Page 46 of Such a Good Couple
Right at that moment, a young girl in pressed shorts and a collared T-shirt appeared carrying plates of fruit and yogurt. It was a different server than earlier.
‘Hi!’ Maggie held up a hand to stop her.
‘Hi, ma’am.’ The girl beamed. ‘Are you having a nice day so far?’
‘Yes, eh, thank you.’ Maggie threw a glance back to the deck, then turned back to the young girl. ‘Could I order waffles and bacon, please.’
‘Of course, no problem. I’ll get that for you right away.’
‘Also …’ Maggie paused.
She tried to pull back from the new idea that had just struck her but found that the words kept coming: ‘I think my girls are getting hungry between meals. Do you think one of the staff could go to the market and pick up a big bag of snacks for them? Just chips and cookies. A few different candy bars. That kind of thing. And put them in my room?’
Maggie knew Fionn would be back later but she’d have time to intercept the stuff and put it away before then.
‘Absolutely.’
‘Thanks,’ Maggie murmured, while at the same time thinking,What am I doing?
I just want it for tonight. It’ll help with the party. Back to normal then, she silently resolved.
She imagined herself escaping upstairs later while the party carried on below. She could almost feel the monumental release that would come with the binge. She felt a swell of anxiety but also delicious anticipation. The satisfaction of churning through all that food, the comforting numbness that would follow. She deliberately steered her mind away from any thoughts of the self-loathing that would also inevitably follow.
The other thing will take care of that, she reminded herself. That was the beauty of the system. It was all like it never even happened.
The server continued out to the deck and Maggie followed behind, feeling buoyed by her plan.
Clara had joined Annie at the table. They both had a slightly haunted look to them.
‘Did I miss Ollie and Conor?’ Maggie asked, airily sitting down and tugging at the waistband of her shorts. They still felt tight.I am going to seriously take myself in hand when we get back.She poured a cup of coffee from the steel carafe and helped the server make space for the food she was carrying.
‘You missed the handover,’ Clara replied. ‘And what must’ve been record-breaking levels of awkwardness.’
‘Conor looked at me like I might attack him and syphon off some of his sperm any minute,’ Annie remarked.
‘Ollie didn’t look at me at all.’ Clara poked at her smoked salmon with her fork.
‘I can’t believe we all have to get on a plane together tomorrow.’ She sighed.
‘Why don’t you two at least swap seats and that way you’re each sitting with the other’s ex?’ Maggie suggested.
‘Ollie’s not my ex,’ Clara yelped. ‘Not yet, at least.’ She dropped her head into her hands. ‘God, I actually don’t know what’s going to happen, though. He’s so angry.’
Maggie’s waffles and bacon arrived and she paused, wondering if tucking in was a bit insensitive at that moment.
Annie caught Maggie’s hesitation and instructed her to eat. ‘If you wait to eat until our relationships are unfucked, you’ll be waiting for a very long time.’
Clara popped a forkful of eggs into her mouth and chewed morosely.
After a subdued breakfast, they decamped to the beach and debated what time it would be acceptable to start drinking.
‘Maybe never for me,’ Clara said sadly. ‘I should probably be making more of an effort to be contrite. Even though I swear if he doesn’t stop being so holier-than-thou, one of us is going to have to move into the car when we get home.’
‘I’ve decided I’ll be drinking heavily today,’ Annie announced from under the shade of the large canvas umbrella. ‘It is literally the only upside of not trying for a baby anymore. Instead of a baby, I’ll be welcoming a beautiful, bouncing eight-pound bottle of vodka.’
Maggie and Clara laughed tentatively.
‘Too soon for us to be laughing at this?’ Clara asked Annie, who shrugged.
