Katie’s jumpy. She’s still wearing the skinny jeans and sequinned sweatshirt outfit – somehow managing to look both casual and glamorous at the same time – but she’s added dark red lipstick and a sweep of thick black eyeliner, curving up towards the outside of her eyebrows like wings.
‘Fifteen minutes,’ she hisses at me, when the doorbell rings, ‘then we’re going.’ Justin’s still at the café, and Simon and I are in the lounge, which I’ve hastily tidied up.
I hear low voices in the hall and wonder what Katie’s telling her new boyfriend-slash-director. Sorry about my mum, probably. They come into the lounge and Simon stands up. I can see immediately what Katie finds attractive. Isaac is tall, with smooth olive skin and jet-black hair, worn longer on top than underneath. His eyes are the darkest of brown, and the V-neck T-shirt under his leather jacket hints at a well-defined chest. In short, Isaac is gorgeous.
He’s also at least thirty.
I realise my mouth has fallen open and I turn it into a ‘hello’.
‘It’s good to meet you, Mrs Walker. You’ve got a very talented daughter.’
‘Mum thinks I should be a secretary.’
I glare at Katie. ‘I suggested you did a secretarial course. As something to fall back on.’
‘Wise advice,’ Isaac says.
‘You think?’ Katie says, incredulously.
‘It’s a tough industry, and cuts to Arts funding means it’s only going to get tougher.’
‘Well, maybe I’ll give it some more thought.’
I turn my snort of surprise into a cough. Katie gives me a sharp look.
Isaac shakes hands with Simon, who offers him a beer. He declines, on the basis that he’s driving, and I think that he at least has that in his favour. He and Katie sit on the sofa, a respectable distance between them, and I look for signs that, in the brief time since they met, they’ve become more than just director and actor. But there are no accidental-on-purpose touches, and I wonder if Katie’s hero-worship is just a one-way crush. I hope she’s not going to get hurt.
‘I knew Katie was perfect for Viola the moment I saw her at the agency,’ Isaac was saying. ‘I sent a quick snap to the guy who plays Sebastian, to see what he thought.’
‘You took a picture of me? You never said! That was sneaky.’
‘On my phone. Anyway, he texted straight back to say you looked perfect. I’d already heard you speak – you were talking to the girl next to you, do you remember? – and I just had an instinct you were the Shakespearian leading lady I’d been looking for.’
‘All’s Well That Ends Well,’ Simon says, with a grin.
‘Very good!’ Isaac says. They all laugh. Katie looks at her watch.
‘We’d better get going.’
‘I’ll drop her off after rehearsal, Mrs Walker. I understand you’re a bit worried about her taking the Tube late at night.’
‘That’s very kind of you.’
‘Not at all. London isn’t always the safest place for a woman on her own.’
I don’t like him.
Matt used to laugh at the snap decisions I made about people, but first impressions count for a lot. I watch Isaac and Katie through the lounge window; walking a hundred yards down the road to where Isaac’s managed to find a parking space. He puts a hand on the small of her back as they reach the car, then leans in to open the passenger door for her. I can’t put my finger on what I don’t like, but my senses are screaming at me.
Just a few days ago I resolved to be more supportive of Katie’s acting; if I say anything about Isaac she’ll see it as one more attack on her career choice. I can’t win. At least she won’t be coming home on her own tonight. I heard a report of a sexual assault on the radio this morning, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the victim’s photo had appeared in the classifieds first. Simon usually brings a Gazette home from work, but this week he’s returned empty-handed; I know it’s because he wants me to forget about the adverts. But I won’t. I can’t.
On Friday Simon comes with me to work. ‘Just in case you’re still a bit wobbly,’ he says when we wake up. He holds my hand all the way there. On the District line I see an abandoned copy of the Gazette, and I resolutely ignore it, leaning into Simon with my face pressed against his shirt. I let go of the strap I was holding, and instead put my arms around his waist, letting him balance us both as the train slows for each stop. We don’t talk, but I can hear his heartbeat against my face. Strong and steady.
Outside Hallow & Reed he kisses me.
‘I’ve made you late for work,’ I say.
‘I don’t care.’
‘You won’t get into trouble?’
‘Let me worry about that. Are you okay if I leave you now? I can hang around, if you like.’ He gestures to the coffee shop across the road, and I smile at the idea of Simon waiting all day for me, like a celebrity bodyguard.
‘I’ll be fine. I’ll speak to you later.’
We kiss again, and he waits until I’m safely installed at my desk, before waving and walking away, towards the Tube.