Page 20 of Such a Good Couple
‘Don’t say it because …’ He took a deep breath. ‘Because—’
A loud knock on the door interrupted whatever he’d been about to say, and Annie wanted to scream in frustration.
‘The fleet of Mercedes-Benz Sprinters with blacked-out windows is here, guys.’ Ollie’s voice came through the door.
‘Shit. I’ve gotta rinse off. I’ll be ready in two.’ Conor grabbed his towel and headed into the toilet. Annie had the strong impression that he was delighted to cut the conversation short.
Dinner was not going well.
Everything about the setup was perfect. They had the entire back patio of one of the most famous restaurants in Provincetown, The Canteen, to themselves. The water lapped just metres from where they sat under strings of glowing bulbs. Diners inside had looked them over with curiosity as they’d passed through to the reserved area, before losing interest when it was clear none of them were famous. The food was insane. They’d shared an enormous seafood plate to start, and now Annie was nibbling at a quintessentially P-town take on the humble grilled cheese that boasted additions of fresh crab and gruyere.
The surroundings were so perfect that it was dialling up hownotperfect the atmosphere around the table was. The food was delicious but barely touched by her two friends. Maggie was noticeably distracted and kept getting up under the guise of taking calls when there’d been no sign of her phone ringing. Clara meanwhile had only spoken when ordering from the waiter, which was not like her. Ollie and Conor were the only ones having anything remotely resembling a good time.
Across the table from her, Ollie was on an absolute roll, lamenting the lunacy of his sons.
‘Each one came out crazier than the last.’ He shook his head dolefully. ‘I honestly have no idea where they got it; we’re pretty chill.’ He looked to Clara beside him but she just shrugged.
She’s really taking the passcode change very seriously, Annie thought, with a vague flash of irritation. It was veryClarato have the least serious bloody problem and still make the biggest deal about it. Annie was also sick of the moaning-about-the-kids schtick that they were carrying on with.Have a bit of self-awareness.
‘Ollie, man.’ Conor was laughing. ‘I love you both but you two are not chill, have never been chill. Ye were chaos from the moment I met you.’
‘I’m sorry, but when you met us we were pilled off our faces. It’s not fair to make assessments about someone when they are extravagantly high,’ Ollie pointed out.
Conor grinned. ‘As I recall, you were “pilled off your faces” at a chamber music recital on a Sunday afternoon. Context matters, Ollie!’
‘I hope the boys never take pills,’ Ollie mused. ‘They’d be completely unstoppable then.’ He winked at a very distracted Clara. Annie could see she seemed to have completely lost interest in the conversation and was now staring at Ollie’s phone on the table just inches from her hand.
Ollie and Conor, either unaware of or ignoring the atmosphere among the women, swung into a new conversation about their jet-ski plans and Maggie stood suddenly for the third time since they’d been seated. ‘I better take this.’ She waved her phone, screen turned away and hurried down the side passage of the restaurant.
Annie tried to catch Clara’s eye but she seemed to be lost in her own head, oblivious to how odd Maggie was acting. Maggie had been well for years now but Annie knew that recovery from these kinds of things could be extremely complicated. The media attention on Fionn had spread to her and, even without her history, being photographed in your private life had to be incredibly destabilising.
Annie wiped her mouth and stood. If Clara didn’t care, she’d go find Maggie herself. ‘I just need to send a message,’ she also lied, and stood. She walked over to the passageway, the same one Maggie had disappeared down seconds before. It was deserted; just bins and empty crates lined the space on one side and a couple of weather-beaten wooden doors on the other. This place was rough and ready but still a local institution. One of the doors said ‘Staff only’ and one was a toilet. Annie tried the handle but it was locked. She stood still, listening for a minute, but could hear nothing. Maybe it wasn’t in use; it looked pretty dilapidated. Maybe Maggie had gone out front. Annie carried on out to the street, where the evening revellers were spilling out of bars and eateries on all sides.
She glanced around for Maggie in her distinctive red dress but there was no sign of her, and Annie felt her mood sink lower. She unlocked her phone and checked WhatsApp.
Rachel had messaged a few hours before but Annie hadn’t got around to replying.
How’s it all going? Is it luxury out the arse? Rachel was asking.
Looking at the text, Annie smiled, in spite of the mounting drama of the day. Rachellookedlike the sweet, rosy-cheeked innocent in a period drama but she was blunt as they came.
Annie started to type:
It’s luxurious but definitely not as fun as usual. I feel like maybe we all have brought extra baggage on this holiday, there’s a weird amount of emotional fuckery going on – know what I mean?
Annie hit ‘send’ and watched the grey double tick appear. Rachel wouldn’t see the message for hours. It was around 3 a.m. at home. It didn’t matter. Annie felt comforted just by sending it to her. Sometimes confiding in Rachel felt somehow easier than confiding in her oldest friends. Less history there. And Rachel wasn’t all tied up in the tangled dynamics of the group. She hadn’t actually seen Rachel for more than a week as she’d been over hanging a show in London and Annie was dying for a catch-up when they got back, especially given how things had been with Conor with this month’s trying effort.
Annie pocketed the phone and then headed back towards the back patio of the restaurant once more. As she neared the banjaxed old toilet door, Maggie emerged in front of her, running a hand through her hair. Annie was about to tap her on the back when an unmistakable smell hit her. Annie stopped. She looked ahead to check that Maggie hadn’t noticed her, and it seemed she hadn’t, as she disappeared around the corner into the patio area. Annie peered into the bathroom. Air freshener had been sprayed but it was mingling with the sour stench of vomit. Annie took in the dingy bathroom, the grotty sink and the damp floor. She couldn’t imagine Maggie kneeling in here to be sick but she knew from experience that, unfortunately, it wasn’t that far-fetched. With the smell of the loo and the imageof Maggie bowed before it, a churn of nausea gripped Annie.
She quickly shut the door and made her way towards the others, taking in big gulps of fresh air. An undeniable sense of doom started to envelop her.Please let me be wrong, she made a silent plea.
She was going to have to get Fionn on his own. If he ever bloody showed up.
After dinner, they arrived back to the house to a scene of mild chaos. Reggie was hot to the touch and crying for Clara, who seemed to at last stir to life after barely speaking the whole night.
She took her son from the night nanny. ‘Great.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I love when parenting collides with the arrival of my day-drinking hangover,’ she said, though Annie immediately heard her cooing ‘You’re alright, sweet boy’ as she headed away down the stairs.
Annie debated going after her; she had been hoping to talk to her about the Maggie thing but the alarm on Annie’s phone was vibrating insistently from her skirt pocket. Sex was on the to-do list before the night was out. Was it bad to pick sex over figuring out what to do about your friend possibly relapsing?
