Page 36 of The Missus

‘Are you saying she’s not welcome? Because if she’s not invited, I’m not coming.’ Man, she wasreallydigging herself a hole.

‘Alanna, for god's sake! It’s my tenth anniversary. You can’t not come. It would look odd.’

‘I’m simply saying that if you invite my ex-boyfriend and ban my current girlfriend, you can’t reasonably expect—’

‘Ban?! I’m not banning anyone!’ her mother cried, her voice high. ‘I was just asking if it was a good idea to mix them, seeing as they have a difficult relationship.’

‘Keira doesn’t have a difficult relationship with Benjamin.I do. And if you expect me to be there with him, I will need Keira more than ever,’ Alanna said. She realised with astonishment that was true. She did need her there. It was a revelation that she didn’t have time for.

‘I never said you couldn’t bring her. Please, feel free,’ Alanna’s mother said with faux graciousness.

‘Great. Bye.’ Alanna hung up and sighed. What the hell had she done?

***

‘Heyyyy,’ she called through the door as she let herself in. ‘Keira, you in?’

Keira was standing in the kitchen with a Cadbury’s Flake hanging out of her mouth. ‘Fucking hell, second acts are the worst,’ she mumbled through chocolate. She pushed the rest of the bar into her mouth with her finger, the whole thing vanishing in seconds.

Alanna thought this probably wasn’t the time to ask for a favour, but she went ahead anyway. ‘Umm, Keira…’

‘Yes?’ Keira said, turning to the fridge.

‘Umm…’

Keira turned back to her. ‘I’m suddenly not loving these ‘Umms.’ They sound like bad news.’

‘It’s not bad news,per se. It’s more like the start of me asking a favour that you’re probably not gonna want to do.’

Keira’s eyebrows raised. ‘Let’s hear it.’

‘It’s my mum. She’s having a party.’

‘Right…’

‘She’s invited Benjamin. I think she thinks she can get us back together.’

Keira looked revolted. ‘Christ.’

‘Yeah, I know, and the thing of it is, I kind of, sort of told my mother that you were coming.’

‘Why would you do that?’ Keira asked in a conversational tone that Alanna found somewhat encouraging.

‘I knew you’d ask that. And I don’t know the answer. I can only say that it made sense at the time. But obviously, I can just tell my mum you got, I don’t know, laryngitis or something…’ Alanna babbled nervously.

‘How long would I have to be there?’

‘Mmm, ninety minutes max?’

Keira sniffed. ‘Yeah, fine.’

Alanna was gobsmacked. ‘Seriously? I don’t have to talk you into it?’

‘There’ll be free food and drink, right? I never say no to that. And who knows, maybe I’ll pull.’

Alanna made a face.

‘Just kidding,’ Keira smiled. ‘When is it?’