Page 20 of The Way We Are Now

‘Stayed over in Theo’s room at Bodington Hall, I guess.’ I felt that flush of envy again. I really had to get over this bloody silly crush I appeared to have developed on Fliss’s boyfriend. Theo Mandeville, the player.

‘I’ve not spoken to her for days,’ Clare said, coming into the kitchen. ‘Shall we treat ourselves and have a bottle of wine?’ she asked. ‘We can pinch the electricity money.’

‘Oh, bugger it, let’s,’ I said. ‘I’m so fed up, I need alcohol.’

I carried on cooking while Clare pulled on her jacket and set off to the Co-op and Katy went to have a shower. When Clare came back with the wine, fifteen minutes later, she said, ‘I don’t get it.’

‘What?’ I looked up from tearing kitchen towel for napkins. ‘The wine? Didn’t you have enough money?’

Clare took the bottle of red from her carrier, holding it up. ‘Fliss’s Mini is down by the Co-op.’

‘Oh? And was Fliss in there?’ I brightened, pleased. ‘Is she on her way back home? Did you tell her to come back and eat with us?’

‘No, no,’ Clare said. ‘Just her car parked and, to be honest, looked as if it had been there for a couple of days.’

‘Oh? How do you know?’

‘The Mini had a total flat tyre – the back one. And there was a parking ticket on the windscreen.’

‘Well, she’s had plenty of parking tickets before,’ I said. ‘Are you sure it was her Mini?’

‘I know Fliss’s Mini when I see it.’ Clare was slightly put out. ‘And, you know how she’s always cleaning it, always polishing it? Well, it looked dirty… abandoned to me.’

‘Who’s abandoned?’ Katy was back in the kitchen, hair wrapped up in a red towel. ‘I’m starving. Can we eat?’

‘Fliss’s Mini. Down by the Co-op,’ Clare explained once more. ‘It looked abandoned. Had a flat tyre.’

‘Well, did you look inside?’

‘Course I did. And tried the doors. All locked.’

‘She probably parked it there to go to the Co-op, found she had a flat tyre and got lover boy to pick her up in his Mini. There wasn’t a black one there as well?’ Katy laughed, wandering over to the oven and peering inside. ‘You know – “a tale of two Minis”.’ She laughed again, air-miming the words.

‘How would she have told him?’ I frowned, trying to picture it.

‘Told who?’ Clare asked, pulling a face in turn.

‘Theo. Theo Mandeville.’

‘Well, she probably got a taxi up to his place,’ Katy said. ‘She always reckons her dad keeps her short of money, but, you know, that isn’t the case, especially as she seems to be on friendlier terms with him recently. He’s obviously bought her a load of new clothes…’

‘But why leave it there?’ I interrupted. ‘How long ago was the ticket left, Clare?’

‘Two days – I looked. In fact…’ she delved into her jacket pocket ‘…I took it off the windscreen and brought it back with me.’

‘Is that legal?’ I asked.

‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ Katy was irritable at the attention once more on Fliss, who’d never been her favourite housemate; she had actually argued the toss against Fliss moving in with us. ‘Bit flaky, don’t you think?’ Katy had opined, when Fliss had come round in her yellow Mini, sporting expensive designer jeans and Ralph Lauren shirt.

‘Maybe she’s actually here? In her room?’ I asked. ‘Maybe she’s ill; got flu or something and not been able to get out of bed?’

‘Oh, don’t be so daft, Anna,’ Katy scoffed. ‘We’d have heard her, heard her get up to the loo. She’d have been banging on your door asking for the hot water bottle, demanding Lucozade and aspirin.’

‘I’m going up to check,’ I said stoutly, annoyed with Katy’s cavalier attitude towards Fliss.

‘I’ll come with you.’ Clare jumped up from the table.

‘Well, I’m having a drink.’ Katy sniffed, turning to fetch glasses and open the bottle of cheap red Clare had brought back with her.