Malcolm joins in. ‘Iknowthat young man likes her. I have been watching him and he keeps looking this way. And I am sure it is not you or me that the young man is interested in, Reverend Ruth,’ Malcolm says, with a chuckle.
Jo flushes. It may be the wine or the heat after the cold swim. ‘But he’s with Clare,’ she insists, fighting the urge to ask,do you really think so?She goes on to explain about Caramel Toffee Clare and how Eric asked if Jo minded about her. ‘Like he was seeing her,’ Jo explains.
Ruth makes a low humming noise. ‘Maybe, but it seems like a bit of a leap to me.’
‘I’ve seen them together quite a bit,’ Jo insists. She just can’t think of another explanation for his words. And perhaps it’s for the best – knowing that Eric is with someone else just protects her from the inevitable. She may be sitting here with friends of very different ages, but she still finds it hard to convince herself that – when it comes tothis– age wouldn’t matter. Her experience with James had taught her that it did.
‘My goodness, those tattoos,’ Ruth suddenly remarks. ‘He looks like some sort of Nordic God.’
‘Loki,’ Malcolm proclaims. ‘Loki with a Birmingham accent.’
Ruth looks at him blankly.
‘Loki was a Norse God – very mischievous …’ Malcolm says.
‘You know, like in the superhero films,’ Jo says, thinking mischievous is about right for Eric.
‘… and Loki could turn himself into an animal,’ Malcolm adds.
And with that, they are off. Ruth and Malcolm playing verbal table tennis across their pasta.
Malcolm: ‘A bull.’
Ruth: ‘No, no, too lumbering and angry.’ (Swipe)
Malcolm: ‘One of those big dogs, then, a Saint Bernard?’
Ruth: ‘Too slobbery, Eric the Viking is more of a wolf.’ (Swipe)
Malcolm: ‘Wolf?! Wolf? He is much too friendly for a wolf.’
At this point Jo interrupts. ‘He always makes me think of a walrus.’
Neither Ruth nor Malcolm agree with her (but then, Jo thinks, they have never heard him bark with laughter), and then all chatter stops as the waiter is back to clear the plates and take orders for pudding.
As they wait for these to arrive, Ruth focuses her full and penetrating attention on the question of Lucy.
What had it been like for Lucy with James around?
(Difficult to say – she always thought she was managing it okay, but now … )
What had it been like with other boyfriends?
(Okay, apart from Lenny at school, who it turned out was a thief.)
Did Sanjeev like James?
(Not really, but he tried his best.)
How was it when Lucy was in Amsterdam?
(Good, the distance hadn’t mattered as much as Jo feared. But she did miss the small things, like having coffee with her.)
Why did she think Lucy was so angry?
(She was really upset James hurt me, but now I think she is really pissed off with me too.)
Why?
