Not that I was invited, I imagine. I take a swig of my drink and put it down on a ledge and follow them out. Pier gets accosted by the braying prostitute so I take my leave.
‘See you tomorrow,’ Nicola whispers.
‘Use a condom,’ I whisper back and she cracks up laughing. I was joking! I hope she steers well clear of the moron.
There are no speedy JetCats waiting when I arrive at the terminal, and the ferry seems to take forever, but I stand outside in the wind, staring at the city lights as we pull away from Circular Quay. It’s a surprisingly chilly evening – autumn is definitely on the verge of assaulting us – and even when it starts to rain, I don’t go inside. I wonder if it’s too late to pop by Nathan and Lucy’s? Will Richard have already left?
I pull out my mobile and curse under my breath when I see that the battery has gone flat. Nathan and Lucy live only a short walk from the beach in Manly so I’ll go via their house on the off-chance.
It’s raining heavily when I come out of the ferry terminal and I rummage around in my bag, hoping and praying I have my teeny-tiny super-light umbrella in there. Thank bollocks, I do! I set off at a brisk pace, not bothering to swap to flip-flops because there’s nothing worse than sloshing around wet-footed in rubber in the rain.
Nathan and Lucy’s lights are on when I walk up the footpath. They live in a little house much like ours, made out of wood and painted greeny-grey with a white picket fence out the front. I knock on the front door and listen as I hear Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex Is On Fire’ coming from inside.
Lucy opens the door. ‘Lily!’ she cries, giving me a hug. ‘I thought you couldn’t come.’
‘Hello,’ I say warmly, as she pulls away. ‘Am I too late? Is Richard still here?’
‘Richardisstill here and no, of course you’re not too late. Come in.’
Richard rounds the corner and steps into the hall, a look of pleasure and surprise on his face.
‘Hey!’ he exclaims. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I left the gallery early,’ I tell him.
‘Was it alright? Are you okay?’ Now he looks concerned.
‘I’ll get you a drink,’ Lucy says. ‘Molly and I are on the rosé.’
‘Perfect,’ I reply and she hurries off, leaving Richard and me alone in the hall.
‘Are you alright?’ he asks again.
‘I’m fine,’ I say flatly. ‘It was okay, but I didn’t feel very comfortable.’
‘Come inside and have a drink, we’ll soon cheer you up.’ He puts his arm around me and I’m filled up with warmth. This is where I belong. WithmyRichard. I smile at him gratefully as he leads me into the living room.
‘Hello!’ Molly and Sam shout.
‘Hey.’ Nathan gets to his feet and bounds over, engulfing me in a lovely hug. ‘I hear congratulations are in order.’
‘Oh my God!’ Lucy screeches, rushing through from the kitchen. ‘I forgot to say!’
‘No worries,’ I laugh as she drags Nathan away to give me a hug. ‘And hey, welcome back to you guys,’ I say, already feeling a million times better. ‘Did you have a good time?’
‘It was ace,’ Nathan assures me.
‘What was the exhibition like?’ Molly asks from the comfort of her snuggly sofa.
‘It was a bit shit,’ I tell her honestly and she laughs. ‘I missed you guys.’
‘Aww.’ Richard gives me a squeeze because he’s still by my side.
‘Here you are.’ Lucy hands over my wine.
‘Cheers!’
‘Cheers indeed.’ We all chink glasses. ‘Are you hungry?’ she adds. ‘We’ve already eaten, but there’s loads left over.’
