Nia looked grim and downed the rest of her drink. ‘I don’t know, Anna. I mean, he’s here, outside. He’s been here for about an hour now. And I couldn’t have made it any clearer, could I? It’s been over for months.’
‘We’ll face him, together, if he’s still there when we’vefinished these,’ Anna said. ‘And then I need to get home and give my husband his anniversary present.’
‘Is it some form of sex?’ Nia asked.
‘No, it’s a bread maker. Don’t look at me like that. He really wanted one.’
‘First a baby, now a bread maker. I feel like I hardly know you these days.’
Anna felt sure that Charlie wouldn’t still be there when they got up to leave, but she was wrong. He was standing in the shadows, and Anna could see that there was no way to get past without him seeing them. But it seemed that slipping out wasn’t Nia’s plan, anyway. A couple of glasses of wine had emboldened her, and she called out to him.
‘What the hell are you doing, Charlie?’
‘Nia.’ He stepped forward and put his hands on the top of her arms, and Anna didn’t like it, the way it held her friend in place. ‘I just want to talk to you.’
‘Then call me on the fucking phone, don’t wait for me on the street like a stalker!’
Charlie looked like he might cry. He turned to Anna. ‘Anna, I don’t know why she’s being like this. We were good together.’
‘Take your hands off her,’ Anna said.
Charlie dropped his hands to his sides. He looked like a little boy.
‘She doesn’t want you,’ Anna said, stepping a little closer to him. ‘Just accept that.’
It was enough, to make him give up. He turned away, looking back once. Anna and Nia stood shoulder to shoulder, making sure he really left.
‘He was always scared of you,’ Nia said, once he had turned a corner.
‘Scared? Of me?’
‘Well, maybe not scared exactly. But intimidated. He said we were the loves of each other’s lives.’
‘And what did you say?’
‘I said my name didn’t begin with a J and declined to explain.’
They walked to the Tube arm in arm, and on the journey, Nia rested her head on Anna’s shoulder.
‘Will I see you this weekend?’ Nia asked. They were standing on the corner where she went one way and Anna went the other.
‘I can do Sunday,’ Anna said.
‘I’ll buy ice cream and crisps and we can watchSex and the City.’
‘Perfect.’
Anna was starving, she realised as she opened the door to their flat. She found Edward in the living room, lying on the sofa, his eyes on the TV.
‘How’s Nia?’
‘She’s okay. Did you eat?’
‘I got takeaway. Yours is in the kitchen.’
Anna kneeled down and kissed him. ‘Thank you,’ she said.
He sat up and pulled her onto the sofa, put a hand on her small bump. Whenever he did that, Anna felt a rush of excitement about how their lives were changing. She never forgot for long, but whenever she did, the realisation was like a jolt. Anna yawned.
