‘You seemed fine when you were scoffing down seconds of Lucy’s birthday cake an hour ago.’
‘I’m just—’
‘Out of excuses?’
I scowled at him, hating that he knew me so well.
‘Come on, Jenny, you’ve bailed on the last three drinks we’ve organisedandthat bottomless brunch place I practically had to sell a kidney to get a reservation for last month.’
A lump formed in my throat that I couldn’t swallow. He was right. I had been flaky recently.
‘Come on, just one drink,’ Jacob cooed. ‘Alice switched shifts and everything.’ As a junior doctor four years into a highly competitive six-year specialist training programme to become a Cardiothoracic Surgeon, time off during sociable hours was a rarity for Alice. The fact that she was spending said time off with us rather than going home to sleep, another rarity, made my heart squeeze a little for my other best friend.
‘Fine, but just one.’
‘Another round!’
My brother, Matt, raised an amused smile from behind the bar as I wobbled precariously on the rungs of my stool, holding my empty wine glass aloft. My mum, on the other hand, was sporting her concerned mother hen look that, if the crowd surrounding the bar wasn’t three people deep, meant she would have been over here like a shot. I had to hand it to her, I’d never seen it so busy on a Tuesday night. Every table was occupied, a crowd of people stood nursing pint glasses and tapping feet against the flagstone floor in time with the guy strumming his guitar in the far corner, his voice deep and sultry. I tried to focus on the lyrics. Something about being each other’s sunshine and kissing in the rain. I quickly tuned back out, reaching for my wine glass before remembering it was empty.
‘For someone who hasn’t been out in months, you sure are making up for lost time.’ Jacob eyed the three empty wine glasses I’d consumed whilst waiting for Alice, balancing the paper umbrella from his Sex on the Beach behind one ear. He was exaggerating, of course. It hadn’t been that long. Had it?
‘I’m just thirsty. These nuts are super salty.’ I popped another peanut in my mouth, but I could feel the warm, comforting buzz of tipsiness wrapping itself around me like a blanket.
‘Hey, I hear you. Nothing worse than an overly salted nut.’
‘Speaking of salty nuts, how was your date the other night?’
Jacob gave a small shudder, either at my choice of segue or in recollection of said date. Seeing as Jacob was Mr Innuendo, my money was on the later.
‘That bad?’
‘Well, other than the fact he showed up half an hour late, called mesweetcheeks,and apparently had never heard of a napkin, because I spent most of the evening staring at various bits of food caught in his beard, it was fine.’
‘At least this one didn’t bring his mum,’ I shrugged,remembering the infamous evening in question when Jacob had had to sit through a Spanish-inquisition-style grilling from his Tinder date’s mother.
‘The factthat’sthe positive we can take from this says everything about my dating life,’ Jacob guffawed, doing that thing where he tried to pretend being single in his thirties didn’t bother him. ‘Honestly, you’re so much better off, trust me!’
My fingers tightened a fraction on the edge of the table, an uncomfortable weight pressing hard against my chest.
‘Better off.’ I repeated his words slowly. They felt strange and bitter in my mouth. Maybe it was the whole drinking on an empty stomach thing kicking in.
‘Shit, Jenny, I didn’t mean—’ but Jacob was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.
‘I’m here! I’m here!’ We heard Alice before we saw her. All five foot two of her concealed by the jostling crowd until she eventually broke through a tiny gap and appeared by our table. ‘Sorry, I’m soooo late! Stentless heart valve implementation.’ She threw Jacob and me a look that suggested she knew we’d understand, even though we both had zero clue what a stentless heart valve implementation was. ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re actually here!’ she squealed, dropping her coat and bag to the floor and wrapping her tiny arms around me. She smelt of disinfectant and her favourite brand of dry shampoo. ‘I mean, Jacob texted me saying he managed to drag you here, but I didn’t believe it.’
‘It’s really not beenthatlong,’ I insisted, pretending I didn’t see the exchange between Jacob and Alice that said otherwise.
Alice nodded towards the glass-strewn table. ‘Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do.’
‘Another round,’ Matt announced as if on cue, appearing with a drink-laden tray balanced in one hand. ‘On the house, in honour of my sister gracing us with her presence this fineevening.’
‘Not you too,’ I mumbled sulkily, helping myself to the large glass of chilled Chardonnay.
‘Have I mentioned how much Ilovethe fact that your mum owns a pub?’ Jacob grinned, his eyes lighting up at the sight of another garishly bright cocktail.
‘Only three times since we got here.’ I rolled my eyes.
‘And that she books sexy, tortured-looking musicians withverycapable-looking hands.’
