‘I’m starving,’ Andy says from his seat next to me. ‘I’ll probably say yes to anything.’
‘No you won’t,’ I say with a laugh.
‘What do you mean?’ he asks, smiling slightly.
‘You can be such a picky eater,’ I remind him.
‘Sometimes,’ he concedes. ‘But that’s what’s great about having you around. You’re like a human bin. All of the things I don’t like, you’re happy to have. Like pickles.’
‘Oi,’ I reply, giving him a playful shove, although that is true, I’m always happy to take people’s pickles.
I notice Cordelia looking over, clearly uneasy with the familiarity between us, but we’ve been best friends for years. We can’t forget all our history, the things we have in common, our inside jokes.
The waiter appears with the first round of dishes, saving us from a potential awkward moment.
Cordelia leans forward, clasping her hands. ‘Wonderful,’ she says. ‘Shall we dig in?’
Andy pokes at something seafood-looking and frowns.
Cordelia winces. ‘Buzz!’
‘What? I’m just checking it’s dead,’ he jokes.
‘This looks real nice,’ Jake says politely, picking up his fork with interest. ‘What is it?’
‘Sea bass ceviche,’ Cordelia tells us.
‘What’s a ceviche?’ Andy asks.
‘It’s raw, right?’ I check.
‘Oh, boy, no thank you,’ Andy says, pushing his plate away dramatically.
‘It’s not raw, you plebs,’ Cordelia corrects us. ‘It’s marinated in citrus juices which essentially cooks it without heat.’
‘That sounds raw to me, Tink. Sorry, no can do,’ Andy tells her.
Cordelia shoots me a look, like that one is on me, but there’s no way Andy was going to eat it.
‘I’m a traditional bloke,’ Andy reminds her.
‘I didn’t realise only eating beige food was a tradition,’ I joke.
‘This is a wedding, not a takeaway,’ Cordelia says. ‘You have to at least try it.’
‘I’ll try it, what are we having?’ JJ asks, plonking herself down at the table. ‘Sorry I’m late.’
Cordelia looks at her like maybe she wasn’t invited anyway.
‘Sea bass ceviche,’ Jake tells her as he picks at his portion.
‘Oh, yum,’ JJ says. ‘One of my favourites.’
‘Someone who appreciates class,’ Cordelia says. ‘Perhaps I should be marrying you.’
‘Which reminds me – did you get everything sorted?’ JJ checks.
‘What do you mean?’ Cordelia replies.
