‘Just please, the language, if you can, Rebecca, we have boring rules about that.’
‘Sorry, Mr Temmis. I don’t know what the noise made me think, but whatever it was did not prepare me.’
‘Some people would have turned around and just got out.’
‘Not me,’ she said. Only Stevie could say such a thing without sounding like she was blowing her own trumpet. ‘Also – I saw the policeman. Didn’t know he was police. Thought I recognized him but wasn’t sure. He was with the biker. The families were climbing out of the window. I passed the crumpled bike on my right and then I clocked the fire …’
Her description took in every detail. Edward closed his microphone, knowing she would speak for five minutes before another question was needed. It was like watching a movie, hearing her voice paint the picture. He turned to see Melody, entranced like him. They stared vacantly at each other through the glass as Stevie described the children being bundled out by parents, the smell of the smoke, the efforts to remove the body of the biker. He wondered at Stevie’s heroism and couldn’t help but think that if he had been close when the fire and smoke erupted from the pizzeria, he would have turned and run.
When he left the radio station at midnight, the security guard handed him an envelope.
‘Strange one this,’ she said. The woman was new, and in the dim of the reception he could barely make out her face. ‘There was a knock on the main doors, Mr Temmis, and when I got there, this was slipped under. They could have come in, but they must have slid away into the night.’
He took the envelope, studying his name on the outside: E. TEMMIS. It was written in thick pencil and the handwriting was like a child’s. He pocketed the note and thought no more of it as he left the building and stepped into the warm night air.
Chapter Eleven
‘… and then Stevie slipped away. Didn’t even expect thanks.’
‘Jesus,’ said Kim, listening to Edward repeat their friend’s words verbatim. ‘Impressive. As my dad would say, quiet gumption. And Stevie’s never been quiet.’ It was one in the morning. He was at Kim’s flat. The lights were low. A candle flickered on the coffee table between them. He often came over on Friday and stayed for the weekend. ‘Poor Stevie. And her wedding in a week!’
‘Lucky none of the customers died. There were kids in there.’
‘So lucky.’ She was handing him a second glass of red wine, and Edward thought the last two words might have been for him, served with the wine, as in:Lucky you, having me, punching.Or was that just his insecure self, the cat’s paw that kept clawing at the curtain of his confidence?
They were silent for a minute, thinking about the fire. Kim said, ‘Glad you’ve got your voice back.’
Edward smiled, put the wine to his lips, paused before sipping and looked around the room. ‘Hmm.’
‘What does “hmm” mean? You don’t like my new paint and wallpaper? You take to your sickbed, and I spend thewhole time in my wedding dress.’ She fetched it and held it up.
‘Jesus, what have you done? It looks like … something out of Eurovision.’
‘I just wanted to wreck it, I guess.’ The satin was smeared and flecked with orange, green, dark red, and a mass of thick blue. ‘Eggshell front and back.’
‘Why would you do that?’ he asked.
‘Painting over bad memories.’
He stared at the dress. ‘A week ago I was all geared up. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come live with me. You remember you had your flat tyre and I wanted to ask you something important?’
‘Look at the dress, Edward.’
‘I’m looking.’
‘What does it say to you, darling?’
‘I wasn’t proposing marriage.’ He felt genuinely hurt. ‘So do you have an answer to the question I never asked?’
‘I do.’ She sat opposite him, looking at him intently, knowing her eyes would glint in the light of the candle.
‘Watch out saying “I do” like that, you might be misunderstood.’
‘Misunderstand that dress if you can.’ She pointed, though she hardly needed to. She turned back to him, face dark with the pain of memory. ‘To get this straight. I’ve only just got out of a horrible marriage, and yes I love you, Edward, I completely fucking adore you, and I want you wrapped around me every night like a great big bear, but I’ve set myself up here. I’m just trying to simplify my life first. Understand?’
Now it was his turn. ‘I do.’
‘Ha!’ she laughed. ‘If we’ve both said “I do”, maybe wearemarried.’
