Page 50 of One Hot Summer

She was a completely different person tonight. There was very little flesh on show, although Zack had told me that her parents were quite conservative, so it was probably for their benefit that she was covered up. She was quite reserved, only sipping her wine, and spent most of the dinner making an effort to try to get to know me. I had to admire her for it.

“Zack was telling me all about your cat,” she said. “I’d love a cat, but Daddy is allergic. Did Bing really leave a dead mouse in your toilet?”

“Oh my God, yes he did. I couldn’t even bring myself to scoop it out until I was elbow-deep in several pairs of Marigolds so there was no chance of it touching me.”

“And the spiders?” She laughed. “Does he really leave them in your shoes?”

“He hasn’t done that for a while.” I recoiled at the memory. “But when he was younger, it was his favourite game.”

“That’s hilarious.” She sipped her wine. “You should write a blog or something. Like on Marley and Me. Maybe ‘The World of Bing’, or ‘Bing Things’.”

We laughed together, like we were besties on a night out. Her parents were snobs, but she was clearly the complete opposite, and we sniggered like schoolgirls every time her mother shared another First World problem. She was actually being really friendly. I decided to stop being such a tit. She was young and probably didn’t understand the concept of boundaries with guys with their girlfriends. I know I didn’t care at that age, so why should she? Plus, she clearly enjoyed the attention. Was that really a crime? I knew that Zack and I had a secure relationship, and were deeply in love. I decided not to let it bother me anymore.

“And they ran out of hummus!” Beverley’s voice overpowered the table once again. “This is the twenty-first century. How can there be a hummus shortage?”

“It was probably my sister-in-law,” I whispered to Zack and Chloe. “Stocking up for winter.”

He hid his laugh behind his bottle of Becks, longing, like the rest of us, for this painful yet hilarious night to come to an end.

“Well, Beverley, maybe you should start ordering online,” Alistair piped up. He had been quiet all night, but not out of choice. Once Beverley had started complaining about trivial matters, she couldn’t seem to stop. I looked at Miranda then, who caught my eye. She mouthed “I’m sorry!” to me, whilst looking very embarrassed.

“Pfft, online, have you heard him?” Beverley nudged Miranda. “Mr Techno. Once you put in your bank account details, what’s to stop them taking all of your money? Those, those, what are they called?”

“Hackers?” Alistair suggested, with a sigh.

“Yes, hackers. They take it all and leave you with cookies!”

I could see Zack resisting the urge to correct her, deciding it might be more peaceful to just let her go on until she ran out of words.

“What do you kids have planned for the rest of this week then?” Miranda asked us, desperate to change the topic of conversation. “I hope you’ll find time to come shopping with me, Jenny. Zack mentioned you loved all the little shops in town. Men don’t appreciate shopping, so if you fancied a girly trip, I hoped you might come with me.”

“I’d love to, that would be great.”

“Wonderful, have you got anything booked over the next few days?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Great, we can go tomorrow or the day after. Whenever you fancy it.” Miranda smiled.

“I was thinking about taking Jenny to Spinalonga tomorrow. I’ve been looking online and there are some tickets available,” Zack said. “She can’t come to Crete without seeing a bit of local history. Although, Beverley has me worried I’ll be attacked by the Cookie Monster now, if I attempt to book online.”

The table erupted with laughter and Chloe inadvertently spat a mouthful of wine across the table, which reached Beverley’s arm.

“Chloe!” Beverley snapped. “Clean this up immediately, you’re embarrassing yourself.” She used her napkin to wipe her arms, while the smile disappeared from Chloe’s face.

“I didn’t mean to. I had a mouthful of wine and Zack made me laugh.”

“You two are always messing about, one way or another. At least he has settled down with a nice girl. What are you doing with yourself these days?”

“Beverley…” Stan tried to calm his wife, but it didn’t work. She was too drunk to listen to anyone. Miranda and Alistair shuffled uncomfortably in their seats as though they knew what was coming.

“Gallivanting here and there, ringing your dad for money because you’ve lost your bank card down some ravine in the remote islands of wherever. It’s about time you sorted yourself out. Get your law degree and grow up!”

I looked over at Chloe, whose face was now beetroot. I felt such sympathy for this girl who, up until now, I had started to hate. Really, she and I had a lot in common. I thought of my own mother, who often spoke down to me when I was that age, although it was never in a drunken rage. As I got older, I learned to take my mother’s harsh words with a pinch of salt, with the occasional sarcastic reply, or by not replying to her messages. My mother had wanted me to study business at university, but I chose English instead. Had I not chosen that subject, I never would have met Sarah.

I was relieved when Stan finally managed to convince Beverley to return to their villa. Miranda and Alistair decided it would be best if they called it a night too, but not before they apologised to me for their friend’s drunken outburst, mindful that Chloe was still there, and not wanting to upset her even more. Miranda gave her a hug before going inside.

“Sorry about my mum,” Chloe said, when it was finally just the three of us. “She gets a serious case of Bitchitus when she’s had too much to drink… which is quite often.”

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