Page 18 of The Layover
Boo-fucking-hoo.
But I make a sympathetic noise. ‘I know, right? I’m legitsosorry, babe. If I could’ve been out of work sooner for the early flight, you know I would’ve …’
I don’t even bother trying to defend myself on that front. Sheknows. She doesn’t care about the truth; she just wants to play the victim.
Not wanting to get thrown under the bus totally alone, I add, ‘Leon’s stuck here, too, you know. We both feelawful.I wish there was more we could do …’
‘Can’t you get a train? Or rent a car? How long can it take to drive here, anyway?’
In all honesty, maybe wecould’vegotten a train – I think we were too thrown by Francesca suggesting abusto really consider it. Besides, Kayleigh’s whole rant has been so emotionally draining I think I’d actually rather wait it out here at this tiny airport terminal.
I can’t blame any of her attitude on the stress of planning a wedding. This is just – Kayleigh.
She’s my best friend; aren’t I supposed to forgive her stuff like this? Love her in spite of it?
‘Oh, hon, you know we would, but we’ve already gone through security and everything. I don’t think we could leave even if we wanted to,’ I say, which is sort of true. It’s just that I don’t plan to ask and find out. ‘Listen, Joss and Andi and Laura know all about the dress and bouquets and everything, so if anything goes wrong, they can help sort it. And your mum’s there! She’ll have a handle on things till I get there.’
‘Yeah, I guess.’
Joss is going to justlovestepping up so she can undermine me. She’s been Kayleigh’s friend the longest, and I don’t think she’s ever forgiven me for the fact Kayleigh pickedmeas her bestie.
‘Just enjoy the night, yeah? And then when you wake up tomorrow, I’ll be there waiting with a mimosa in hand ready to help get you ready for your big day. Promise!’
Kayleigh sighs, but it’s not her argumentative one this time. Phew. At least that’s one storm that’s blown over – for now. She says, ‘Have fun stuck in an airport all night. Sounds miserable as hell.’
‘It is.’
‘Lucky you, having to hang out with Leon all that time. Is he there now?’
‘Nah, I left him upstairs. Oh, and you know who else is here?Fran.’ My mouth is moving before I can think about it; my tone is catty enough to match Kayleigh’s. I feel like a puppet given a script, but I can’t stop it.
‘Fran?’ she says. ‘Who the hell is—’
‘You know,Francesca. Marcus’s Francesca.The work wife.’
Kayleigh’s gasp is loud and so melodramatic it does a full one-eighty back to deadly serious. ‘No! Oh my God. What do you think of her? Isn’t she such an annoying little cow?’
I snort. ‘She’s too boring to be annoying.’
‘Please. She’s such a prim and prissy piece of work; it’ssoembarrassing the way she’s always throwing herself at Marcus. You know he only invited her because he feels sorry for her?’
‘Oh, totally.’
Secretly, I’ve got other theories. I think helovesthe attention. I think Marcus enjoys the whole ‘cute girl fawning all over him’ thing a lot more than he makes out. I think Kayleigh knows that, too, but because we’re besties, we both pretend like we’re not thinking it.
And … I don’t think Fran’s actuallythat bad. Boring, yeah, but … I don’t know, Kayleigh always made her sound so self-righteous and insufferable. Prim and prissy, like she said. I haven’t seen that yet. She’s just …
Nice. Boring, but … nice.
I actually feel kind of bad, bitching about her with Kayleigh now, but … old habits die hard, I guess. And the nagging feeling of guilt, that itch of discomfort, the lingering little voice I shut down a long time ago saying that I’m being needlessly malicious – that’s an old familiar feeling, whenever I’m talking to Kayleigh. I’ve long since learned to accept that.
So I ignore the nauseating twist in my stomach and laugh at the high-pitched, breathy impression she does of Fran, even though it sounds nothing like her, and I say, ‘Oh my God,accurate.’
‘Let me know what she says. A running commentary any time she talks about Marcus, okay?’
‘Oh, you’ve got it. Absolutely.’
And I know I mean it, too. I know I’ll text her everything Fran says, exaggerate a little, throw in a bunch of mean-spirited emojis, and laugh to myself about it, and pretend it’s totally harmless fun.
