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“Let her get it out her system,” I say, folding my arms over my chest and staring straight ahead. “She won’t stop until she has.”
“And what, a week later, you’re having dinner with Lauren,” Rosey continues, smiling in Lauren’s direction. “A nice family get-together.” Lauren tips her wine glass slightly, like she’s raising a toast to family. She smirks and takes a sip, and I’m reminded that I’m sitting between two deadly women.
“Does that bother you?” I ask. “Because from what I hear, you’ve got your family around you these days.”
“Are you keeping tabs on me, Bert?” asks Rosey, grinning playfully.
“What do you want, Rosey? Why are you here?”
“To see Meli,” she says simply, with a shrug of her shoulders.
“She’s entertaining guests,” snaps Arthur. “Or can’t you read the room?”
Rosey winces. “It’s my ADHD. I don’t tend to take a hint.”
Meli stands suddenly. “Look, she can stay for dinner, it’s not a problem. I’ll let the chef know.” And she disappears into the kitchen.
“Seriously, Rosey,” Arthur growls, “I don’t need the hassle.”
“It’s just dinner, Art. Relax,” she replies, winking.
Rosey takes my wine, draining the glass. “So, how’s business?”
“You don’t need to know,” snaps Arthur.
“Ouch. Rude.”
“What about you?” Lauren asks, leaning around me to see Rosey. “Are you getting much work?”
“I’m taking a career break.”
“Not the sort of business to do that, is it? Before you know it, everyone will forget who you are. You’ll be replaced,” says Lauren. “Again.”
“I’m not worried.”
Lauren places her hand on my thigh, and Rosey catches the move. I don’t remove it purely out of anger. I want her to hurt, like her words hurt me.
Meli returns. “Sorted.”
Rosey tops up my glass of wine but keeps hold of it. “I always hate these things,” she says to no one in particular. “They were invented for couples,” she continues. “It’s always ‘bring a plus one’.”
“Well, you weren’t invited, Red,” Arthur reminds her.
“I couldn’t have brought a plus one anyway,” she says with a laugh. “You killed him . . . remember?” I roll my eyes. It’s going to be a long night.
Dinner is brought in and, for a while, the conversation dies down. Rosey being here is making things awkward, which I’m certain was her intention.
We’re almost through dessert when Lauren returns to the earlier conversation of our past. “Meli, I didn’t finish telling you about Albert and me,” she says, and I inwardly groan. “We met when I was sixteen. I was working in the fish and chip shop on Barrell Street. It’s a vaping shop these days. He used to come in every Friday night to get two large bags of chips for him and his brothers to share.” She smiles fondly, placing her hand over my own.
“He was always polite. Then, one day, he came in when I was getting hassle off an ex, remember?” she asks me, and I nod. “Albert threw him out on his arse, and I was in awe. I didn’t know he had it in him.” She laughs, laying her head on my shoulder, and I marvel at how different she is compared to Rosey, who would never show affection towards me, especially not in public. “I fell head over heels.”
I glance at her. “Did you?” I ask, smirking, because that’s news to me.
She nods, grinning wide. “I wasn’t about to tell you and give you a big head.”
“Funny,” says Rosey, leaning forward to look Lauren in the eye. “When I asked him who you were, he said he hardly knew you.”
Lauren’s smirk doesn’t fade. In fact, it gets bigger as she too leans forward. “I always worried if my man played down knowing another woman. Secrets are like cancer in a relationship.”
