Page 32 of The Truth About You and Me
‘No worries.’ I smile even though I’ve tried to push down the disappointment in the distance growing between us.
‘So how’s things?’
‘Good!’ I tell him about the new job and how fun spending time with Riz has been. Going through her things has been like watching a soap opera unfold, stories about her travels, her wedding day, her life as a photographer.
‘It’s going well. She has so many stories. Did you know she worked on a cactus farm in Peru and that she had lunch with Salvador Dalí? And she’s so full of wisdom.’
‘Rizdom?’ Jack suggests and I laugh.
‘Yeah, Rizdom.’
We’re trying to talk as though things haven’t changed, even though they have. Jack is a little more guarded, my laugh a little too enthusiastic.
Behind us, the cinema starts to fill.
‘I can believe it,’ he says. ‘I think she was the inspiration for one of my favourite books:The Water on Horseback?’
I look over, curious. ‘Really?’
‘I talked to her about it when we were waiting at the doctors’. She made me laugh, told me it was full of purple prose.’
I half-smile, frowning. ‘Purple prose?’
‘Too much flowery writing, but Ilovethat book. Must’ve read it five times, maybe more. Anyway, before that she was telling me about her and Art being in Thailand and that he was there too, studying temples and it suddenly clicked:The Water on Horsebackis set there, and the main character, Adam, gets obsessed with temples and’ – Jack is talking quickly, like he’s trying to repair the barrier between us with more words – ‘there is this absolute powerhouse of a woman, Clarissa, who happened to be a… guess.’
‘Photographer?’ I venture.
‘Right? She said Chris Renford, the author, never liked Art that much. Apparently he used to call Chris out on his bullshit all the time.’
‘Did you ask her if it was her?’ I take a sip of my drink.
‘Couldn’t help myself. Clarissa is one of my favourite characters of all time. Tall, red lips, feisty as hell.’
‘And?’ I question.
‘She shrugged. Said, “Who knows?”’
I shake my head. ‘Oh she knows all right. Every time I pick up an ornament, or scarf, or book, or record, she has this incredible story to tell. Her life with her husband Art sounds incredible. Real, proper, true love, you know?’
The lights dip and the trailers begin.
‘So, what is this one about, again?’ Jack asks, opening his popcorn.
I adjust my skirt. ‘A bookshop. Two actually.’
He hesitates, the popcorn halfway to his mouth. ‘Right.’
There is a late arrival: a tall man and his shorter girlfriend have chosen to sit on our row. I’m about to comment on Meg Ryan’s bookshop being similar to Jack’s but the woman’s leg bumps into my bare knees, as does the guy’s, and the joy drains from my face.
17
MAGGIE
I shouldn’t have agreed to meet her here.
Harry is so nice.
What if my wife finds out or goes into labour?
