‘Oh. I sort of … stopped on that. But,’ she adds quickly, before Mia can criticise, ‘I did get a job at a charity shop.’
‘Woo-hoo!’ Darcy punches the air. ‘Now you can quit!’
Lissa laughs again. ‘Not quite. It’s a volunteer thing, and only a few hours every Saturday.’
‘Oh.’ Darcy frowns. ‘And the point of that is …?’ Mia prods her lightly on the shoulder in admonishment.
‘Thepoint,’ Lissa says emphatically, ‘is to give something back, do something useful. That kind of thing. Plus, you’re the one who said getting some different experience would look good on my CV.’
‘Did I?’ Darcy cocks her head, then nods decisively. ‘Sounds smart and wise, and I am both of those things, to be fair.’ She stretches her legs out in front of her as far as they’ll go. ‘So, Mia, what are you doing for Christmas?’ she asks, an abrupt change of subject that makes Lissa throw her a look.
‘Spending it with this one,’ Mia says, jerking her head at Lissa.
‘Weren’t you thinking of heading out to see your parents this year?’ Lissa asks.
‘Couldn’t afford it. They said they’ll come over here next year.’
Well thank God for that. It’s selfish of her, but she is so grateful Mia will be there. Christmas with just her mum would’ve been awful – the holidays are always a possible trigger time.
‘Is Lottie still planning on coming to visit in the new year?’ Lissa asks.
‘Lottie?’ Darcy pipes up. ‘Who’s Lottie?’
‘Mia’s girl,’ Lissa says.
‘She’s not my girl.’ Mia’s tone is a little harsh, enough to make Lissa sit up a bit straighter, wondering if she’s said something wrong. ‘Sorry,’ she huffs. ‘I just … Sorry. Yes, she wants to come.’
‘Still not sure about it?’ Lissa asks tentatively.
Mia bites her lip. ‘What if we don’t get on in person?’
‘Well,’ Lissa says evenly, ‘I suppose there’s only one way to find out.’ Although really who is she to be giving out relationship advice? Without meaning to, her mind jumps straight to Ash. To the short message exchange they had after spending the day together at the Christmas market.
She’d agonised over whether to message, over what to say, and ended up texting:Thanks for the hat, hero.
She got a reply instantly.Thank you for spending the day with me. Next time I see you, you better be wearing that hat.
Next time. As if he thought there would – should – be a next time. Or did he mean nothing by it?
She’s kept the bloody hat, just in case.And now is not the time to be thinking about it, Lissa.Especially not with Mia still talking about Lottie.
‘Or what if wedoget on and …’
‘And?’ Lissa prompts.
Mia tucks her hair behind her ear, shakes her head again. ‘Nothing. Guess I’m just nervous, that’s all.’
‘Well I think it’s romantic,’ Darcy says. ‘I’d love it if someone flew all the way over from America to see me.’ Mia smiles a little at that. Darcy glances out the steam door. ‘I think we might have to go for our floating pool session in a minute.’
Lissa feels a sudden spike of nerves, palpable even over the heat in here. As if she can sense it, Mia glances at her. Lissa has never told Darcy that she can’t swim. It would open up a whole host of questions that she hasn’t wanted to answer, and somehow, years into the friendship, it felt odd to bring it up.
‘When you say floating …’ Mia begins slowly.
‘It’s supposed to be like the Dead Sea,’ Darcy says. ‘They put loads of salt in it or something, and you just lie there and float around and have a little nap.’
Mia looks back at Lissa. ‘You don’t have to do it if you don’t want,’ she says. ‘We can stay here. Or, well, maybe nothere, because I’m sweating an indecent amount, but, you know.’
Darcy frowns between them, looking confused.
