Brew Books

Chapter 20

On Saturday, Charlotte and Harper are behind the bar, and Harper's laughing at something Charlotte's said. Tonight she's like a doll, with her hair blow-dried in big waves, her eyes magnified by the amount of makeup and false lashes, and the tiny black dress she's wearing showing off her skinny body. Harper grins at her admiringly and says something, and she beams back.

Will and I are sitting at one of the tall bar tables, drinking gin and tonics, and discussing To the Lighthouse, which I picked up and read in one sitting this morning. Kitty joins us, sitting down next to Will and putting her head straight on the bar table.

'I want to die,' she says.

'Don't say that,' Will says.

'I worked eight hours today, and I'm so hungover,' Kitty says, sitting up. She takes in Will's outfit, and reads the words on his shirt out loud. '"Richard and Henry and Bunny and Francis and Charles and Camilla."'

'They're characters in a book,' Will explains.

'Where'd you go last night, Kitty?' I ask. I spent most of my Friday night here, sitting on a bar stool, reading Catcher in the Rye while Harper brought me drinks. Charlotte wasn't working last night, and he was particularly flirty with me while he served me sweet pink drinks.

'I went out with two friends from yoga, and they definitely know how to drink,' Kitty says. 'I think we did sambuca shots.'

'Gross,' I say, while Will laughs.

'I don't want to be this hungover tomorrow,' Kitty states. 'You're doing the morning shift tomorrow, right?' she says.

I nod.

'Okay, good. When you're ready to go home, I'm going home,' Kitty says. 'I'm not staying out with Charlotte and Sylvie.'

'What if I want to stay out with Charlotte and Sylvie?' I joke, casting my gaze towards the girls behind the bar.

Kitty rolls her eyes. 'They're actually like, great girls to party with.'

'I'm sure they are,' I say sourly.

'Alright, stop with the cattiness,' Will says, and I look at him, surprised.

He stands up, ignoring my expression. 'You guys want another drink?'

'Yes, please,' Kitty says, and I nod my head too.

'Am I really catty?' I ask Kitty.

She raises one eyebrow. 'Well, let's just say, you're quite competitive with other girls. You always have been. But this isn't school anymore, Jane. The girls aren't all out to get you or steal your boyfriend or whatever.'

I look over at Charlotte. 'She's never nice to me, though.'

'Yeah, and you're not exactly nice to her,' Kitty says.

'How do I get Charlotte to like me, then?' I ask Kitty.

'Honestly?' Kitty says. 'All Charlotte wants is respect, which you haven't given her since day one.'

'How am I not respecting her?' I ask. But Will is walking back to the table with three gin and tonics, so Kitty just shakes her head to indicate that she'll explain later.

'Ah, this one's yours, Jane,' Will says, as I go to grab the nearest gin and tonic from Will. The one he passes to me looks exactly the same as the others, except without lime.

I take a sip, and realise it's elderflower gin.

'Harper made it for you,' Will says. 'He said he thought you'd like it.'

I look over to the bar, where Harper's serving a couple of guys. As he's pouring a beer he looks up, catches my eye, and grins.

Ed doesn't join us for a couple of hours, and when he does make it to the bar, I'm possibly a little drunk. I know this because I stand up and pull him into a hug when he arrives. He seems startled, and sober. I realise when I hug him that he's actually more heavily built than I thought. Something about his height, slim face, and his patterned button up shirts gave me the impression that he was quite skinny, but I realise his shoulders are broad and he's pretty toned. I pull away, feeling a bit embarrassed by the hug.