Page 31 of The Last Kiss

“I did. About a hundred times. Seriously, Jules, you can’t be playing Dodge the Call anymore. Not now.” She pushes into the flat, plonking the car seat in the middle of the room like a roundabout. I can see her flicking her sweeping gaze over the plain walls, piles of books, old newspaper prints and… last Thursday’s pizza. I block her view of that before she launches into a spiel about mould spores.

“What? So now I’m officially dying, and no longer possibly dying, I have to answer every call that comes to my phone?”

She bites on her lower lip and my shoulders slump.

“Sorry. I was just tired, and…”

“You couldn’t face it.” She focuses on my face and not the dismal clutter bomb explosion of my small and perfectly messy home.

I nod.

“Does Rebecca know?”

“No! I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do.” My fingers tingle again, my breath coming a little faster.

Liv glances at Lenny on the floor. He’s asleep, blue dummy dangling from his puckered lips. “What do we always do?”

I breathe in, stretching my chest cavity, focusing on the air coming in and the air flowing out. “We take one step at a time.”

Liv smiles and shakes her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Exactly. And how many steps is it to your kettle? I wasn’t joking about the Tube, it was hell. Now make me a brew and then get ready. We might as well go for lunch now I’ve found you.”

“Lunch where?” I turn, brightening at the prospect. Maybe today could be my three McDonalds in a row day.

“We’ll go to Charlie’s of course.”

I groan and slope towards the kitchen. Fuckety fuck fuck. More wheatgrass and some hay smoked tofu for my sins.

I should have drunk more of that French red. Much more.

8

Notting Hill Health Foods

“What is it?” I stare at the shot glass, peering at the murky liquid. It looks like pond water, I’m not going to lie.

Charlie perches her hip on the edge of our table. “It’s turmeric and spirulina.”

“Oh, well that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Just all the healthy stuff.” She gives me a sympathetic smile. The same one I’ve been seeing for two years now and then she leans over to squeeze my shoulder. “We are all here for you, Jules.”

“Thanks.” But what I mean is, thanks that’s lovely, but I kinda need you to be here for Liv more.

“Enjoy your lunch, ladies.” She edges her way off the table and goes back to behind the bar where she starts assaulting the coffee machine, clanging on levers and muttering darkly under her breath. In her standard white t-shirt, black apron and black trousers she’s wearing the only outfit I’ve seen her in for the last two years since she sunk all her inheritance money into a health food restaurant in Notting Hill.

“She okay?” I nod my head in her direction and Liv shoots me the universal eyeroll and tight-lipped shut the fuck up and I’ll tell you later.

I glance back over at Charlie. “You guys have been friends such a long time now, it’s crazy.”

Liv shrugs. “Yeah. I don’t know what I’d do without them all, or you. The last year would have been truly awful if you hadn’t all pulled me through.”

Her face falls, her eyes watering a little, glistening under the retro lights swinging from the ceiling of Charlie’s restaurant.

I give her a small smile and then sip back some of my health shot. “Oh, holy crap, that’s awful.” I mumble around the liquid pooling in my mouth.

“Shhh, don’t say it too loud.” Liv waves her hand at me, but she’s not the one with a mouth full of… actually I think it is pond water.

I widen my eyes at her. I. Am. Not. Swallowing.