‘I’m not sure my Mum was. I think she was born wearing Laura Ashley.’
‘And Boden,’ adds Suzy.
We arrive at the pub a few minutes later. I’d expected Alex to be there before us, but there’s no sign of him.
‘Perhaps he’s in the garden,’ says Suzy.
But there’s no sign of him there either.
I sit at the nearest table. ‘It’s a lovely evening. Why don’t we order a couple of drinks and wait for him out here?’
‘I’m not waiting for long,’ says Suzy. ‘I never wait long for any man. It’s bad for their vanity.’
‘He’s only five minutes late. And we said around seven.’
‘I’ll give him fifteen minutes exactly,’ she says. ‘I’ll have a spritzer while I wait.’
I order the drinks. There’s still no sign of Alex inside the pub. He doesn’t seem the type to be late, especially as he’s the one who suggested us all meeting up. Or him and me meeting up. Or him and Suzy meeting up. I’m still not quite sure.
I carry the drinks outside. Suzy looks annoyed. ‘If he isn’t here by the time I’ve finished this, we’re leaving.’
‘I’m quite happy to wait,’ I say, but she shakes her head.
‘You have a lot to learn about men. If you don’t start as you mean to go on, they’ll walk all over you.’
I can’t imagine anyone walking all over Suzy. The boot is always firmly on the other foot. I wonder what it would feel like to be so beautiful that heads turn whenever you walk into a room. I once saw Suzy actually stop traffic. I’d always assumed this was just another trope, but we were crossing the road last year when a van passing on the other side suddenly slammed on its brakes and nearly hit the kerb. The driver looked embarrassed as he drove away. Suzy of course thought it was a great joke.
Still, very few people can look like that. And if Alex wanted to see me again, even when I was wearing my oldest jeans and had my hair full of paint, hopefully he’ll like how I look now I’ve had a chance to clean up.
Suzy drains her glass. ‘We’re going!’ she announces.
‘Let’s have another drink first,’ I say. I have no intention of leaving yet, but I don’t want to betray how keen I am to see Alex again. Especially not until I know for sure which of us he intended to meet.
Suzy wavers. ‘Maybe one more.’
‘I’m looking for someone called Annie,’ says a voice behind us.
‘That’s me,’ I say. ‘At least, that’s my name. There may be several Annies here tonight, for all I know.’
The man doesn’t smile. ‘Are you Annie Masters?’
‘Yes.’ I wonder what this man could possibly want with me.
‘I’m Max,’ he says. ‘I’m the relief bartender.’
‘Ok,’ I say cautiously. Maybe I’m the thousandth customer today, and he’s come to offer me free drinks for the rest of the night.
‘Someone called Alex phoned earlier,’ he says. ‘He isn’t able to come tonight, so he asked me to let you know if I saw you. He says he forgot to get your phone number yesterday.’
‘He isn’t coming?’ says Suzy, her face darkening.
‘Is he alright?’ I ask.
Max pulls out a piece of paper and studies it. ‘He’s been offered a job interview in Edinburgh tomorrow. He had to go off to London to catch the night train. He asked me to apologise.’
‘When’s he coming back?’ asks Suzy.
Max looks at the paper again. ‘He’ll be home on Saturday morning.’