I shrug off my coat and place my hat on the chair next to me. It looks like a cat curled up on the seat.
‘You aren’t just away or at work or staying with a boyfriend. You’ve moved out. Actually moved out.’ She throws her hands into the air to emphasize her point. She’s always gesticulating, and the two of us talk so fast when we’re together that nobody can understand us. ‘Your stuff’s all gone. The place seems empty and smelly now I’m sharing with a man, although,’ she chuckles, ‘he’s actually tidier than you. And not to mention we’ve got damp.’ She grimaces. ‘Luckily the landlord is dealing with it. And thank you for leaving all the throws and cushions we chose. Kris thinks they’re too girly, but they’re staying.’
‘How’s it going living with him?’
She pulls an exasperated face, then catches a waitress’s attention to order me a cappuccino. We’re creatures of habit, me and Courtney. I surprise her by asking for a croissant to go with it. I’m starving, thanks to the stolen-breakfast incident. When the waitress has gone she says, ‘I’m regretting letting him move in.’
‘Really?’
‘He leaves his clothes everywhere. Wet towels on the floor, pants on the carpet. It’s like he thinks I’m his mum. He’s twenty-six years old and this is the first time he’s lived away from home.’
I laugh. ‘I thought you said he was tidier than me.’ I’m not a huge fan of Kris, not that I’ve ever admitted as much to Courtney. I just think she can do better. She’s fiercely loyal when she decides she likes you. Although, as she’ll say herself, she has a resting-bitch face. Kris plays the drums in Vince’s band, and when he met Courtney he told Vince he didn’t like her because ‘her head’s stuck up her own arse’. She doesn’t give her friendship easily. Unlike me. I know I’m quite laid-back in that respect. It takes a lot to annoy me but Courtney is less tolerant. In the end, Kris realized how genuine and kind Courtney is and won her around. She says he makes her laugh. I suppose he can be funny, in the immature way that boys at school could be, but there is a side to him I don’t like. He takes people for granted. I used to see him do it with Vince and now I’m noticing it with Courtney. He’s the one who’ll never pay for a round of drinks, who always expects others to drive, who won’t go out of his way to help someone. Everything has to be on his terms. I’ve always felt Kris was a kind of stop-gap for Courtney. Although now he’s moved in, I worry she’ll be stuck with him.
She smirks. ‘He is! Although I’d trained you well. And you didn’t expect me to pick up after you.’
‘True. Is he working today?’
She shakes her head, nearly whipping herself in the face with her long ponytail. ‘That’s another thing. He still refuses to think about a proper career even though the band is going nowhere.’
We’ve discussed this at length, many a time. Kris and Vince are dedicated to their band. Everything, even a possible career, is put on hold just in case they make it big.
‘They really believe they’re the next Arctic Monkeys.’ She laughs.
I roll my eyes. The thing is, it’s not as though they’re bad. They’re actually quite good. The lead singer, Dexter, has a gorgeous, gravelly voice and the looks to go with it. Vince is an excellent bass player, their songs are clever and catchy, and Kris is an enthusiastic drummer. But they’re just another band on the Bristol scene, gigging the local venues and hoping to be the next big thing. And everything is on hold until they ‘make it’.
The waitress appears at our table with my order. Courtney is thoughtful for a few moments as she sips her hot chocolate. ‘I told him he needs a back-up. Go to college part time, get some qualifications. Like me.’ Courtney would like to have her own hair salon one day. ‘Anyway, enough about me. How’s the job going?’
‘It’s good …’ I lie, buttering my croissant. But Courtney knows me too well. I can see she’s not convinced.
‘I thought you’d landed on your feet.’
‘It’s great. Don’t get me wrong, it’s better than the care home, it’s just …’ I take a bite of croissant, careful not to wolf it.
She leans forward expectantly. ‘What?’
I swallow and tell her about the boredom, and about Kathryn. ‘She’s always watching me, like she suspects I’m about to steal the family silver or something.’
Courtney laughs. ‘You’re the most honest person I know. Remember when we found that wallet full of money in Castle Park?’
I do. We’d been heading to the shops when we saw a wallet on the ground bulging with twenty-pound notes. There must have been at least three hundred pounds. Courtney had wanted to keep the money – we were only seventeen, after all, and broke – but I’d insisted on taking it straight to the police station.
I shrug. ‘I wish Kathryn was as sure of me. She makes me feel uncomfortable.’
‘But she’s not there all the time?’
‘No, thank goodness. She was there today.’ I fill her in on the morning’s events, including my missing breakfast.
She raises her thick eyebrows. She takes ages in the morning to make sure those bad boys are expertly filled in and she’s always trying to get me to do mine, even though I’d look weird with thick dark brows and light blonde hair. ‘Do you think she ate your breakfast?’
‘That would be weird. Why would she?’
‘Just so she could have a go at you?’
I shake my head. ‘I can’t imagine her being that petty. She’s old. Nearly fifty. And sensible. A bit dowdy, you know? Like Mrs Bird across the street. She’s got two kids and a husband. I can’t imagine her doing something like that. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a hot gardener.’
Her face lights up. ‘Tell me more!’
I wipe my mouth with the napkin, half tempted to order another croissant. ‘He’s very handsome. Like stunning. He looks a bit like that Poldark actor but with bright blue eyes.’
She makes appreciative noises.
‘He’s worth coming to work for.’ I laugh.
‘What about Vince? That’s definitely over?’