Kallie made directly for me. She slid her smooth hand into mine. ‘So,’ she twinkled, fine lines radiating from the edges of her blue eyes. ‘This isn’t awkward at all.’
Immediately my heart softened. She could, I understood, actually be for real. She might be in a genuine panic, trapped with her boyfriend’s family in a foreign country, needing something as time critical as the morning-after pill.
‘It doesn’t have to be awkward,’ I stammered, desperate to put her at ease. ‘We can just decide that it isn’t.’
‘Okay!’ Still holding my hand, she said, ‘It’s so good to meet you. Thank you for helping me.’
So this is who Luke loves now.
Quin was already discussing directions with Devin. ‘Mens.’ Kate rolled her eyes at them.
‘How about we all jump in the one car,’ Kallie said.
‘Nah.’ Quin was cool. ‘Two is better.’
‘Why?’ I asked when we were in his car, leading the way.
‘Because we don’t want to be stuck with them after she sees the doctor.’
‘That seems a little … harsh. So. What do you think of her?’
‘Rock chick meets primary school teacher.’
‘Not her look. I mean, she seems really … likeable?’
‘Are you asking me? Because what I see is a lot of drama.’
‘Maybe she’s just really private?’
‘Look at us.’ He laughed. ‘A two-car convoy of five people. That’s not very private.’
‘Ah, you’re just being …’ There was no point saying anything further to him. Anyway, I knew what I meant.
At the clinic, Quin, Kallie and I piled into the empty waiting room. Kate and Devin decided to wait outside and be young.
‘So this is embarrassing,’ Kallie murmured to me. ‘Not the sort of thing that a thirty-eight-year-old woman should be dealing with.’
‘No, no, no.’ I rushed to reassure her. ‘Accidents happen.’ So she’s only thirty-eight? That’s a little younger than I’d have preferred.
‘It tore,’ she murmured, leaning in to me. ‘The condom.’
‘It happens!’ I said gaily. ‘Life is messy.’ Don’t make me think about Luke and condoms.
She turned her attention to Quin. ‘So?’ She was upbeat. ‘What line of work are you in, mister?’
‘I’d rather talk about you.’ He sounded jovial. ‘What line of work are you in?’
Quin was being a teeny-weeny bit of a dick, but no one except me would have known.
‘Singer-songwriter,’ she said.
What? Oh my God, that’s so cool.
‘Yeah?’ Quin enquired. ‘Would I have heard of you?’
‘Kallie Lampart? No.’ She laughed. ‘Didn’t think so.’
‘What kind of stuff do you do?’
‘Cheating men, heartbreak.’ She elbowed me. ‘You know the kind of stuff. I’ve a real job too, that pays the bills. I’m a CPA. Like Luke.’
She’d said his name, she’d just thrown it out there. Although my breath caught at the back of my throat, the world didn’t end.
‘It’s how we met,’ she said. ‘He hired me for a project.’
‘And you still work together?’ My voice sounded impressively normal.
She shook her head. ‘I freelance around my music. Besides, not a good idea for your boyfriend to be your boss.’
‘Kallie Lampart?’ A man called. ‘Hi, I’m Dr Benson.’
Off she went and she was back in no time, eyes lowered, a prescription in her hand. ‘I’ll just do the paperwork and then we can scoot.’
Scoot. Okay. I got back to my phone. But after too much time had passed, she was still at the desk. There seemed to be an atmosphere.
I got up. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Rachel, yeah.’ She was flustered. ‘They don’t take my insurance here.’
‘Because we’re a different country.’ The receptionist’s tone was dry.
‘And my credit card isn’t good. So can I Venmo you guys?’
‘Venmo?’ Once again the receptionist was bone-dry. ‘No.’
‘I have no other way to pay. I guess I didn’t think I’d have to.’
‘I’ve got it.’ Quin stepped in.
‘Oh my gosh, you lifesaver!’
He wasn’t really, he’d just got bored.
‘So now I need to find a drugstore,’ Kallie said.