Page 74 of The Missus

Alanna frowned. ‘It’s not really that kind of building.’

‘What, no one likes free booze?’ Kelly asked. ‘Everyone hates vol-au-vents in this building?’

Alanna didn’t even know why she was engaging with this. ‘Yeah, I’m sure they’ll all come. But I’m busy that night, I’m afraid.’

‘The date’s on the back, you haven’t looked at it.’

Alanna flipped the card over and checked that date. ‘As I thought. Busy.’

Kelly gave her a pitying look. ‘Your loss. It’s gonna be a rager.’

‘Have a great time,’ Alanna said, making a mental note to charge her noise-cancelling headphones. She began to back away when she decided that actually, there was something she wanted to talk to Kelly about. There might not be a better time, and this was something she had to deal with for her peace of mind. ‘Kelly, um…’

‘What?’

‘I was just wondering how you’re getting on with, err… The thing is, when I was living with Benjamin, he…’

‘Is this about the makeup thing?’ Kelly asked, bored.

That took Alanna by surprise. ‘Youknowabout that?’

‘I had to know what happened between you two, didn’t I?’ Kelly shrugged.

‘And how do you feel about his… issues with cleanliness?’ Alanna asked carefully. She had to check in about this. She couldn’t not care. Even if it was Kelly.

Kelly smiled. ‘Look, we talked about that, and in the end, what we decided was that he could keep things as clean as he liked, but if he ever fucked with my stuff, I’d throw his laptop out the window.’

‘Right,’ Alanna said. ‘That’s… I see.’

‘You see, it’s all about communication,’ Kelly said smugly.

Alanna’s concern was now done. ‘Well, seems like you’ve got that covered then. Bye.’ She walked away quickly.

***

‘So, I saw Carol, and she was on a date,’ Brian said, seething. ‘He looked like a right idiot as well. Tattoos all down his arms and a dickhead haircut.’

Alanna wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘dickhead haircut,’ but it seemed like a side-track, so she tackled the main issue. ‘That was difficult for you to see?’

‘Not with my high-definition binoculars, it’s not. You wouldn’t believe the reach,’ Brian beamed.

‘You were surveilling her?’ Alanna said.

‘Just for a couple of hours. I’ve really cut down,’ Brian assured her.

‘OK, Brian, well, maybe we could talk about the reasons you like to do this?’ Alanna asked without displaying the worry this behaviour gave her.

‘Well, it’s just nice to see her.’

Alanna bit the inside of her cheek. ‘But she can’t see you.’

‘I don’t want to bother her or anything,’ Brian said dismissively.

‘Don’t you think she might be bothered if she found out she’d been spied on?’

‘That’s what I’m saying. I’m really good. She never catches on. Everyone wins.’

Alanna paused while she contemplated Brian’s definition of a win. ‘You had a relationship with Carol previously, is that correct?’