Andy put his head in his hands. It was the ninth time he’d put his head in his hands in less than an hour. Sophie glanced at him worriedly.
“Did I say something wrong?” she asked nervously. Andy’s head sank to the table with a thud that rattled the coffee cups. He wrapped his arms over his head and groaned. “Hey, are you ok?” she asked. He made a small movement, which she interpreted as a nod. Sophie frowned. “Your coffee is getting cold.”
She stared down into her own cup. The pale scum on the surface reminded her of that river they’d been to a few weeks ago, the dark water swollen and muddy after a week’s heavy rain. Drifts of foam gathered in the still waters close to the bank. Sophie had wondered if someone had emptied a crate of soap into the river, but Jackie said it was natural, something to do with plant matter.
Sophie dragged her spoon through the foam, making small swirling patterns. “I had this dream about Jackie,” she said. “We were at this night-club, and she was dancing with Tina, really, um… well, they were really close. But then you were there, and you said she was just doing it to make me jealous, because really she was in love with me. So when Jackie went to get a drink, I started dancing with Tina. And then I realised that actually I was in love with Tina, but I couldn’t tell her, so I ran outside, and Jackie was out on the street, but then she changed into Matt and walked away. What do you think it means? Maybe I should just call Jackie. But what if she realises… surely if she felt anything she would have called me by now. But maybe she… hey Andy? Are you ok?”
Andy’s head was still on the table, but his shoulders were shaking and he was making muffled snorting noises. After a few moments he managed to pull himself together, and raised his head. His expression was serious, but the corners of his mouth twitched, just a little.
“Sophie,” he said. “What would we do without you?”
Posted by Fionnaigh at May 30, 2003 10:49 AM