you like them?’
‘Not really,’ I reply. ‘It’s hard to be scared of things that aren’t real, you know? I’d much rather watch a cool animation, or see someone save the world!’
Complete lie. I adore horror movies. Having the bejesus scared out of me distracts me from how mind-numbing real life can sometimes be, and the fact that Sarah loves them too makes me like her even more. I once made Angela sit throughThe Fogand she was so horrified she didn’t speak to me for three days after. Maybe if I dress like a murderous pirate and vape outside her window, she’ll finally stop calling me.
Sarah and Matt return three hours later to find the best fleet of Lego trucks the world has ever seen.
‘Wow, you two have been busy!’ she remarks. ‘I wish I had stayed here to play. The film was so boring.’
Alfie looks delighted by this news, while Sarah mimes that it was fucking awesome. Matt declines to comment but he’s definitely a shade lighter than when he left.
Chapter Twenty-Three
‘Happy New Job, Nick!!’
Behind an assortment of oversized balloons, I see Alfie beaming at me, while Sarah clutches a bottle of champagne, her hair wet from the persistent February showers we’ve been having.
