Our Stop(52)

‘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 are not actually stupid. Feel it, sure. But know that you are not actually an idiot.’

‘Aren’t I?’ Daniel said.

‘No.’

The pair worked at their drinks.

‘I’m gonna need you to hear me out on this,’ Romeo said eventually. ‘But I’m pretty convinced you’ve got to talk to her. To Nadia. Directly. I don’t believe for a second you want to walk away from this without knowing exactly what the truth is.’

‘I’m terrified of the truth,’ Daniel said. ‘I feel crazy. I feel like I just need to forget this whole thing. I need to start getting an earlier train, and dating the old-fashioned way – using an app.’

‘Is that really what you want?’

‘No. Yes. No.’

Romeo digested his response. He was an interesting listener, Daniel thought. He actually listened to what Daniel was saying instead of simply being quiet until it was his turn to talk. Lorenzo often spoke over the top of Daniel, dominating the conversation. Romeo was a lot more like his uni mates.

‘Listen,’ he said. ‘Is this the first time you’ve seen this other guy?’

‘Yes.’

‘So really – who knows who he is. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if there’s no ring on her finger and she really is the one who has been writing to you, she’s either with him and not happy, or not with him and you’ve got the wrong end of the stick.’

‘But she might not have been the one writing to me – that’s where I’m at now. I don’t think she is.’

‘Well. The next time you see her, man, you gotta talk to the woman face to face. Pick your moment. Make a little eye contact and see if you get a smile, but fucking talk to her, man.’

‘And say what?’

‘I find hello is a good opener.’

Daniel raised his eyebrows at him.

‘Doesn’t necessarily need a response, could just be you being polite, but if she likes the look of you you’ll know it. She’ll say something back. There’ll be signals, man. Trust me.’

‘Do you think I should send another letter in to the paper?’

‘I think you’re past that now, don’t you? This crossed-wires shit is some Greek tragedy shit, man. Messages through other people, all smoke and mirrors. Talk to the woman face to face, like a grown man. Don’t miss your chance like I did, with Juliet. You’ve got this! It’s just a chat! But it’s a chat that will set you straight again, you know? Maybe she has terrible breath or is rude to strangers, in which case your crush will be cured. I know I don’t know you too well, mate, but what I do know is that you need to feel like you’ve done your best. You don’t wanna keep on wondering what happened.’

Daniel swilled the last of his cider around in the bottom of his glass. ‘What if I wrote and just said, sorry – I came, but I had to leave?

‘That’s an option.’