Page 87 of The Last Saturday In July
Kate was in the foyer, doing a word puzzle on her phone, when Jess got there.
‘Hey, how are things?’
Kate gave a distracted smile. ‘Fine.’ She stood and followed Jess across the road to Butlers.
As they stepped inside, Jess took a deep breath and tried to sound casual. ‘I was talking to Simon earlier. He said you weren’t feeling well the other night, when he took Luke to seeStar Wars.’
Kate didn’t look at her. ‘Luke enjoyed it, that’s all that matters.’
‘Yeah, absolutely.’ Jess had an urge to shake her. They took their place in the queue for coffee and she tried again. ‘It’s a pity you couldn’t go. How are you now?’
Kate folded her arms. ‘I’m fine, okay? I was fine the other night too, but I’d prefer if you didn’t tell Simon that.’
‘I won’t.’ Jess was tentative. ‘Why?’
For a long moment, Kate said nothing. ‘It felt wrong, Jess, that’s all.’ She looked at her. ‘You and Simon are on a break and then, what? It’s me and Luke and Simon off playing happy families?’
Jess found her voice. ‘That was why you didn’t go?’ She tried to understand exactly what Kate was saying. ‘But you and Simon are friends, you often do stuff together. Why wouldn’t you go to the cinema when he’s taking Luke anyway?’
‘Next?’ The barista looked a bit impatient, and Jess and Kate stepped up and put in their order.
Jess gestured towards the counter by the window. ‘Let’s sit down for five minutes.’
After they sat down, Jess cut her slice of chocolate biscuit cake in half and offered some to Kate, who shook her head.
‘You don’t think I’m worried about you and Simon out together, do you?’ Jess said, finally.
‘What?’ Kate went bright red. ‘No, of course not.’
‘Sorry.’ Jess flapped a hand. ‘My bad. I’ll shut up.’
They drank their coffees in silence for the next few minutes.
‘So, the photo shoot in Linford –’
‘Simon dropped in for a few –’
‘You first.’ Jess’s insides squeezed.
‘Simon came in for a coffee after he dropped Luke home. He wanted to know how things were going with David.’ Jess relaxed a bit. ‘How are things going? You never tell me.’
‘There’s not much to tell.’ Kate focused on the countertop. ‘We’ve been on a couple of dates.’
‘What does Simon think?’ Jess wondered how blunt he’d been.
Kate wrapped both hands around her cup. ‘He told me that David’s a good guy, the best. He also said that he’d been in a two-year relationship in London with a single mother. Her little girl became attached to David and when he and the mother split, the child was pretty upset.’
Jess tried to keep the frustration out of her voice. ‘Did David tell you anything about this himself?’
‘We’ve had two dates, Jess!’ Kate’s voice rose, and a few people glanced around. ‘Look, I’m seeing the guy. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, but is it what you want, Kate? I mean, I don’t believe that –’
‘That what?’ Kate stared at her. ‘Anyway, you’ve no right to ask me what I want. You don’t even know what you want for yourself.’
‘Yes, I do, I want to marry Simon.’
‘Do you?’ Kate’s voice held an undercurrent of anger. ‘Does Simon know? Because he needs to know. He needs to be sure it’s what you really want.’
