A Step In Time. Kerry Barrett

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СКАЧАТЬ I said, letting him lead me up the stairs to the bar at the very top of the theatre where the party was. ‘Let’s go and party.’

      Phil was right. It was indeed a quiet party. But it was kind of nice, and knowing it was Matty’s idea of a nightmare made it easier for me to relax. There was a barbershop quartet in the corner, singing songs from musicals, and groups of people stood together chatting and drinking glasses of champagne.

      ‘It’s very sophisticated,’ I said to Phil. ‘Not sure I belong here.’ Phil took two glasses from a passing waiter and stuck his tongue out at me.

      ‘Of course you do,’ he said. ‘We both do.’

      I shook my head at the glass he offered and swapped it for an orange juice when the waiter passed us again.

      ‘I’m off booze,’ I said. ‘It just gets me into trouble.’

      We stayed for a while, chatting about mutual friends and eating as many canapés as we could get our hands on. But it wasn’t the most exciting party in the world and, eventually, Phil looked at his phone.

      ‘Do you mind if we call it a night?’ he said. ‘Bertie’s round the corner with his parents and I said I’d go and meet them. Do you want to come?’

      I shuddered.

      ‘God no,’ I said. ‘I’ll head home.’

      ‘Do you want me to find you a cab?’ Phil said.

      ‘Nah,’ I said, picking up my bag. ‘I’ll pop to the loo first and then head out. Call me tomorrow?’

      Phil gave me a quick squeeze.

      ‘Will do,’ he said. ‘Stay safe.’

      I blew him a kiss as he headed for the stairs, then I went to find the loo.

      I was still in the cubicle when I heard two women come in, chatting in that slightly too loud way that told me they’d had rather a lot of champagne.

      ‘I just hope this is it,’ one was saying. ‘I’ve fucking had enough of being in the chorus line. If this isn’t my big break, then I don’t know what else I can do.’

      ‘You could get your boobs done,’ the other one said. ‘Everyone does it.’

      ‘How would that help?’

      ‘Dunno,’ the second one said, giggling. ‘I have no idea.’

      I went to flush the toilet, then stopped as I heard them say my name.

      ‘… like Amy Lavender,’ the first one said. ‘She was here earlier, did you see her?’

      Great. I couldn’t burst out of the cubicle now, could I? Surprise! Quietly I put the seat down and sat on it.

      ‘Do you know what I heard about Amy Lavender?’ the other one said, lowering her voice to a quiet shriek.

      Oh, this would be good.

      ‘Her name’s not even Amy Lavender. It’s Amy Brown.’

      ‘Nooooo,’ said the first one.

      Sitting on the loo, I rolled my eyes. That was hardly a state secret. My real name was, in fact, Amy Lavender Brown, so I’d simply dropped the boring Brown when I started acting. It had been my mum’s idea, actually – in fact, it was the reason behind my unusual middle name. She’d hoped I’d be a star one day, even before I could talk. Pressure, much?

      ‘I feel a bit sorry for her, you know?’ one girl said. ‘Everyone knew her fella was cheating on her, for months and months before she found out.’

      Oh, really? I thought. People were always so wise after the event.

      ‘True,’ the other one said. ‘He slept with Casey. And he was all over Felicity at that album party.’

      My mind raced. What album party? Not the one Matty went to when I’d been doing that week of night shoots? Surely not …

      ‘He tried it on with me once,’ the first one said. ‘He was quite persistent. I had to get Greg to have a word with him in the end.’

      ‘What a sleaze,’ said the other girl. Then she giggled. ‘You had a lucky escape, though. That Amy Lavender could have whacked you instead.’

      Laughing, they both left the toilets and I heard the double doors back into the bar bang shut.

      I sat there for a while, trying to process what I’d heard. Matty had cheated on me before? It just didn’t make sense. I had to speak to him, to find out if it was true. I pulled my phone out of my bag and scrolled to his number, then paused. No, I was giving too much weight to silly gossip. It wasn’t true.

      Feeling more settled, I flushed the loo, washed my hands and made for the stairs. Then I changed my mind and headed to the bar instead. I needed something to calm my nerves.

      ‘Champagne, please,’ I said to the barmaid, all my intentions of staying teetotal abandoned. ‘Quick as you like.’

       Chapter 8

      ‘Celebrating?’ said the man next to me at the bar. He was sitting on a bar stool, slumped over his own glass of bubbles.

      I downed my glass in one mouthful and turned to look at him.

      ‘Well, I just found out my ex-boyfriend was actually cheating on me for a lot longer than I thought, with more women than I thought, and that just about everyone else in London knew about it and was laughing at me behind my back. Do you think that sounds like a reason to celebrate?’

      The man laughed.

      ‘Sure it does,’ he said. He had a soft American drawl that I liked. ‘Sit down.’

      I perched on a stool next to him and he topped up my glass and then his own.

      ‘What are you celebrating?’ I asked. He didn’t look particularly joyful, gazing into the bottom of his champagne flute like the answers to all the world’s problems were there.

      ‘Oh, nothing much,’ he said. ‘I got offered the job of my dreams this afternoon.’

      ‘Well, that’s good,’ I said, encouragingly.

      ‘Yeah, it is,’ he said. ‘But when I called home to tell my parents, my dad wasn’t interested because I’m not in his line of work.’

      ‘What’s that?’ I said, draining my glass again.

      ‘He sells cars,’ the man said. He ran his fingers through his blond hair. ‘And my mom was more interested in telling me my high-school girlfriend just got married.’

      ‘Do you care that she got married?’ I asked.

      ‘Nope,’ he said. ‘Not really. I’ve not seen her for years. СКАЧАТЬ