‘Not a chance. Stop buggering about and open the door.’ Energetically stamping his feet and rubbing his hands together, Todd called up, ‘It’s arctic out here. I’m freezing my nuts off.’
***
‘Look at you,’ Todd marveled, greeting Ellie with a kiss when she finally teetered out of the bedroom, dressed and ready to go. ‘Understated. I like it. Off to church?’
‘Ha ha.’ She loved Todd, which was just as well, seeing as he was Jamie’s best friend. For almost twenty years the two boys had been inseparable. Their personalities complemented each other and their shared sense of humor enabled them to bounce jokes off each other so effortlessly that they never tired of it. Jamie and Todd were known as the double act and Ellie lived in fear of Todd meeting and settling down with a girl she didn’t like, because what could be worse than that? How would they cope? It had the potential to spoil everything and she couldn’t bear the thought of that happening. All they could do was cross their fingers and pray he’d choose someone great.
‘Right, are we ready?’ Jamie was driving tonight; rattling his keys, he ushered them toward the door. ‘Let’s go. Where are we dropping you?’
Ellie gave her back-combed hair one last wild blast of glitter spray for luck. ‘Just at the tube station. Everyone’s meeting at the Frog and Bucket.’
‘You’re not going on the tube on your own dressed like that.’ He pinched her bottom as she headed past him down the stairs. ‘We’ll give you a lift to the pub.’
‘Pleurgh.’ Todd smacked his lips together in dismay. ‘I’ve got hair spray in my mouth.’
‘Open wide.’ Peering in, Ellie said, ‘Whoops, there’s glitter in there too.’
Jamie grinned. ‘That’s so when he meets up with the girls he used to fancy at school, he’ll be able to make sparkling conversation.’
Ellie brushed a speck of glitter from Todd’s cheek. ‘God help those poor girls.’
***
By the time Ellie arrived back at their Hammersmith flat it was almost one o’clock. You knew you’d had a good old Rocky Horror night when your throat was sore from singing and the soles of your feet were on fire. Throughout the show they’d jumped up and joined in with the dancing, bellowing out the words to the songs everyone knew by heart. Then afterwards, on their way back to the Frog and Bucket for last orders, they’d carried on doing the Time Warp all the way down the road.
‘That’s ten pounds fifty, love.’
She paid the taxi driver, clambered out of the cab, and looked around to see if Jamie was home yet. No sign of the car, but he might have had to park around the corner. And the windows were in darkness, but that could mean he was crashed out in bed.
Letting herself into the flat, Ellie felt the stillness and knew she was the first one home. OK, that was fine, she was still buzzing with adrenaline. If Jamie came back soon she might seduce him, make up for what they’d missed out on earlier thanks to Todd’s untimely arrival. Toddus Interruptus, ha. Their very own living, breathing contraceptive. She smiled to herself and switched on the light in the living room. She’d make a toasted sandwich and put on a DVD. Oh, the light was flashing on the phone. Reaching over, she pressed the button and listened to the message from someone whose voice she didn’t recognize but whose name she’d heard before.
‘Hey, Jamie, what’s going onnnn? It’s Rodders here, man. What happened to you and Todd, eh? You said you’d be here. Give us a bell, mate. You missed a cracking night.’
The call ended. That was it. Rodders was Rod Johnson, who had taken it upon himself to organize tonight’s school reunion in Guildford. And he had made the call an hour ago, which made no sense at all unless Jamie and Todd had arrived at the event early, peered through a window, decided it looked like rubbish, and beaten a stealthy retreat before they were spotted.
Because what other explanation could there possibly be for their not turning up?
The only sound in the room, the ticking of the clock Jamie’s grandmother had given them on their wedding day, seemed louder now. Ellie fumbled in her bag for her phone, switched off since they’d entered the theatre five hours ago.
Seven missed calls. One message. Her heart juddering against her ribs, Ellie experienced split-screen consciousness. One half of her brain