Page 42 of All the Right Words
‘Easy for you to say. You don’t care what anyone thinks.’
Gina decided not to address that. Mainly because it was easier to let Olivia believe it. Looking like she didn’t care was the closest thing she had to a superpower, and she wouldn’t give it up readily. Not without a damn good reason. ‘Look, everyone gets awkward, okay? Just have a funny story from your day ready to plug a gap if it comes up.’
‘I don’t have a funny story.’
‘Can you embellish something for the humour?’ Gina asked.
‘Traditionally, no.’
Gina scrabbled to provide a solution. Only one sprang to mind. ‘Fine, well, how about I just give you a funny story about a bodily function. Can you handle that?’
Gina heard the smile in Olivia’s words. ‘You’d do that?’
‘Yes. But listen carefully because you’re gonna need to memorise this, and we don’t have long. It involves pineapple.’
***
Gina listened to Olivia tell her story through the Bluetooth headset. She listened to Harper’s delighted laugh. She did her level best to feel good about giving it to Olivia. She’d made this choice, after all. There’d been no gun to her head. She’d said, ‘Here, take a little piece of me and pretend it’s yours.’ But despite the consent, it was hurting her.
There was a simple explanation for this absurd over-help, and it wasn’t benevolence. She worked this hard to give Harper and Olivia a shot because she wanted it done. She wanted Harper off the market. To know without question that it couldn’t happen. To kill any tiny bit of what-if that lurked at the bottom of her soul. Once that was done, Gina could let this go.
Although… Was there a faster way? If Harper was out of her league, why not jump back into her own? Why not break her recent accidental vow of chastity and get back out there? Find someone who was simpler, someone of Gina’s level, someone who had equally given up hope of being anything more than what they were? That sounded, well, not that fun. Butcomforting. That was all Gina needed. Someone to commiserate with on life’s disappointments. Someone to say fuck it with. Someone to share a couch, eat pizza and Netflix away the rest of her days in the comfortable silence of a shared ennui.
What Gina needed was a date.
Gina minimised the call from Olivia and downloaded the first dating app she could think of. She’d tried this before, but it had been back when she’d had standards. That wasn’t a problem now. She would meet practically any woman who asked now. If she had her own teeth, she was in. Actually, if the work was good, Gina had no problem with dental reconstruction, so inauthentic teeth weren’t even a barrier. Someone presentable, able to hold a conversation, and split a check. This was all Gina truly asked. How hard could that be?
Twenty-Six
Harper had gone from a dud play to a fun evening, and she was glad she’d given Olivia another shot. She really could be great company.
But the end of the night was coming, and Harper knew what would happen. She still didn’t know if she wanted Olivia’s lips to come at her just yet. Harper wondered if she could just say that and have it be OK. After all, they’d talked about this over text. Olivia had been sensitive to Harper’s feelings about it. It was half the reason they’d gone out tonight, just that quick text talk. Because it showed Harper something special about Olivia, something she’d needed to see. How often did you get someone who could have handled such an awkward truth without taking it personally? Look at her now, cheery and happy, no edge of unpleasantness about any of it. Harper could follow her lead. She could address the problem.
As the cab pulled up to Harper’s place, she turned to Olivia and said, ‘Is it cool if I don’t invite you in?’
Olivia looked momentarily blank and then said, ‘Er, yes, of course.’
‘Great, thanks. I’m not in that place. Not yet. I know you get it.’
Olivia paused, seeming slightly confused. ‘Mmm-hmm, yeah. Of course.’
Harper smiled and kissed Olivia on the cheek. ‘You’re great.’ She hopped out of the car and then turned to wave Olivia off but she was looking the other way.
***
Joey’s fingernails were down to the nub. He was still working on his left thumb. Harper feared he was going to draw blood in a second. It was all she could do not to slap his hand away. But she wasn’t his mum, so she had to let him go to town while they waited for Gina. It was one minute to the appointment time, and if she were even one minute late, Joey would find that profoundly amiss. Harper was praying Gina would appear in the bustling chain coffee shop soon.
Just as the clock moved to the hour of one, Gina appeared at the door—my god, what a timekeeper. You had to respect it. Harper waved her over.
‘That’s her?’ Joey whispered as she gave Harper a brief nod. ‘She looks scary.’
‘She’s a pussycat,’ Harper lied as Gina grabbed a coffee from the counter and headed over.
‘Hi,’ Gina said.
‘Gina, hi. This is Joey Gopnik,’ she said.
‘AKA Randolph Donovan,’ Joey muttered anxiously.
