focus. ‘I had to go. My mother called, it was an emergency, and now this morning I just saw her with her boyfriend! She has a boyfriend! And if she has a boyfriend, no way was she there last night, because women with boyfriends don’t show up at bars to meet people who are not their boyfriends but who they met through an anonymous column in the paper, so!’ Daniel’s words were all crashing into each other, like he couldn’t get them out of his mouth as fast as they entered his head. ‘AND SO. Either I have been writing to a totally different woman, or – and this is what scares me, really fucking scares me – maybe I just imagined the whole thing. Maybe I am ACTUALLY INSANE. I’m so stupid!’
Romeo shook his head. ‘No, man. I don’t believe that. You’ve got to be confused or something. I saw those adverts. She’s real, all right.’
‘I really don’t even think she showed up last night. She couldn’t have done! She was out with her boyfriend! Fuck. I would have sat there all night waiting for her. I don’t know what’s worse: that a totally different woman could have shown up, or this was all some joke to her – or somebody – and I would have waited for ever for nobody.’
Romeo was his typical, level-headed self, listening to Daniel rant and rave and still saying good morning to anybody else who passed through the lobby.
‘Okay. You. Me. Pub after work, okay?’
Daniel’s eyes found his. ‘Pub after work,’ he repeated, like he was in a trance.
‘Okay? Meet me down here at 6 p.m.?’
‘Okay,’ Daniel said.
Romeo was talking slowly, making sure Daniel got calmer right in front of him. ‘Go upstairs and get a coffee and read your emails and … Well, to be honest I’m not entirely sure what your job actually is, but go upstairs and do it. At lunchtime go for a walk and eat a sandwich, and just … keep your head down today, okay? If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were on drugs.’
‘I’m not on drugs,’ said Daniel.
‘I know, mate. But keep a low profile anyway, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘And Daniel? All is not lost. I promise you that.’
Daniel didn’t believe him.
‘You just can’t argue with a Wetherspoons, you know?’ Romeo was saying, as he and Daniel weaved through the Friday-night throngs of workers on the pavements, all hurriedly walking towards the beginning of their weekends. ‘Those prices, man. It’s not to be sniffed at.’
They settled into a table in the corner, Romeo insisting on getting in the first round, which Daniel objected to strongly but Romeo was adamant about. He tootled off to the bar and Daniel sat and waited. He’d calmed down considerably since this morning. He had done next to no work and had had Percy hold all of his calls. Percy had done exactly as he was told, not even putting through Lorenzo’s attempts to find out what had happened on the date. Percy could tell something was up, but didn’t pry. He simply followed Daniel’s instructions, and also brought him back a cookie at lunch, silently leaving it on his desk, smiling, and returning to his work.
Daniel had had a series of texts from Lorenzo over the course of the day, none of which he had replied to:
Well, it can’t have gone that well because I heard you come home alone last night, the first said.
The second: Although it was about midnight, so you obviously had *something* to say to each other.
He sent a third, not long after: Are you ignoring me because you’re gutted she wasn’t interested?
The fourth: Well, fuck her, mate, you know? I never thought she was a big fucking deal in the first place.
Later, he’d sent another: What time you home tonight, mate?
Waiting for Romeo, Daniel picked up his phone with vague ideas of finally texting Lorenzo back, but he didn’t know where to start. He hoped Lorenzo would be out when he got home, and maybe after a chat with Romeo and a good night’s sleep he could think about what he was going to tell him. He was pretty sure Lorenzo would find the whole thing hilarious and pathetic, and be horribly unsupportive. Daniel didn’t know if he could take being laughed at. Not over this.
When Romeo came over with their drinks – two ciders – Daniel said, ‘I just feel really stupid.’
Romeo took a sip. ‘Well, let me tell you, straight up, that you