The Perfect Girlfriend(23)

She messages back with a ‘yes’.

I book an Asian fusion restaurant by the river Kennet for the following Wednesday.

Before Amy’s arrival, I take great care to tidy my place, removing my pinboard, placing it safely away on top of the bedroom wardrobe. I also hide my shopping from my most recent trip: two voodoo dolls, one male and one female. As I fling open my door to welcome her in, she stares.

‘Your hair?’

I’d grown so used to it, I’d forgotten. ‘Do you like it? I know it’s a bit similar to yours.’

‘It’s kind of OK . . . but we do look a bit like Tweedles Dee and Dum.’

Shit. I’ve pissed off my only friend. And in hindsight, auburn could be a beacon rather than a disguise.

‘It’s a wash-in, rinse-out job. I was experimenting.’ I take her overnight bag from her and place it by the sofa. ‘Let’s head straight out.’

We order champagne, to celebrate our first three months of flying.

‘It’s like a dream come true,’ says Amy. ‘Every time I land somewhere different, every time I walk into a four-or five-star hotel, I just can’t believe it’s my life.’

‘We should request a trip. It’s the only way we’ll probably ever get to work together.’

‘Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.’ She pauses. ‘A strange thing happened whilst I was away,’ she says.

‘I was going to ask you what it was like on safari. I’ve heard that it can be a bit I’m a Celebrity with all the snakes, creepy-crawlies and some really weird restaurants that serve exotic wildlife.’

‘It felt safe enough. There were meat places that served crocodile. But anyway, no, it wasn’t whilst I was in Nairobi – I meant, when I got home.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah. Well, Hannah’s still away but it was like . . . someone had been in our place. Things looked neater.’

I laugh. ‘That’s good, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah, maybe. But I can’t quite put my finger on it. We definitely hadn’t been burgled, because a burglar would’ve . . .’

‘Burgled,’ I finish off.

We both laugh.

I pick at some squid but it is too chewy. I nibble olives coated in wasabi and ginger instead, dotting the stones neatly around the edge of my plate.

‘It was a CD that really got to me. When I switched the player on, it was stuck on repeat. On a really cheesy track.’

‘It’s your own fault for having equipment that’s so last decade.’ I make a face and smile.

She reciprocates my smile. ‘Yeah, maybe.’

‘Never mind, these things always have a logical explanation in the end. Trust me, I know. How’s Jack?’

‘I’m not seeing so much of Jack now. It kind of fizzled out.’

‘Sorry about that.’ I hold back a smile. ‘What happened?’

‘He hadn’t taken down his online dating profile. It turns out he was keeping his options open. But I’m keeping busy. Some of my old school friends are having a reunion meal next week, which I’m really looking forward to.’

‘What date? Maybe I could come with you.’

She shifts in her seat and mutters something vague about her not being the main organizer.

I take the hint, but I feel piqued.

Amy’s eyes glaze over after her second glass of champagne. I’m not surprised. Her concealed pills contained a do not mix with alcohol warning. It’s strange when you know something about someone else that they don’t know that you know. It’s like, if they stared into your eyes hard enough, they’d be able to tell.

I wonder about these sorts of things a lot.

‘Let’s go to a club,’ I suggest, to wake her up.

As we walk outside to our Uber, arms linked, laughing, I want to say out loud how useful it is to have a friend, but I stop myself. I said that to someone once and she gave me a weird look.

I hope Amy stays as she is and doesn’t do anything to mess up our friendship.

As soon as Amy leaves the next day, I ring to book an appointment with Bella’s hairdresser to change my colour to blonde.

Unfortunately, she is on holiday.

I decide to get it done on my next work trip – a Miami – the day after tomorrow.

The flight to Miami takes nearly nine hours. Every cabin is crammed with holidaymakers, either with people joining cruise ships or those heading off to Disney World. I barely sit down, and we run out of juice, wine and children’s activity packs.

Three hours in, I phone the captain to request that he contacts the airline’s medical advisers when a six-months-pregnant woman complains of severe stomach pains. I am summoned up to the cockpit to speak to them myself. I put on headphones and listen. The voice – a doctor in Arizona – asks endless questions and finally advises offering the woman indigestion tablets.

It works; within half an hour, she is pain-free and calms down, no longer assuming that her first child is making its way into the world mid-air.

I, too, am relieved.

After landing, there are further delays as the airport is crowded. Even the crew channel has two other airlines in front of us. By the time we have cleared immigration and waited for our baggage, my legs ache as I sit down on the crew bus.

In the hotel lobby area, the captain invites us all to a room party in an hour’s time. I decide to go. It’s still early in Miami and if I stay in my room, I will fall asleep.