I nodded, sniffing and smiling, taking the card and money and shoving it back into the envelope. “I’m fine,” I said, licking the envelope and sealing it properly before placing it into the wishing well.
“You sure?” Amy looked at me as if she wasn’t quite buying it.
I looked up at the board, of the group photo, zoning in on Adam and me.
“I’m perfect.”
Twenty
Meh, catch the bus? I don’t think so; you see, I had connections, I knew people. And the trip back travelling in the back of Tess’s parents’ car with Tess and Toby was far less traumatic than what the trip back would have been with a drunken horde of people.
The ride was very chilled, the radio playing Carole King softly as we travelled in silence; it was so relaxing Toby nodded off. Tess elbowed me to point out the fact. Poor fella, he must be exhausted having helped pull off the biggest kept secret; wait a minute, come to think about it, I was pretty sure that as far as secrets went mine was a pretty well kept one, one that was about to be shared with Tess. Well, perhaps not with her parents in the front seat, but soon, real soon.
“What are you doing tomorrow? Do you want to do brunch before I head back?”
“Brunch? That’s very ambitious of you, I thought you would be sleeping in for sure,” Tess mused.
“Well, I won’t be sporting a chronic hangover so I am very optimistic.”
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t see you drink much, did you have a good night?” Tess winced, as if me not drinking was something to worry about.
“Actually, I had a great night. I see things with a new clarity.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yep. You and Toby are the sweetest, most lovely couple who ever existed.”
“Aww.” Tess pouted.
“Ringer has a heart, Sean is a smart-arse, Amy is a snoop, Megsy is a psycho and—”
“Adam?”
“Adam is Adam.” I shrugged; I didn’t want to go there, not until our brunch tomorrow.
“Well, I could have told you all that.” Tess laughed. “Especially that part about me and Toby.”
“What about how incredibly modest you are?”
“Yeah, that too.”
We giggled in the back seat like the days of old, the days when either Tess or my parents would pick us up from a blue-light disco and we would gossip all the way home.
It was well after midnight by the time the McGees’ Volvo circled wide and directly in front of the Onslow Hotel steps, the illuminated Carlton Draught sign the only sign of life in all its illuminated, bug-infested wonder.
“How you going to get in?” asked Tess’s mum.
“It’s all right. I’ll go the back way, through the beer garden; it’s always left opened for late-night creepers and, come to think of it, potential murderers.”
“Charming.”
“Thanks for the ride, I’ll see YOU tomorrow,” I said, giving Tess a poignant look before sliding out of the car and trying my best not to slam the door to wake Toby.
“Night,” Tess mouthed through the glass, blowing kisses.
I watched the lights disappeared down Coronary Hill before turning to head through the side entrance of the beer garden. Even in the dead of night the beer garden was well lit these days, unlike before where you literally took your life into your own hands when you blindly fumbled your way through the obstacle course in complete darkness. I made my way with ease, taking the back-garden staircase up to the second level toward the back-door entrance. Considering there were still elements of tonight that worried me, I tried not to dwell on them. Instead, I opened the door and made my way down the darkened hall like I had done many times before. I could always navigate my way to Adam’s room even in the pitch black. I stilled in front of Adam’s room noticing a slither of light escaping underneath the door. I couldn’t hear anything save the beating of my heart in my ears. My hand rested on the handle but I didn’t turn it. For some reason I hesitated, knowing that inside there would only be the two of us, just like we were in the boat, right before he was about to tell me something, something that would change everything, it just had that kind of feeling about it. Now I wished I was drunk, then I could blame my reaction on an altered state instead of what I was likely to come out with.
Oh God, why was this so hard?
