I snort, trying for gentle humour but the BBQ flavour from a Pringle burns the back of my throat.
‘Well, I’m sure she appreciated the effort, just the same.’
‘It’s not like that…’
I wait for him to tag on the word ‘yet’.
‘We’re just…’
I put on a stupid teasing voice, even though the idea of Spence and Heather together again brings back the hurt I’d felt on prom night. The way he’d dismissed me to his friend.Me and Alice? No, man, we’re friends. Nothing more. She’s like my little sister.I deflect. ‘Have you…’ I make silly kissing noises. He laughs but then looks away. ‘Spence?’ My heart trips, like I’ve miscalculated the number of stairs and have to right myself. ‘Oh. My. God. You have, haven’t you?’ the words blast out.
‘No!’
‘You’re going awfully red for someone saying they haven’t.’
‘We haven’t.’
‘But…?’
‘There was a moment… It’s, it’s nothing.’
‘Oh no, you don’t get off that easily. What kind of moment?’
‘We were watching Georgia asleep and… I don’t know. It felt…’
‘Like it was normal?’
‘Yeah. Something like that.’
Memories of the nights we’d spent together with Georgia asleep between us career through my mind. The way we’d talk about her little fingers stretched out like a pianist. Moments where I would come home from uni and get up in the night to read her stories when she couldn’t sleep. The weekend I came home and missed my graduation party because they’d both had a sickness bug. All the moments stack against themselves like a house of cards. But now Heather’s come back… and knocked them all to the floor.
‘I’m pleased for you.’ I smile, but I have to focus on making the muscles in my face work. We grow quiet, sleepy, as the film continues. I reach for the controller, flicking off the screen, the nostalgia and familiarity of the film fading.
‘We’d better get some rest. Long drive tomorrow.’
37
ALICE
‘Looks like the right place.’ I take out a piece of chewing gum, offering one to Spence as we stand outside the grocery shop. Cartons of fresh herbs, fruit and veg all spilling out of their containers.
‘Ready?’ he asks, taking one. My body is humming. It’s strange – I already feel like I know the woman I’m about to meet. The street is quiet, clouds hanging overhead, threatening rain.
‘As I’ll ever be.’ I step forward, pushing the door open. A bell rings, and I’m immediately hit with the smell of warm fruit, the earthy base note of soil. The walls are soft pink, like bubblegum just before it pops. Along the walls are shelves with pictures and ornaments, and a rotary hanger filled with gift cards. The back wall is made up of glass doors, fridges filled with cheese, milk, cold cuts. Along the other side are an array of cupcakes. It’s like walking into a warm hug, all the daily essentials that make this more than a grocery shop – this is a place where people come to meet. At the back is a small alcove, where a handful of people are drinking coffee and tea, plates with pastries sitting in front of them. I lean into Spence. ‘This is the right place. A Slice of Life,she said. It’s exactly as he described in his letter, the shop that was more than fruit and veg.’
I cast my eyes towards the counter at the back, towards a man who looks to be in his early seventies, laughing loudly and folding over a brown paper bag.
Spence gives me a nod, and I move closer.
‘What can I do you for?’ he asks, with a broad smile that crinkles around his eyes behind thick lenses.
‘Hi!’ I clear my throat, looking down at a punnet of cherries. ‘I’ll have 500 grams of those please.’
‘Just in season, had some of these myself. Her indoors does a cracking cherry pie.’ Spence nudges me with his elbow as I stand there with a manic smile on my face. I look around, trying to glimpse a woman who might be Kate.
‘I’m… actually looking for someone,’ I say as he whips the top of the bag round. ‘Kate?’
‘No can do, I’m afraid. It’s her day off.’ My stomach sinks. I glance to his name badge: Bobby.
