‘Kate, it’s me,’ I said, when she finally answered; I’d had to dial twice.
‘Olivia, it’s the middle of the night. I’ve still got jetlag,’ she muttered in response, her words blurred by sleep.
I bit my lip, looked anxiously at my watch, and realised it must be about four in the morning there.
‘No one’s died,’ I said, inhaling a sob.
‘It had better be good, now that I’m awake. Honestly, Olivia, you are hopeless. You’re not still trying to get me to talk to Bill are you?’
‘No, it’s Emily.’
Stumbling over the words, I told her what had happened. I’m surprised she could understand what I was saying.
‘Olivia.’ She gave a long sigh. ‘It’s about time you woke up and smelt the sewage, sweetie.’
That wasn’t what I wanted her to say. She was supposed to be on my side. Where was the sympathy?
‘I’ve been telling you for ages. Emily is bad news. You wouldn’t have it. Why do you have to always see the best of people, even those that don’t deserve it?’
Taken aback, I ventured softly. ‘But isn’t that better than always seeing the bad?’
‘No, it’s not. You’re too nice. You think everyone is like you — they value honesty and want to do the right thing. Not everyone does.’ Her voice was getting louder, as she warmed to the theme. ‘People like Emily coast on other people’s coat-tails. And yours was a very comfortable ride. Nice flat, great friends, and she even pinched Daniel from under your nose. Easy pickings, thanks very much, Olivia.’
‘No...’ I tried to stop her. This was not what I wanted to hear.
‘I’m sorry, hon, it’s about time you realised she’s been using you. Not that I think it was personal. She’s a parasite. Latches onto the nearest free meal. It wasn’t as if she was that attached to Daniel. He was just handy at the time.’
‘It doesn’t explain why she had to be so horrible in her letter to David.’ That really hurt. Especially all the lies.
‘She’s just saving face. Anyone that hopeless is never going to get on if they stay put but she couldn’t admit it, could she? So you got the blame. Bet she genuinely believes all that guff. Ask yourself, what’s Emily ever done for you?’
‘She cleaned the flat from top to bottom when I hurt my arm. That was really nice of—’
‘I’m not saying she’s all bad, but overall, she’s just not that great. And what about Daniel?’
God she was determined to keep bringing him up, just when I was trying very hard not to think about him anymore.
‘Don’t tell me she didn’t know that you liked him.’ There was a pause as if she was considering her next words carefully. ‘I think she stuck the knife in that night at the birthday party. You told me that one minute Daniel and you were getting on like a house on fire, the next she’s waltzed off with him.’
Thanks for sisterly sympathy. Now I felt even worse. Especially when I realised I’d hung up and not asked how she was feeling.
* * *
Friday night was hell on the tube. So much for my quick exit from work to beat the rush. David’s little meeting and the call with Kate had played havoc with my plans. It was now after six. I felt more like going into the pub and downing a pint of vodka than braving the packed underground.
Feeling bloody miserable, I swung the holdall over my shoulder and I headed reluctantly towards Tottenham Court Road tube and as I did, managed to catch the shoulder of a man standing just to the left of the doorway, his eyes focused on the doorway of Bar 29. Turning my head, I offered a fleeting, ‘Sorry,’ and caught his eye. He looked familiar. Where had I seen him before? Not that I really cared. I was far too pissed off with life, the world, Emily and myself to give it another thought.
* * *
Every inch of the concourse at Paddington was packed as I squeezed my way through trying to get to the platform. I only just caught the 6.35, which meant standing nearly all the way to Maidenhead. I was too lost in thought to care and too wedged in to worry.
Kate’s words were like merry-go-round ponies spinning, going round and round in my head. I’d always dismissed her views as being typically Kate, overly harsh and disparaging. Grudgingly I could see now that she’d been right. Not in everything but she’d certainly seen more than me.
Looking back, a sense of shame filled me as I thought of all the times I’d let Emily get away with things. So she was inept at work; it wasn’t her fault she wasn’t as organised as I was. When Fiona gave her a hard time, I’d always sympathised. What I should have done was point out why Fiona gave her a hard time. Now I knew why. Emily was always ready to blame everyone else for her failings. Look how she’d pitched my ideas as her own and got away with it. In a lot of ways, I was as much to blame as she was. I’d never made her face her faults. To keep the peace, I’d encouraged her instead of trying to tell her diplomatically that she was the cause of many of her own problems.
I was disappointed as much in myself as in Emily. How could I have failed so badly to see her for what she really was?
If she could say all those things in her letter to David, what on earth had she been saying to Daniel?
