‘Oh sure, I’ll start checking out Daft. I’m sure there’ll be loads of properties on that.’
She knew she was being passive–aggressive but there did feel a distinct difference between moving out and being turfed out on your arse.
* * *
‘A bridesmaid with Maxine? How do you feel about that?’ Josie’s face was full of concern.
‘Freaked, obviously. She still thinks I’m a waste of space. I’m thrilled for Mam, sort of. Eric is a dote, but how am I supposed to find somewhere to live in this jungle of a housing crisis? You don’t know how bad it is here. I know it’s not easy in London, but trust me, there’s no comparison.’
‘Something will come up, it always does.’
‘In the absence of my own confidence, I’ll have to borrow yours. What am I going to do, Jos? Mam’s already started down the road of Bridezilla, I’m going to co-bridesmaid with the sister I’ve barely spoken to apart fromHappy Christmastexts for years, and I’ve barely heard from Finn since our last date.’
‘Nothing since?’
‘OK, once this week he texted:Missing you, place feels v quiet. It was just the facts but that’s to be expected, he’s an engineer. Oh, and then I got a:Hope u slept well, had dream about you.’
‘Stop, stop, whoa, what sort of dream?’
‘How do I know? He’s a tidy texter, not a big, long psycho texter .?.?. And when I asked, he did text back:Tell u at the w/e.And that’s the last I heard. In fairness, maybe that’s why I’m being such a miserable bitch about Mam.’
‘Hold that thought, I need the loo. Every time I take a sip of water, I have to go.’
Just then Cassie’s phone beeped.
‘Jos, wait, it’s him:Are you around this evening?Am I?’
‘I don’t know, all I can think about is my bladder. Wait there.’
Exactly two minutes later Josie reappeared, looking infinitely more relaxed.
‘OK, now I can think. At such short notice? You most certainly are not. That is sounding way too casual for my liking.’
‘Come on, Jos, it’s only late lunchtime.’
‘Cas, I am thinking of your own good. If you make it too easy for him now, you’ll ruin everything.’
‘It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?’
‘Nonsense, it’s never a minute too late to place value on yourself.’
‘How am I supposed to do that?’
‘Cass, if you weren’tafraidof him not coming back, what would you do?’
‘This is yourThe Rulesbook, Jos. When did you turn into Marjorie Proops?’
Josie was looking at her steadily with her ‘you know I’m right’ expression. ‘I bet your mum didn’t sleep with Eric on the first date.’
‘Nooo, please don’t give me that image. He was probably dressed in a smoking jacket and cravat like Sergei the meercat anyway.’
Josie burst out laughing.
‘Don’t laugh, this is serious. If I don’t see him tonight, then next weekend he’ll have his kids and that’ll be two whole weeks, and he’ll just forget about me. Plus, he’s probably on Tinder and has hundreds of other options anyway.’
Cassie could hear the plaintive tone in her voice and it wasn’t a pretty sound.
‘Only hundreds? I’d say thousands, possibly millions.’
