The Lightkeeper's Wife - By Karen Viggers Page 0,115

weaving around the overheated bodies of people I’ve never seen before.

‘No room in the fridge,’ someone yells. ‘Go to the laundry. There’s ice in the sink.’

I wave and squeeze through another door and someone points me to the laundry where a candle is shivering on the windowsill. While I’m pulling the beers out of their packaging so I can bury them to keep them cool, a guy leans over me and fishes out a couple of drinks. He’s sweaty and his dark hair hangs around his face. I can smell the smoke on his breath. The party’s only been going an hour and this guy is smashed.

‘Get one into you,’ he says. ‘Bloody good party.’ He stumbles out.

I linger in the gloom of the laundry with an open beer in my hand before I muster the courage to search for Emma. I can’t face going back into the crowded kitchen, so I follow someone through to the lounge room where party lights are strung around the curtains and light fittings as well as the mantelpiece above the gas fire. I see the glow of Nick’s white shirt in one corner; he’s with a group of people. I can’t see if Emma is among them. In another corner, a cluster of guys is laughing loudly and clinking beers.

I slide further into the room and stand against the wall, sipping my beer. On the couch, a couple is deep in conversation. The guy is obviously chatting up the girl—he’s playing with her hair and her hand is on his leg. Even I can interpret the signals.

Nick breaks away from his group and comes towards the door. Of course he notices me standing there like a wallflower.

‘You’re back,’ he says, eyes and voice flat. ‘You haven’t seen Emma, have you?’

I shake my head.

‘She’s got the shits with me tonight. For sending you off.’

‘I took myself off.’

‘Tell her that, will you?’ He puts his empty bottle on the mantelpiece. ‘How are you off for a beer?’

‘Just started one.’

‘Drink up, then. I’ll get you another.’

He shifts by me, through the door. I hope he won’t come back, but he returns quickly with two bottles. The one he passes to me is dripping. It’s straight out of the ice.

‘Where’d you meet Emma?’ he asks. He twists the top off his beer and takes a swig without moving his eyes from my face.

‘She gave a talk at the antdiv.’ I don’t want to get into a conversation with this guy.

‘How’d you hear about it?’

‘Friend.’

‘You got friends at the antdiv?’ Nick looks disbelieving.

‘A few.’

‘Who?’

‘Mostly diesos.’

‘You’re a grease monkey, then?’

‘Mechanic.’

‘Same thing.’

This guy has a knack of making me feel small. I wish I could tell him it isn’t necessary, that I already feel small.

‘Emma seems to have taken a liking to you,’ Nick grunts. ‘She’s always picking up new people.’

‘She’s a nice girl.’

‘You know she’s going south again,’ he says. ‘She won’t be round for long. I’d advise you not to get too involved.’

Just at that moment Emma breezes in through the door, smiling broadly and clearly tipsy. ‘Guys,’ she says. ‘Good to see you getting on.’

Nick looks straight at me and then turns to Emma and rubs his hand up and down her back. ‘Having fun, baby?’

She gives him a kiss on the lips. Obviously she’s forgiven him for any disagreement they may have had earlier this evening.

‘Great party, isn’t it?’ she says to him.

‘The best.’ He’s looking her up and down approvingly. It’s sickening to watch.

‘Your turn for a kiss now,’ she says, smiling at me.

Nick’s smile disappears and then he’s blocked out altogether as Emma leans towards me and touches her lips against mine.

‘You taste nice,’ she giggles. ‘Hey, Nick, have you introduced Tom to anyone?’

‘No,’ he says. ‘We were just having a cosy chat together.’

‘Cosy?’ She narrows her eyes at him. ‘How about you go and get cosy with someone else.’

Nick scowls and reluctantly crosses the room to join a couple of guys near the window. Emma hooks her arm through mine.

‘You were gone a long time,’ she says. ‘I was waiting for you.’

‘It took me a while to find a pub. Plus, I didn’t want to come back too early while you were still getting things ready.’

She giggles again and presses her face against my shoulder. ‘I don’t think I’ve had enough to eat. Can you get me some food?’

I’d prefer to sit with her on the couch. It’s empty now—the couple must have gone elsewhere to grope each other. On the couch she