‘Yes,’ I said, pausing with three clean mugs in my hands. ‘That explains how you know him. But how do you know her?’
‘I went to their place once or twice,’ Ant said, without looking up from his documents. ‘To sign contracts and pay him and what-have-you.’
‘He works from home then, does he?’
‘No, they’ve got a workshop out in Hoath. But his office is at home, so . . .’
‘And Amy was there, when you visited?’
Ant sighed and rolled his head around, stretching his neck. ‘Apparently so, seeing as I’m telling you that’s how I know her.’
‘Where do they live?’ I asked.
‘What is this?’ he asked. ‘University Challenge? A thousand questions about Amy?’
‘Not at all,’ I said, keeping my intonation as unchallenging as possible. ‘No, I just wondered where they live. I gather it’s not that far away, but I’ve never seen her around.’
‘It’s the house near the stables,’ Ant said. ‘The one just after the bend. They’ve got a massive Buddha in the window.’
‘Oh, right,’ I said. ‘The house with the big truck outside?’
‘That’s the one,’ Ant said.
‘Are they Buddhists, then?’
‘Not that I know of. But I don’t actually ask people their religion when I sign contracts with them.’
‘No,’ I said. ‘No, of course. Is it nice?’
‘Is what nice?’
‘Their house.’
Ant shrugged. ‘It’s . . . you know . . . normal.’
‘Normal,’ I said.
‘Like here, I suppose,’ he said. ‘It’s got a similar floor plan, but they’ve got a double garage out back. They’ve got a fuck-off pool in the garden, too.’
‘You mean a big one?’
‘Yeah, one of those lap pools that everyone’s into now.’
‘Gosh, a pool!’ I said, as I straightened with a fresh batch of plates. ‘That’s nice. Maybe we should befriend them.’
‘Since when did you want a pool?’ Ant asked.
‘I don’t want a pool,’ I said. ‘But it would be nice for the girls, I mean, in summer, when it’s hot. If they could go and splash in Ben’s pool, that would be great. Lucy seems to be friends with him anyway.’
‘Just . . .’ Ant said, waving a hand as if to distance a fly. ‘Give it a break, OK?’
Give what a break? I thought. But I didn’t say a word. It wasn’t worth trying to go any further when he was in that sort of mood.
I finished emptying the dishwasher and then loaded it with the offending soup bowl and mugs before swishing some bleach around the sink. ‘She . . .’ I started, but then stopped myself. I’d forgotten momentarily that I was giving it a break.
‘She what?’ Ant asked, sounding irritated.
‘Nothing,’ I said.
‘No, go on,’ he insisted. He put down his papers and folded his arms, then shifted in his chair to face me, giving me his full attention. ‘I’m assuming this is about Amy again.’
‘Really, Ant,’ I said. ‘It’s nothing. I was just making conversation.’
‘Why was she here, anyway?’ he asked. ‘Are you two best mates now or something?’
‘Not at all,’ I said. ‘But that’s what I was going to say. What I was about to tell you . . . Why she came.’
‘And?’
‘She came to . . . You remember Lucy going on about Spain the other night?’
‘Spain?’ Ant said. Then, ‘Oh, Spain. Yeah, sure.’
‘Well, she came to invite us, believe it or not. Officially, like.’
‘Amy came to invite us to Spain?’
‘Yes, they’ve rented some huge villa in Spain apparently, and she feels like it’s a waste to have all those rooms empty or something. Their parents were supposed to go with them, I think, but they can’t make it. So . . .’
‘So?’
‘So that’s it. She came to invite us to join them. On their holiday.’
‘To Spain!’ Ant said, laughing and shaking his head in disbelief.
‘I know!’ I agreed. ‘It’s a bit mad, really. I mean, we don’t even know them.’
‘It’s totally mad,’ Ant said.
‘But well meant, I think.’
‘Huh!’ Ant said. ‘I wonder if Joe knows about that. Because that doesn’t sound like him.’
‘Oh, don’t tell him, maybe?’ I suggested. ‘Not if it’s going to get her into trouble.’
Anthony laughed again, then, gathering his papers, he stood. ‘Oh, I’ll tell him all right,’ he said. ‘I need to read these, so I’m going upstairs for half an hour,’ he added. ‘Call me when tea’s ready, yeah?’
No further mention was made of Amy, or Joe, or even Spain for the rest of the week.
But on Friday morning Ant left for work as normal, closing the front door behind him, only to return and surprise me in the kitchen.
‘Did you forget something?’ I asked, looking up from the kettle, which I was filling.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Well, yeah, actually. Have we got a decent bottle of wine in the house?’
‘A decent bottle of wine?’ I repeated. ‘Um, yes. Almost definitely.’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘Because we’re eating out tonight. At Joe’s place. I forgot to tell you last night.’
‘We’re eating out?’ I said, struggling to understand exactly what he meant.
‘Yes,’ Ant said slowly, as if I was being a bit thick. ‘At . . . Joe’s . . . place.’
‘Is this Joe-and-Amy Joe?’
‘Do we know any other Joes?’
‘Um, no,’ I said. It was just that it seemed so unlikely we’d be eating with them that I’d been wondering if Joe’s Place wasn’t perhaps the name of a restaurant. Not that the bottle of wine would have made much sense if that were the case, but . . . ‘Really?’ I said. ‘We’re going to dinner at their house?’
‘Apparently so,’ Ant said. Then in a softer tone, he added, ‘That’s OK, isn’t it?’
‘I suppose,’ I said. ‘Do we need a babysitter? Because it’s a bit—’
‘He said to bring the girls,’ Ant said. ‘He said he’s going to order in pizza or something. He asked if vegan pizza was OK. I didn’t even know they did vegan pizza.’
‘Oh, yeah,’ I said vaguely, because I was already worrying about what to wear. ‘Yes, Kerry gets vegan pizza sometimes. She’s quite chic, isn’t she? Amy, I mean. So are we dressing up?’
Ant glanced down at himself. ‘I’ll
