eat a damn thing. Do you know they have almonds in the salad? Youâd think theyâd put on a few fish fingers just in case. This is going to be even worse than the Stricklandsâ wedding, and that made me sick.â
âYou were drunk.â
âGod, yeah.â
Clelland raised his eyebrows.
âThis is Oliver,â I introduced him. âMy, er, boyfriend.â
Why the âerâ? I was conscious that perhaps I wasnât sounding as thrilled as I could.
Clelland put his hand out. âHi.â
âHi,â said Olly, holding out his hand.
âClellandâs an old school friend.â
Iâd never told Olly about Clelland. At first it was because I was obeying the âdonât tell new boyfriend about exes; they must think youâre a virginâ type bullshit law. And then ⦠well, some things are private. Also, I think if we knew all about how people behaved when they were teenagers, no one would ever go out with anyone.
âNice to meet you,â said Olly gruffly.
Looking at them both, I felt very strange suddenly. I wasnât comparing them. Definitely not. This was not a competitive thing. Clelland still had a chance to appear a complete prick.
âOllyâs a lawyer,â I said helpfully.
âReally? And I shook your hand?â said Clelland, and smiled.
Iâd hardly ever seen his smile. Not something suburban rebels do very often, smile. They talk about suicide and Leonard Cohen quite a lot. It was lovely. His teeth were slightly crooked, and the incisors pointed in.
âOh gosh, yes, sorry about that. But we only really screw you if youâre a multinational, our lot,â said Ol. âJust the sixth circle of hell really.â
âSo youâre not one of those chaps that advertises on telly for fat ladies who fall off their chairs at work?â
âNo. Although I help Flo, you know, when it happens at home,â he said with a grin.
âYes,â said Clelland in the way people have to when someone makes a slightly off-colour remark. I couldnât tell if he thought it was funny either.
âWhat line are you in then?â said Olly, half eyeing a waitress carrying a bowl of prawn toast. He reached out a hand and took four.
âHow come you can eat sesame seeds on toast and not on sausages?â I said without thinking. Both the boys looked at me.
âBecause itâs toast,â said Olly, as if explaining to a four-year-old. âAnything can be done with toast.â
Clelland stuck his bottom lip out at me.
âUm ⦠Iâm an ethical logistician.â
âA what?â I said.
âOh. Do you perform on stage a lot?â said Ol. âPuppets and so on?â
âNo â¦â
âOK, what is that then?â
âWell, I try to direct aid through the best routes. Try to play down the possibility of it being hijacked by armies, that kind of thing.â
I admit it. My heart leaped. This was exactly the kind of thing Iâd have dreamed heâd be doing. Well, that or some sort of tragic Moulin Rouge -style poet, obviously, but this â heroic, good for the world, manly â I had a vision of him standing on top of an elephant, for some reason. Then, Iâm ashamed to say, one of me looking like Meryl Streep in Out of Africa -style linens, saying, âI hed a ferm in Efrica â¦â
âI hate it,â said Clelland. âItâs a pissy job.â
âReally? It sounds interesting,â said Olly.
âEveryone says that.â He ran his hand through his dark hair. âItâs bloody endless government bureaucracy, and as to how much good we even do at the end of the day I couldnât tell you. Certainly doesnât seem to make anything any better. God, Iâm sorry. Am I being really depressing at a wedding? Was I always like this?â
He looked directly at me, and I couldnât meet his eyes. Get a grip, I told myself