into the building and they disappear. I exhale slowly, my thoughts even more mixed up than before. It’s impossible. It’s unreal. What’s going on?
And suddenly I can’t sit here anymore, a spectator on my own life. With trembling legs, I get up and venture toward Nell’s door. Her keys are in my bag, as they always are. I let myself into the main lobby, then approach Nell’s flat. My stomach is screwed up with nerves. I’ve never felt so apprehensive about seeing my friends in my life.
My hand is actually shaking as I put the key to the lock, but I turn it, step inside, and hear a roar of laughter from the sitting room.
“No way!” I hear Sarika exclaim, and I feel another jolt. Is everyone here? “OK, Sam says he’ll be half an hour. I’ll just get some more wine….”
She appears in the hall and sees me, and for a moment I think she might pass out.
“Ava?” she whispers. “Ava? Ava!” Her voice suddenly rips up to a scream. “Ava’s back!”
It’s pandemonium. Nell’s hall isn’t huge, but within ten seconds it’s full of people. Sarika is first to hug me, and then Maud is squeezing me tight. I emerge from their huddle to see Nell standing there, using her cane, her face happier than I’ve ever seen it, and we sink into each other’s arms while Nihal says shyly, “Welcome back,” and Topher adds, “Excellent entrance, Ava. Excellent.”
And then there’s just Matt. Holding back from the melee, a few feet away. His eyes are dark and questioning. But I don’t know what the question is. I don’t know.
My throat has closed up and I can barely meet his gaze, but I say, “Hi.”
“Hi.”
He comes forward and reaches out a hand to touch mine briefly. “Hi.”
“I don’t…” I swivel around to take in everyone. “I don’t get it. I don’t get this.”
“Poor Ava.” Sarika laughs. “Come on, my love. Have a drink. We’ll explain.”
* * *
—
Of course, it’s all very simple. Matt and I split up, but our friends didn’t. Our lives didn’t.
We all gather in Nell’s sitting room with drinks and snacks. Then I sip my wine, trying to listen to everyone at once and to piece together the story.
“So, when you broke up,” Sarika begins, “we were like, ‘Oh no,’ because we liked one another. But we didn’t get together straightaway. Except Nell and Topher—they were in touch the whole time.”
“We had arguments to finish,” says Nell, glowering good-humoredly at Topher.
“Still do,” Topher agrees, nodding.
“But the time when we really all got together was…” Maud hesitates, darting me a quick look. “When Nell went into hospital again.”
“Hospital?” I interject, feeling a cold chunk of dread. “What’s been going on? You didn’t mention any of this.”
“We weren’t allowed to,” Maud puts in quickly. “Ava, I wanted to. I really did. But Nell reckoned you would fly home. So we had to keep schtum.”
“If you’d said a word, I would have had you assassinated,” Nell growls.
“I know,” says Maud regretfully. “You would. My children would have been motherless. So we didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?” I look from face to face. “What?”
“Just another surgery. Intestine. No big deal. No big deal,” Nell repeats firmly, as I draw breath to demand more details.
“Anyway, the guys were great. Topher stayed up all night—”
“Couldn’t get rid of him,” says Nell, with an eye roll. “Cluttering up the bloody hospital the whole time.”
“I was playing online poker, so I was up anyway,” says Topher with a shrug. “And who doesn’t enjoy listening to Nell swear at nurses?” He touches her hand, with a look so fond that I blink in surprise. Is he…? Are they…?
“Then, when Nell got out of hospital, Nihal was absolutely brilliant,” says Maud, giving him a dazzling smile. “He should get the Nobel Prize. He said, ‘Nell, sweetie, what you need in your life is robots!’ ”
“Robots?” I echo, baffled.
“I saw a possible function for robot usage,” Nihal explains in his usual measured manner. “I suggested a number of ways in which we might facilitate Nell’s everyday operations.”
“Look!” Maud moves off her seat, pointing to something behind her—and for the first time I see the robot arm by Nell’s side. It’s mounted on a stand and is holding an iPad with a super-long stylus clipped to it.
“It’s changed my life,” says Nell, and Nihal instantly looks abashed.
“They’re all over the house,” says Maud, as proudly as though she’d invented the robots herself. “There’s one in Nell’s bedroom,