Page 71 of The Little Board Game Café

‘I never had Mr B pegged as a boyband expert,’ Emily said to Marjory.

‘He isn’t. My grand-daughter visited last week and she’s been listening to all her mother’s old CDs.’

‘I might have known,’ Emily laughed. ‘Ludek, shall we start getting the board games out now?’

She turned the music down slightly as everyone sat down and Ludek began to suggest games to different groups of people. Mrs Scott and Mrs Sinclair, she noticed, were playing Scrabble with two of the Dungeons and Dragons crowd; Emily wondered if they’d only make words like curse, weapon and elves. One of the Trainspotters was playing the Scandinavian version of Ticket to Ride with Florence and Peter, and Mr B and Marjory were attempting Azul with Malcolm and Alan. Her tiny café was full of happy people.

‘Room for one more,’ said Ludek, beckoning her over to the table where he was sitting with Julia and her husband, about to embark upon a game of Stone Age.

She slipped into the seat beside him as he finished explaining the rules. Abba was playing again. ‘The Winner Takes It All’. Emily glanced around the café to double-check again that all her guests were okay. Ludek saw her. ‘Relax, Em. Everyone’s enjoying themselves.’

He reached across the table and rubbed her hand, scattering two of Julia’s meeples onto the floor.

‘Sorry about that,’ he said, as Emily bent over to pick them up.

Her fingers had just grasped the furthest one, when the door of the café opened. Through the jungle of table legs, chair legs and people legs, she saw two pairs of shoes entering: one man’s, one woman’s. Black slingback courts with fake diamond detailing on one side. She’d have known those shoes anywhere.

Kate.

She sat up so suddenly that all the blood rushed from her head and she felt slightly sick.

Beside her friend was a tall, blond-haired man with model looks. He must be Freddie. No wonder Kate had been a bit obsessed.

He took a swig from the can of lager he was carrying, then staggered slightly as he took a step further into the café. Kate linked her arm through his to steady him, though she didn’t seem that stable herself. She had a drink in her hand too, Emily noticed. Some kind of alco-pop.

‘Em,’ she called as she spotted her. ‘Em, this is Freddie.’

Emily got up and went over. ‘I thought you weren’t coming.’

‘Freddie and I wanted to support you, didn’t we, darling?’ Kate was slurring her words.

‘Where’s the bar?’ said Freddie. ‘You said it was a party, Kate.’

Emily frowned. ‘It’s not really a party. More an evening of board games. And er… Polish culture and cuisine.’

‘Oooh, culture and cuisine,’ he said, mocking her accent. ‘Very fancy.’

‘Freddie,’ said Kate reproachfully. She made an apologetic face at Emily.

Emily was aware that the whole café had fallen silent now, listening to this interaction. This was awkward. She couldn’t think what to say, and ended up coming out with, ‘I haven’t got enough chairs.’

Peter, Mr B and Ludek instantly sprang to their feet.

‘Board games!’ Freddie sneered. ‘Who plays board games?’

‘Freddie!’ said Kate again.

‘Kate, I so wanted you to come but you’re both drunk,’ Emily hissed. ‘Go home. Please. Don’t ruin my evening.’

In her heart of hearts though, she felt they’d already ruined it. It had all been going so perfectly until now. She had no idea that the worst was yet to come.

Chapter Twenty-Five

‘The dress looks fantastic on you, Em.’ Kate gave a hiccup, as if to underline the fact that she was very, very drunk. ‘Did she tell you,’ she continued, addressing the entire café, ‘that I had that dress made for her? Shpecially for this evening.’

‘Kate, please…’

Kate held up her hands in surrender. ‘Okay, okay, I get the message. We’ll go. Don’t want to lower the tone.’ She glanced round the room. ‘But first, I have to say hello to Ludo.’