‘You look different,’ she says. ‘It’s been way too long since I saw you.’
I know,’ I reply pointlessly. I take in my surroundings or, rather, her surroundings and my eyes widen. ‘This place is …’
‘It’s mental,’ Aury replies with a laugh. ‘I know.’
‘I try not to say that word now. Since I started the mental-health modules, it’s a bit tactless.’Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ollie. Why did you say that?
She closes her mouth in surprise, then opens it again and says quietly, ‘Of course. I’m sorry.’
‘No,I’msorry. I don’t even know why I said that.’Oliver Harris, what the fuck is wrong with you? Shut up. Shut up!‘But you’re right. It is mental.’There you go. Fixed it. Maybe. I think I’m just nervous.
Aury looks at me as if she’s not sure whether I’m joking or not. I’ve sucked the fun right out of the room.
‘I have presents.’ I try to claw the situation back.
‘Really? Where?’ she jokes, as if she can’t see them lying haphazardly on the floor.
I crouch down. ‘What do you want first?’
‘The fizz, please.’
‘It’s still cold. Just about.’
‘Let’s put it in the freezer for a tiny top-up.’
I hand her the bottle of champagne and she races off to an oversized American fridge-freezer and puts it inside. I follow her and am rather surprised to see an assortment of frozen chips, frozen burgers and other food that I wouldn’t have expected a model to eat.
‘What’s with the McCain oven-fries situation? Have you taken out shares?’ I ask as I place the pot plant and the flowers on a white marble countertop.
‘My mum. I can’t make her stop. If she sees a special offer, she’s all over it. But we never actually eat it, as I’m trying to get her to stop buying processed food. It’s a challenge. Meanwhile … if you want six bags of oven-chips, help yourself.’
I laugh. ‘How is your mum?’
‘Working, enjoying life, partying like a teenager. Same old, same old.’
‘I remember her on the first day of uni,’ I tell Aury. ‘She wanted to party. You wanted her to go.’
‘Feels like a lifetime ago. And she’s out much of the time now,’ Aury replies. ‘She’s out at the moment. On a date, I think. Or bingo with her friends. But cool bingo – you know, where they stop it all the time and you have a dance and do shots.’
‘Sounds fun. Why aren’t you with her?’
‘Because I wanted to be here with you,’ she replies, and my insides jump about a bit.
‘Ah well, great.’ I’ve got to stop saying silly shit. I don’t know what to say now.
‘Those for me?’ she asks, pointing to the countertop.
‘Yes. No. The flowers are for your mum. The plant is for you.’
‘You’re so thoughtful. My mum already loves you. This will seal the deal. I’ll pop them in a vase for her, but they’re staying out here, so I can enjoy them too. The plant, though … this could go either way. I’m not here enough to water it. Can we give that to her too?’
‘It’s an umbrella plant. It’s practically indestructible. You’ve basically got to water it with battery acid in order to kill it.’
‘Oh, phew.’ Aury takes it from me and puts it at the end of the long central island. It’s only about a foot tall. She looks at it appraisingly. ‘My first plant.’
Why don’t I know what to say? Why is my chat always so bad with her?
‘How’s it going with the girl from your course?’ she asks.
