‘Two pie and mash coming up. Anything else?’ she asks me.
‘No thanks.’
‘Refill?’ Lisa nods at my almost empty pint. Right now, I could happily sink a few, but I need to drive us back.
‘Nah, I’m driving. Shame you can’t get something that tastes like beer but without the alcohol, isn’t it?’
‘They could call it near beer,’ Kate adds. I snort.
‘I can do you a weak shandy, heavy on the lemonade?’ Lisa interjects.
‘Sure. Cheers.’
She walks away as Kate rolls her eyes.
‘What?’
‘You know what.’ She flutters her eyelashes. ‘Refill?’ She makes it sound like an invitation to bed.
‘She was being polite.’
‘Sure she was, and look, there’s a pig flying.’
I lean back, my fingers still itching to reach for a pack of cigarettes.
Kate pulls her barely touched drink forwards and fiddles with the straw.
‘Do you want to tell me what that was all about?’
She stirs it a few times then pushes it aside. ‘I just… I haven’t had a day off for ages and was looking forward to spending some time with you like we used to, you know, have a laugh and…’
‘Kate.’ I tilt my head, knowing there is more going on.
‘I found a ring, OK?’
My brows furrow, trying to link what she’s saying to the ring beneath my T-shirt. Then she holds up her left hand and taps her ring finger. The proverbial penny drops.
‘Oh…’
‘Yeah. Oh.’
She looks to the window then back at me.
‘And it’s not what you want, I take it?’
‘I… I don’t know. I mean, I know he’s not perfect, but…’
‘Do you love him?’
‘Yes! Yes… I think so.’ She groans and shakes her head.
‘Kate, addingI think soto the end of the sentence kind of implies that you don’t.’
‘But that’s not what makes a marriage work though, is it? Stability is what’s needed, not some far-fetched romantic image of who the perfect person is.’
‘Can I ask you one question?’
She nods.
