Adam folded his arms and leant against the wall, smiling. “It’s actually one of the things I like most about her.”
“She told me to fuck off.”
Adam’s humour remained, but he did seem a bit taken aback. “Well, that’s not cool.”
“No, no, it isn’t,” I said, trying to keep a straight face, make out that I was mad even though looking at Adam’s reaction only made me want to laugh. I was glad to see he was light and normal again with me.
“Look, just bloody deal with her, dump her body out at sea, make it look like an accident, I don’t care.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll just get her on the early bus.”
“Good.” I nodded.
Adam pushed off the wall, skimming past me to go and survey the damage, before he turned. “Hey, Ellie.” He stilled, pulling out a white envelope from his back pocket. “Can you do me a favour and put this in the wishing well for me?”
Oh, great, even Adam the unreliable had managed to get an engagement card. I really was a massive flake.
“Sure,” I said, taking the envelope.
Adam nodded, before turning the corner and into the great unknown.
The wishing well was the elaborate centrepiece to the photo table. A table aligned with a giant canvas of photos constructed of Tess and Toby, ranging from birth, school, the awkward adolescent stage all the way through to being together. Toby’s journey started on the left and Tess’s began on the right, coming together in a series of photos until they met in the middle. It was really lovely. There were a stack of photos of Toby with his mates, camping, fishing, waterskiing, the Onslow Boys in all their glory, and there were dozens of photos of me, Tess and Adam, on camp, at the movies, at the lake, at a party. We were so young and every image brought back an old memory until my eyes drifted to the middle, where there was a group photo from our New Year’s road trip to Point Shank. There we were, all posing for the camera, all the girls sitting on a log, with all the boys standing behind. Stan behind Bel doing the rabbit ears. Sean behind Amy with her in a loving headlock. Toby with his hands on Tess’s shoulders, Chris with Ringer in a wrestle behind a very worried-looking Tammy, and then me sitting on the end, on Adam’s lap, my arms linked around his neck, my mouth frozen in an elated open-mouth pose. I remember it because the camera was on a timer, so the poses were so spur of the moment. I remember Adam grabbing me and pulling me onto his lap, his bony fingers delving into my rib cage deliberately making me squirm and laugh so come the time the photo clicked I had the most ridiculous look on my face, one that he was copying with mock horror. I laughed, shaking my head: such a smart-arse.
“It turned out great, didn’t it?”
I turned to see Amy standing next to me, admiring the wall of photos. She looked amazingly calm and serene considering she helped pull off the surprise party of the century. Amy was not known for her cool, calm, collected manner. I had had enough dealings with Adam’s younger cousin working at the Onslow Hotel to know how she operated. But ever since she and Sean became an item, Amy seemed to mature overnight.
“It’s fantastic, did you do all this?” I asked, looking back at the photo wall in awe.
“Meh, I had a bit of help; oh, okay, a lot of help, actually.” She smiled.
“Well, it’s amazing.”
“Thanks. Oooh, what do we have here?”
Amy’s attention snapped to the envelope I was holding. “Oh, Adam’s card, he wanted me to put it in the wishing well for him.”
“Oh, cool, let me see.”
Amy snatched it from my hands. “I love seeing what boys write in cards, they are either complete cavemen or really mushy.”
“Um, and probably kind of private, I’m guessing,” I said, feeling rather uncomfortable.
“My theory is, if the envelope is sealed, then private; if tucked in, fair game. Oooh, nice one, Adam, two hundred bucks, not a tight-arse.”
So much for recent thoughts on her maturity, I thought, as I watched Amy opening the card with her midnight-blue painted nails.
“Ugh, boring, though. To Toby and Tess, wishing you all the happiness on this day and always, lots of love Adam and Ellie.”
I froze. For a long, confused moment.
Without even thinking I snatched the card from Amy’s hands. Was she joking? After all, she was Sean Murphy’s girlfriend, I wouldn’t put it past her. But as my eyes ticked over the card, there it was, loud and clear in Adam’s printed, boyish handwriting.
‘Adam and Ellie’
I could feel the tears well in my eyes, as I read it over and over again.
“Ellie, you okay?”
