loses interest.
‘Whatever you say.’
I’m not sure if she believes me. I don’t insist because it would look worse, and it’s not as if I need to justify myself. I’m probably misreading her anyway; my social skills have taken a knock, another casualty of spending too much time alone. I’m saved from having to respond by Phil’s wife, Susan, who heard the exchange from her position on the other side of Olivia.
‘Doesn’t Dawn look a picture?’ she says, leaning in towards us. I try to telegraph a silent thank you. Susan appears in the office at least once a week, often bearing things she’s baked or bought for Phil to dish out amongst the staff. We all love her to death; me never more so than right now. The swift conversation change is enough to move things along until Jonah and Ryan return from the bar balancing trays full of glasses. I make a thing of jumping up to let Ryan sit beside Olivia again, not wishing to separate love’s young dream. He tries to argue with me, and for a moment our eyes meet and we both realize something: neither of us especially wants to sit next to his date. I think Olivia’s days are numbered and, given that she was eyeing up Jonah rather than Ryan at the bar, I don’t think either of them will be particularly disappointed. All the same, she’s Ryan’s date and he can sit next to her.
‘Okay?’ Jonah says quietly, checking in with me as we take our seats. His arm rests easily along the back of my chair, and I’m grateful for his presence. He’s one of those chameleon people who can fit into any crowd, easy company and genuinely interested in what others have to say. It’s probably what makes him a good teacher. He actually listens when people speak, without constantly looking for a way to bring the conversation back to himself.
‘Think so.’ I take a sip of cold Sauvignon.
‘What do you make of Olivia?’ he asks.
I look at him curiously. ‘Why?’
He laughs softly into his beer. ‘Ryan just told me that he’s tried to end it with her twice this week and she won’t have it. He’s scared stiff of her.’
‘Rightly so,’ I say, looking across at the pair of them. Her fingernails are grazing the back of his neck, slow and territorial.
I find I’m laughing when Ryan catches us looking and mouths ‘Help me!’ over Olivia’s shoulder. Jonah raises his glass and I shrug, helpless. This is a lesson the boy needs to learn for himself.
The band strike up a rock-and-roll number, and it’s as if someone pressed Bruce’s activation button. He goes from quietly nursing his pint to Buddy Holly all in one move, hauling Julia up behind him in a way that brooks no argument. We all watch in surprise as they take to the floor. Bruce is firmly in charge as he slings her between his spread legs with a quick-silver confidence never displayed on any previous occasion. Christmas meals and office get-togethers have come and gone without him saying more than ten words to anyone, which goes a long way towards explaining why we’re all slack-mouthed as they fly across the floor, outstripping any other pretenders for their rock-and-roll crown. People actually move to the edges of the floor to give them more space, and as I watch them it strikes me that I’ve never seen this side of Julia, either. She’s absolutely loving it. I’ve sometimes wondered how Julia and Bruce gel as a couple but watching them now it’s clear there is something special about their bond that we’re not usually privy to. She’s a different woman with him – or maybe she’s herself with her husband in a way she isn’t with anyone else.
I’ve had one too many drinks. We all have. The measures in this place are huge, and it seems you can take the boy out of the foam party but you can’t take the foam party out of the boy: Ryan’s had us all sinking Jägerbombs, a first for Julia and Bruce, and I suspect for Phil and Susan too. I’ve never been a great fan and it’s not Jonah’s bag either, but given the fact that Ryan appeared with a tray of eight shot glasses and the glint of challenge in Olivia’s eye, we all knocked them back in one eye-watering salut.
In truth, I’ve enjoyed myself far more than I expected to tonight, so much so that I