A woman rushed into the assembly room and started fiddling about with Leanne’s hair.
‘The car’s on its way,’ said somebody else. ‘Wedding minus forty-five.’
Leanne’s mouth opened in a paroxysm of panic. ‘Oh my Gawd,’ she yelled. ‘Oh my Gawd.’ She clasped Pearl and Issy. ‘Will you stay? Please? Stay.’
‘We would love to,’ said Issy, ‘but—’
‘I have to get back to my boy,’ said Pearl firmly. ‘But the best of luck to you.’
‘You are going to have a wonderful day,’ Issy added, pressing a pile of business cards on the table next to the cake.
And Linda threw her arms around them both. Then they emerged at the top of the steps, out into a beautiful London day with pigeons sunning themselves on the pavement, and people passing on their way to coffees and markets and to buy cloth for saris and meat for barbecues and beer for football and goat’s cheese for dinner parties, and papers for the park, and ice creams for children. Already Leanne’s friends were gathering on the steps, young and gorgeous, with carefully set hair and bright dresses like peacocks; high strappy sandals and bare shoulders, a little ambitious for a May wedding. They were squealing in excitement and complimenting each other on their outfits and playing nervously with small bags and cigarettes and confetti.
Always the caterer, never the bride, thought Issy to herself, a tad ruefully.
‘Well, enough of that,’ said Pearl cheerfully, whipping off her apron. ‘I’m off to give my boy a cuddle and tell him he might be able to see his mother occasionally from now on, now the Wicked Witch of the West has started work.’
‘Stop it!’ said Issy teasingly. ‘She’s going to be fine. Now, scoot.’
Pearl kissed her on the cheek.
‘Go home and get some rest,’ she said.
But Issy didn’t much feel like getting some rest; it was a gorgeous afternoon, and she felt antsy and unsettled. She was considering hopping on a bus at random and going for a wander, when she spotted a familiar figure at the bus stop. He was bent over, fiddling with the laces of a small skinny boy with sticky-up auburn hair and a cross look on his face.
‘But I want them like this,’ the boy was saying.
‘Well, they’re impossible knots that you keep tripping over!’ The man sounded exasperated.
‘That’s how I want them.’
‘Well, at least try and trip over a paving stone and then we can sue the council.’
Austin straightened up, and was so surprised to see Issy there, he nearly stepped backwards into the road.
‘Oh, hello,’ he said.
‘Hello.’ Issy tried to make sure she didn’t go red. ‘Uh, hi.’
‘Hi,’ said Austin. There was a pause.
‘Who are you?’ said the small boy, rudely.
‘Hello. Well, I’m Issy,’ said Issy. ‘Who are you?’
‘Duh. I’m Darny,’ said Darny. ‘Are you going to be one of Austin’s drippy girlfriends?’
‘Darny!’ said Austin in a warning tone.
‘Are you going to come round at night and cook horrible suppers and use a silly voice and say, “Oh, so tragic for Darny to lose his mummy and daddy, let me look after you”, kissy kissy kissy smooch smooch yawn stop telling me when to go to bed?’
Austin wanted the ground to open and swallow him up. Although Issy didn’t look offended; rather, she looked like she was about to laugh.
‘Is that what they do?’ she asked. Darny nodded, mutinously. ‘That does sound boring. No, I’m nothing like that. I work with your dad and I live up this road here, that’s all.’
‘Oh,’ said Darny.
‘I guess that’s all right.’
‘I guess so too.’ She smiled at Austin. ‘Are you well?’
‘I will be once I have this ten-year-old surgically removed.’
‘Hahaha,’ said Darny. ‘That wasn’t me really laughing,’ he said to Issy. ‘I was pretending to laugh and being sarcastic.’
‘Oh,’ said Issy. ‘Sometimes I do that too.’
‘Where are you off to?’ asked Austin.
‘In fact I’ve been working all night, you’ll be pleased to hear,’ she said. ‘Catering for a wedding at a nearby town hall. And I’ve taken on a new member of staff. She’s great … slightly evil, but on the whole …’
‘Oh, that’s terrific,’ said Austin, and his face broke into a large smile. He was genuinely, truly happy for her, Issy realized. Not just from the bank’s point of view, but personally.
‘No, where are you going now?’ said Darny. ‘That’s what he asked you. Because we’re going to the aquarium. Would you like to come?’
Austin raised his eyebrows. This was totally unprecedented. Darny made a point of disliking all grown-ups and being rude to them to forestall their mooning all over him. To spontaneously invite someone somewhere was unheard of.
‘Well,’ said Issy, ‘I was thinking of going home to bed.’
‘While it’s light?’ said Darny. ‘Is someone making you?’
‘In fact, no,’ said Issy.
‘OK,’ said Darny. ‘Come with us.’
Issy glanced at Austin.
‘Oh, I probably should …’
Austin knew it wasn’t professional. She probably wouldn’t even want to. But, he couldn’t help it. He liked her. He was going to ask her. And that was that.
‘Come,’ he said. ‘I’ll buy you a frappucino.’
‘Bribery,’ said Issy, smiling. ‘That’s what’ll get me to spend my Saturday looking at fish.’
And at that moment the bus rounded the corner and, after a second, all three of them got on it.
The aquarium was quiet – the first lovely sunny day of the year had prompted most people out of doors – and Darny was utterly transfixed by the tanks of fish; little quicksilver shoals, or huge great coelacanths that looked left over from the age of the dinosaurs. Austin and Issy talked; quietly, because the dark, warm underground environment seemed to encourage a quiet tone of voice; small revelations; and it was easier, somehow, to talk in the half-light, barely able to see one another except for the outline of Issy’s curls backlit by jellyfish, pink and luminous, or the tankful of phosphorescence that shimmered and reflected in Austin’s glasses.