‘Feck!’ she exclaimed as, right at eye level, waving madly in at the two of them, was Crystal.
‘Oh Jesus God, we’re pinned. We can’t escape,’ moaned Rosemarie.
A moment later Crystal swept into the restaurant, brandishing her phone.
‘Oh my God, girls, it is trending on TikTok, #RyansFight. Look!’
Delightedly, she began scrolling through a series of videos featuring various views of the brawl. One of them prominentlyfeatured Ally’s arse as she bent down to help William up. It only then dawned on Ally that one of the reasons people were pushing backwards was to get a better angle from which to film.
‘Oh, look, there’s a very good one of you, Ally – you’ve a great profile. Sorry, Rosie, I didn’t catch you doing the drink-throwing thing, it was all over too fast. Oh my God,’ she squealed in excitement like a sixteen-year-old. ‘It’s being shared .?.?. There’s nearly a thousand views already, it’s totally going viral.’
Just then Ally’s phone rang. Oh, God, not her mother, please. She saw Pete’s number. Suddenly, her heart felt invaded by a samba band. Oh, help, her worlds were colliding. She inhaled for a moment, allowing the band to bloody well march off somewhere and leave her in peace to talk.
‘Hey .?.?.’ he said.
She could feel the warmth in his tone, which made a quiver run through her, causing her to shift in her seat.
‘My son just showed me a video on TikTok and there was someone—’
‘It was me, Pete. We got caught up in something.’
She could hear his chuckle.
‘I wouldn’t have had you down for such a wild social life. What the hell happened?’
In spite of herself, she was smiling.
‘Tell you when I see you.’
‘When will that be?’
‘The usual – 8 a.m. tomorrow?’
‘Sounds about right .?.?.’ That cute self-assured edge in his voice again.
‘OK, Pete, see you then,’ she said, as airily as possible.
Looking up, she became aware of two sets of eyes boring into her.
‘What?’
‘Who was that?’ burst in Crystal. ‘That is one sexy voice.’
‘Oh, just someone,’ said Ally in as nonchalant a tone as she could muster, while Rosemarie grinned like the cat who knew where the cream was hidden.
‘What’re you not telling us?’ shrieked Crystal, as though they were friends who shared secrets all the time. ‘When’re we going to get to meet him?’
Like fucking never ever, for as long as I draw breath, she thought.
‘Oh God, it’s not like that, not remotely – he’s just a guy I work with .?.?.’ she trailed off, which was about as evasive as she could manage.
‘He’s just a pal,’ broke in Rosemarie mischievously. ‘We all need pals.’
* * *
That night, lying in bed, she replayed the frightening sounds of fists hitting faces and shattering glass. How could that erupt out of such a seemingly normal fun evening? William being punched in the face, and her immediate impulse to jump in and save him? A thought struck her: had Pete noticed anything? He hadn’t mentioned it, but then, he wouldn’t, would he? Guiltily, she contemplated what it said about William as a potential boyfriend. Not to mention what it said about her feelings for Pete, but that felt too thorny, so she pushed the thought away. In a way she’d been as close to William tonight as she’d ever been, and yet he still seemed .?.?. somehow distant. How might it be if she actually got together with him? But that was becoming way too realistic, so she changed the channel in her head.
As soon as she thought again about Pete, a stab of pain started in her chest, prompting her to rub the spot to soothe it. And on top of everything was this wretched job of Mum’s, whichhad a feeling of inevitability. What else could she do? What was there for her if she stayed on at The Owl’s Nest, but low pay and the stress of seeing Pete now the air felt charged? The clock showed 3.15 a.m. The exact time when things appeared their most awful, and you had the least power to change them. Not now, she reminded herself. Tomorrow would have to do.
