‘Yes. I need to find someone whose ethos matches mine. I’m really interested in . . .’
But Becky stood up, scraping her chair across the floor, and started to collect the bowls. ‘It’s boeuf à l’orange and dauphinoise potatoes with string beans next,’ she said.
‘The soup was delicious,’ said Maggie to Becky’s back.
Angie raised an eyebrow, but was careful to make sure that Leon didn’t see. She didn’t want to upset him, even if his girlfriend was rude – and, Angie was beginning to suspect, not that bright.
As the evening progressed and the wine flowed, the conversation drifted back to their York days. Angie watched as Becky twitched in her seat with nothing to add, and desperate to turn the subject back to something she knew about.
‘Have you heard from Tiger recently, Ange?’ asked Leon.
‘Yeah. He’s in Australia living in the outback and working on a sheep farm. He’s loving the space, but I think he’s missing company. He’s planning to move to Sydney soon and then go on to New Zealand or maybe over to Bali.’
‘A nice concrete plan then?’ smiled Leon. ‘How very Tiger!’
‘Yeah,’ laughed Angie. ‘You know him.’
‘Actually, my boss, Mr Lutterworth Junior, has been to Australia,’ said Becky. ‘He said it wasn’t up to much. There’s nothing there, apparently. No culture or anything.’
Angie looked at her to see if she was joking, but nothing about her expression suggested that she was. ‘The Aboriginal Australians are one of the oldest civilisations on earth,’ she said. ‘Maybe Mr Lutterworth Junior didn’t really take much notice of what was all around him.’
‘Oh, I’m sure he did,’ said Becky quickly. ‘He’s very observant. But he said there was nothing. No old buildings or anything.’
Angie looked across at Leon, assuming that he would help her out, but Leon seemed to have had all his attention absorbed by the pattern on the tablecloth.
‘I suspect your boss went with preconceived ideas,’ she said icily. ‘And only saw what he wanted to see.’
But Becky ignored her. ‘It’s tiramisu for dessert,’ she said, and began to clear the plates.
They left not long after that. Maggie spun some line about having work to do the following day and Leon, who would usually have encouraged them to stay a bit longer, looked relieved that the evening was coming to a prompt conclusion.
‘So, great to see you both,’ he said as they stood at the door. ‘We must do it again soon.’
The kisses that they exchanged were unconvincing.
‘Well, that’ll be the last we see of him until he kicks her into touch,’ said Angie as they drove away. ‘She hates us.’
‘Speak for yourself,’ said Maggie indignantly. ‘I got on perfectly well with her! But I take your point. She is a bit of a cold fish and I’m not sure what Leon sees in her. He doesn’t normally go for controlling women, does he?’
‘Have there been any other women?’ asked Angie. ‘Controlling or otherwise? I can’t think of any girlfriends that lasted more than a week or two. Maybe she is exactly what he’s always wanted but couldn’t find until now.’
‘Perhaps she was nervous,’ said Maggie. ‘It must be daunting, meeting us when we’re all so close. Maybe she’s usually a little less, I don’t know, abrasive?’
‘Maybe,’ said Angie. ‘But my spidey-sense tells me that what we saw tonight is the real Becky.’
‘Well, if that’s true then we’ll just have to put up a massive charm offensive and win her round,’ said Maggie. ‘Although I say “we”， I really mean you, seeing as you were such a massive hit with her.’ Even though it was dark in the car, Angie could hear the smile in Maggie’s voice.
‘Hmmm,’ she replied. ‘You mean, we need to save Leon from himself. Again.’
16
1997
Angie’s client lay on the treatment bed. Even though she was motionless with her eyes closed, Angie could feel the nervous energy radiating off her. Every muscle was pulled taut. She could even see the tension in her flickering eyelids.
She was used to this. Her clients were often incredibly nervy before their first treatment and she had learned not to take this personally. It was nothing to do with her. She was just the facilitator. Sometimes it was the fear of the unknown that made them anxious, the fact that they were here for a treatment that they didn’t yet quite trust and weren’t really sure what was going to happen. Sometimes it was more to do with the client themselves and the underlying reason that they had come for treatment in the first place.