Despite Josie’s bright smile, there was a brittleness in her manner. Nobody else would have noticed but Cassie saw her fidgeting.
‘Jos, I know you, what’s going on?’
Josie hesitated and looked away. ‘There’s something I have to let you know.’
Oh shit, she felt a warning note sound in her chest.
‘Pal and I discussed it and—’
‘Oh, come on, just tell me.’
‘We got an invitation. To a wedding.’
‘Whose?’
‘Gavin’s.’
In her heart, the tide went out, like right before a tsunami, when the world sucks in a massive breath before all hell is let loose.
‘You’re joking. You’re fucking joking. He only ended it six months ago. If that’s what you’d even call it.’
‘I know, I know, we were as shocked as you, believe me.’
‘Who is she? Oh my God, Josie, he must have known her already.’
‘Stop, wait, don’t panic. I think it’s a whirlwind thing, I don’t think he was cheating.’
The next question loomed over her like a thunder cloud.
‘Do we know her?’
‘Are you sure you want to know?’
‘Just fucking tell me.’ She really hadn’t meant to shout. ‘Sorry, sorry, Jos.’
‘It’s Kirsty, the stage manager.’
‘The one who’s about twenty-four? Fucking hell.’
‘I think she’s twenty-six. It wasn’t going on while you were together, we’re pretty sure of that. It was just one of those things.’
Everything felt very far away. In the silence, she could hear the faintest ringing in her ears.
‘Cass, Cass, are you OK?’
She could hear Josie’s voice but it just didn’t feel that important.
‘It’s OK. People move on, Jos. What can you do? I can’t control it.’
‘Cass, you sound weirdly calm. It’s OK not to be. I mean, who would be? I wouldn’t. Fuck no, I’d be screaming.’
‘If I get angry and hysterical then he wins.’
‘It doesn’t work like that. Stop being so freaking calm, please, you’re scaring me. Oh God, I wish I was there to give you a hug.’
‘It’s OK. I’m a grown-up.’ But inside she felt like one of those cartoon scientific experiments where the nutty professor adds one more chemical to the test tube and the whole thing explodes, foaming over the top like a big gloopy volcano that takes over everything.
‘Josie, I’ve got to go. I don’t feel that well. I’ll chat to you later.’
