I grabbed a glass and held it out, and Greg did the same.
‘Sam not here yet?’ I said, peering through the open door into the living room, where I could hear Christmas songs playing.
‘He’s on his way. He had a hot date.’
‘Did he? Why haven’t I heard about this before now?’
‘Oh don’t worry, he wasn’t going to tell me either, but I forced it out of him.’
We made our way into the living room, where a silver Christmas tree twinkled in the corner, and fairy lights were strung across every wall and surface. It looked like there had been an explosion in a Christmas shop, but I didn’t say anything. It was so very kitsch – and so very Rose. That was one of the joys of living on your own I guess – there was no need to compromise to suit someone else’s taste.
Rose threw herself down on the sofa, and I chose the armchair – a deliberate move so that Greg had to sit away from me. We hadn’t properly talked about his gambling lapse the other night, and I still hadn’t decided how I felt about it.
‘So, what have you two been up to?’ Rose said, tucking her feet underneath her and sipping her drink delicately.
I kept my gaze turned away from Greg. ‘Just working. I only finished for the holidays yesterday.’
‘Yeah me too,’ she said. ‘Bloody kids drive me mad.’ Rose was a primary school teacher and even though she pretended she hated it, I knew she loved every minute really. She was still like a child herself in so many ways – mainly good ones, such as seeing the best in people.
‘You love it,’ Greg teased her and she gave a grimace.
‘Not just before Christmas I don’t. They’re so excited they’re like wild animals. Come to think of it I think I’d prefer trying to tame wild animals.’
I smiled and sipped my Prosecco, feeling my muscles relax. I needed this after the few days I’d had. There was so much whirling around my head I needed time to process it all.
‘Erin?’
I realised Greg was saying my name and I looked up. ‘Sorry, what?’
‘I was just saying that we’re going to your dad’s for Christmas Day, aren’t we?’
‘Yeah, we are. Rose knows that already.’ I tried not to snap, and failed.
‘Oh I know E, I was just bugging Greg, seeing if you’d have any time to come round and see us.’
‘Us?’
‘Sam’s coming round here.’
‘I thought he was going to his parents’ house?’
‘He was but they decided to bugger off to Barbados at the last minute and left him in the lurch.’ She shrugged. ‘You know what they’re like; poor old Sam has never been their priority.’
‘Oh, right.’ I glanced at Greg. ‘Well, I’m not sure. We’ll come over if we have time.’
‘We probably won’t though,’ Greg said.
I felt a tug of anger flare in my belly. He’d never tried to keep me away from my friends, but there had been odd occasions, such as this, when I’d felt envious of Sam and Rose’s single lifestyles. They had dates and even the odd relationship, but the fact that neither of them had settled down meant they were free to do things together that I wasn’t able to join in with, and it bothered me more than it should – especially as I knew they’d both prefer to be in my shoes, and happily settled. I also knew that, while it wasn’t Greg’s fault, I was in no mood at the moment to try to hold back my resentment.
‘We’ll see,’ I said, my voice low, glaring at Greg. I caught a look in Rose’s eyes that told me she’d sensed the tension between the two of us and I clapped my hands to clear the air. ‘Anyway, shall we get this party started?’ I leaned down and pulled another bottle from my bag.
‘Ooh Champagne!’ squealed Rose.
‘Yep. Nothing but the good stuff for us. Although…’ I glanced at the door. ‘Should we wait for Sam before we open it?’
‘Did someone say my name in vain?’ A voice floated through from the hallway, and seconds later Sam appeared in the door, his eyes shining.
‘How did you get in?’
