Page 35 of The Fallback

They both stood for a moment looking down on the busy London street. It always amazed Rosie that life just went on, even when something awful was happening for one person, someone else was living their best life. The rest of the world carried on.

‘I’m here any time you want to talk,’ she said, giving Nadia a hug to make up for the huge inadequacy of her offer.

‘Thanks,’ Nadia replied. ‘I know, and I’m sorry for lashing out. Nico will have a field day when I tell him about this conversation.’ She grimaced at Rosie. ‘You know he’s always telling me that I need to think before I speak.’

Rosie smiled sympathetically down at her friend. ‘You know that’s not true, right?’ Nadia gave her a look. ‘Well, I mean, you dosometimesthink.’ She gave Nadia a teasing squeeze. ‘Hey, do you want to be distracted?’ she said next, trying to lighten the mood. Nadia nodded keenly. ‘I think I might have matched with someone online!’ Rosie said triumphantly.

‘Really?’ Nadia’s eyes immediately lit up. ‘Tell me more!’

‘Well,’ began Rosie, as they both sat back down in their chairs, ‘he’s an academic. No no…’ She waved her hands. ‘Before you get too excited, he’s not a scientist, he’s an economist.’

Nadia shrugged. ‘Can’t have everything. Where is he based?’

‘LSE,’ Rosie said excitedly.

’He’s smart,’ Nadia said, nodding her approval, ‘and just around the corner?’

‘Yes,’ said Rosie, nodding.

‘Well, how convenient,’ Nadia replied with a grin. ‘What else?’

‘He loves classical music.’

Nadia looked at her quizzically. ‘Well that’s going to be interesting given your musical taste.’

‘Oh, shut up,’ said Rosie, relieved that Nadia was teasing her again.

‘So, when are you meeting him?’

‘I need to message him back first, calm down!’ Rosie said, laughing.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Nadia screeched. She picked up Rosie’s phone from her desk and thrust it across the desk at her, ‘Message him now! Let’s do this.’

‘Er, OK,’ said Rosie, taking her phone and swiping away another message from Jasmine asking Rosie if she’d like to go around for dinner at theirs one night that week. Rosie ignored it; she didn’t think she could face another interrogation from Jasmine just yet.

’Can I just have a moment to think about what I want to say?’ she asked Nadia.

‘Yes,’ replied Nadia, ‘but don’t take too long.’ She waved a finger at Rosie. ‘Hey, do you reckon you’ve seen him around here? I mean he doesn’t work that far away?’

Rosie shook her head. ‘I don’t recognise him, but I guess it’s possible we’ve been in the same places.’

‘How funny that you should match with someone literally next door!’ Nadia exclaimed. ‘I mean what are the chances? Oh, Rosie,’ she said, gleefully clapping her hands together, ‘I’ve got a good feeling about this.’

Rosie put down her phone and laughed. ‘Nadia, you do know that Tinder is location-based? So it’s not reallythatsurprising he works nearby.’

‘Oh, all right, cast your shade,’ Nadia said crossly. ‘I’m just excited for you, what’s wrong with that?’

‘You’re right, you’re right!’ Rosie said, picking her phone up again. ‘Whatarethe chances? Maybe you could get one of your statisticians to work it out for me?’

Nadia made a rude gesture at Rosie. ‘What does Mitch think?’ she asked.

Rosie looked up sharply from her phone. ‘I haven’t told him,’ she said.

‘Oh, really?’ Nadia said with a small smile. ‘Interesting.’

Rosie sighed and put her phone down. ‘No, I just haven’t spoken to him, OK? Don’t make a big thing out of it.’

Nadia looked confused. ‘But I thought you two spokeallthe time.’

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