Page 50 of The Fallback

‘Did Mitch not leave work with the rest of you?’ she asked Lucy, who was sat next to her. Rosie had asked this question of several of Mitch’s colleagues already but had not got a sensible answer so she decided to try Lucy who, of all Mitch’s work friends, was probably the least likely to overcomplicate the answer to a straightforward question.

Lucy shook her head. ‘No, he left early.’

‘Early?’ Rosie queried, confused by the reply. ‘So why isn’t he here yet?’

Lucy laughed. ‘I think he went to meet Jenny from work and they were going to come on together. He was worried Jenny would be nervous about arriving on her own. It’s so sweet, isn’t it?’

Rosie mumbled something incomprehensible.

‘He’s really got it bad for this one, hasn’t he? I haven’t seen him like this before,’ Lucy continued, obviously reveling in Mitch’s newfound happiness. Mitch’s happiness had the opposite effect on Rosie, who seemed to sink deeper into misery. ‘But then, I suppose you know him much better than we do.’

Rosie shrugged miserably but didn’t respond.

‘Are you seeing anyone at the moment?’ Lucy asked.

‘Me?’ Rosie replied in surprise, ‘No.’

She didn’t expand on this but Lucy obviously didn’t take the hint that Rosie was not in the mood to discuss her love life.

‘Does Jenny being on the scene mean you see Mitch less? I mean you two spend so much time together, we always joke that you’re like a married couple.’ Lucy laughed, ‘It must be strange to share him with someone else, especially when you’re still single.’

Rosie shot Lucy a look. Up until this point Lucy had been one of Rosie’s favourites amongst Mitch’s colleagues but she was rapidly reevaluating her judgement.

‘Ben!’ shouted Lucy.

Rosie winced; she should be pleased that Lucy was distracted from this topic of conversation but if Ben was providing the source of distraction then perhaps she shouldn’t be so grateful.

Ben worked on the sports desk at Mitch’s newspaper. He seemed to think this gave him carte blanche to behave like a premiership footballer, swaggering about the place and treating women as if they should be grateful he was blessing them with his attention.

If Lucy had been Rosie’s favourite colleague of Mitch’s, Ben consistently remained her least. Mitch felt the same, he constantly complained about Ben’s behaviour, especially towards women. Ben regularly boasted that he could have played for Arsenal but an injury ruined his chances. Mitch told Rosie that it was a well-known fact that Ben could barely kick a ball at all, far less play for a Premiership team.

The real problem with Ben was that he saw Rosie as some kind of challenge. Mitch had a theory that Rosie’s complete lack of interest in Ben was a painful dent to his ego.

‘Here,’ said Lucy. ‘We’ll move up, you can sit next to us.’

Rosie frowned at her. She didn't think it was possible for Lucy to fall any further in her estimation.

‘It’s OK,’ Rosie stood up, ‘I’m going to the bar. You can sit here.’

‘Excellent timing,’ Ben grinned at her. ‘I was going, too.’

Rosie fought the urge to sit back down. She didn’t even want another drink; she was already two drinks in and with no food inside her was beginning to feel the effects. But she was cornered. Either she stayed and was trapped on the bench with Ben, who she had no doubt would forget his need for a drink if she stayed. Or she went to the bar with him. Rosie considered her options; at least with the latter she might bump into someone she knew on the way, or she could suddenly need the bathroom. Or just leave without telling anyone and run home to her pizza and wine.

Sighing, she made her way back through the other drinkers to the bar inside, constantly aware as she went of Ben behind her, his hand not quite touching her back but close enough to be guiding her through the crowds. At the bar, he waved away her purse in a patronising manner.

‘These are on me,’ he declared grandly.

Rosie said nothing. She wasn’t above getting someone to buy her a drink, even if she didn’t like them, especially when it was a drink she didn’t really want.

‘Fine,’ she said, realising how unappreciative she sounded. ‘I was drinking the Pinot Grigio, but just a small glass,’ she said, before adding a grudging, ‘please.’

Whether the last part of her order was lost in the hubbub at the bar, or more likely Ben completely ignored her, what she was presented with looked more like a bucket of wine than a small glass.

Hating herself for her very British inability to complain, Rosie even said, ‘Thanks’ through gritted teeth.

Back at the table, Rosie tried to escape Ben but it seemed his mission for the evening was to invade her personal space. Rosie kept shooting pleading looks at Lucy in the hope she would rescue her, but Lucy was now engaged in a deep conversation with someone Rosie didn’t know. Tonight was really not going according to plan and there was still no sign of Mitch.

The garden got busier and louder and Rosie was reaching the end of her tether with Ben when she heard someone shout, ‘Mitch!’ in an excited tone. Ordinarily Rosie would have been thrilled to have been saved by his arrival, but this time it also meant she was about to meet Jenny.

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