Page 69 of The Day After Christmas
Finally, inspiration struck and she found a nostalgia-themed bottomless brunch venue willing to squeeze them in at 1pm solong as they sat at the back and didn’t actually drink too much. It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do.
‘Is this what we’re doing?’ said Bex, ninety minutes later, as they shimmied into a booth in a tiny and very dark corner of the shabby-looking club.
‘Yes,’ said Felicity, trying not to grit her teeth. ‘This is what we are doing now.’
‘Lovely,’ said Bex, curling a lip in disdain as her forearm stuck to the table.
‘We should have brought Jack along after all,’ said Sophie.
Libby and another girl called Karen tittered behind their hands like birds.
To be fair, it was a total dive; noisy, raucous and a little bit seedy somehow, but Felicity was banking on the Prosecco helping things along a little.
Plates of decidedly greasy-looking fry-up were delivered alongside cake stands full of stale pastries which the girls dived into frantically. Anything to line their stomachs.
‘We’re out of Prosecco I’m afraid,’ said a voice next to her ear when she tried to order their drinks. ‘We’ve only got wine but it’s a little bit warm as the fridge has broken. So sorry.’
Although the words sounded apologetic, the waitress looked as though she couldn’t have given less of a damn.
‘I hardly dare ask if you do a vegetarian brunch option,’ said Felicity, with trepidation.
The woman just blinked at her. Stale pastries and warm wine it was then. Dammit. Could this day get any worse?
Oh yes, it very much could.
CHAPTER 34
When they got to the restaurant, five hours later, half an hour late for the booking and merry as their merry band could be on warm white wine, Sophie produced a shoebox full of cue cards from somewhere about her person and announced they were going to play the His and Hers game.
‘I can’t play any games right now,’ said Bex, barely able to focus on the table in front of her.
‘Me neither,’ said Libby and Karen in total unison.
‘I miss Jack,’ said the one called Helen, another add-on with very severe eyebrows who Felicity was a bit scared of, truth be told.
‘Ooh yes,’ said Karen. ‘We definitely should have made him come with us. Let’s go back and find him.’
‘I do love games though,’ muttered Bex, apparently not to anyone in particular.
‘I know you do, my love,’ said Sophie, putting an encouraging arm round her shoulders.
‘But I don’t know the rules to this one…’
‘It’s okay, it’s very easy,’ said Sophie. ‘We asked Adam some stuff about you and we’re gonna see if his answer matches your answer. Does that make sense?’
‘Go for it,’ shouted Bex, her voice shrill. ‘He’s known me long enough, after all.’
Felicity shifted a bit in her seat. The previous week she and Sophie had sent Adam a tentative email with a list of questions about his (latest) beloved, half expecting him to refuse to play. She had been oddly jealous when he replied, and although he was very reluctant at first, his answers were warm and funny and even, occasionally, correct.
‘Right. So. Listen up, everyone. The first question we asked Adam was, what is Bex’s favourite clothing brand?’
‘Reiss,’ said Bex, swaying back and forth in her seat. Felicity had to stop watching her as it was making her feel a bit seasick and she felt sick enough already. She stared at the table, strangely invested in Bex’s responses to the game all of a sudden.
‘Yes, that’s right. Well done, Adam.’
‘I would have killed him if he got that wrong,’ slurred Bex. ‘Did he offer to buy me anything?’ They all tittered politely. This was so unlike Bex, to be this drunk. Felicity was feeling a bit bad.Maybe we should take her home.
‘What did Adam think was your favourite movie?’
