Page 46 of Love ad Lib
‘Was it a success? Did he get many sales?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Oh.’
Silence.
Henry tried again. ‘Was his work abstract? Figurative? Conceptual? He said it was about creation and the divine feminine?’
Libby swallowed to keep her nausea down. ‘Er, yes. It was, erm, divinely feminine.’
‘That sounds lovely,’ he said with enthusiasm. ‘Were they religious paintings? Portraits?’
Images flashed across her mind, like a perverted slide show. How on earth could she tell him?
‘Landscapes?’ he continued, sounding unsure in the face of her silence. ‘Still life—’
‘Vag—vulvas. He painted vulvas. Each piece was a different woman’s vulva.’Stop saying vulva!
‘Oh. Um, er—’
‘None of them was mine.’
Henry focused back on the road. ‘Were you, er, aware of the content of his exhibition?’
‘No.’
More silence.
He cleared his throat. ‘Oh, I forgot to ask,’ he said with the kind of fake jollity she was used to hearing at improv workshops from panicked participants. ‘Did you pack your best friend?’
What, Claire?Confused, she glanced at him. His smile looked forced.
‘Serafina. I can’t wait to meet her.’
She scrunched her hands into fists.Do not cry!
‘Libby?’
She nodded as if that would negate the need for speech.
‘Is everything okay?’
Her lower lip was trembling as she took a shaky breath. ‘She’s d—dead,’ she whispered.
From Henry’s reaction it was as if she’d lost a close family member. ‘Oh god, Libby. I’m so sorry! What happened?’
‘Our upstairs neighbour, got, got a bit drunk,’ she hiccupped, trying to tell him the story, but being waylaid by gulping sobs as the emotion and exhaustion of the last week came tumbling out.
‘Hang on, there’s a services up ahead. I’m pulling in.’
As Henry indicated and moved into the left lane, Libby recounted what had happened. By the time the car eased to a halt she was in full sob mode, letting the pain of Serafina’s demise engulf her.
He pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and gave it to her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said.
She blew her nose and nodded. She didn’t know what to say next, and embarrassment was starting to replace some of the grief.
