This Year’s for Me and You by Emily Bell

Author:Emily Bell [Bell, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Published: 2022-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

19

April

Over the ensuing weeks, as March turns into April, I meet up with Eddie twice – once for brunch and once for dinner. I don’t analyse what’s happening beyond the fact that we’re becoming friends; for once I just go with it and try not to worry about what it ‘means’ in a larger sense. It’s nice to slot back together into our familiar shorthand and easy rapport, while also entertaining him with stories of my weekend at Vik’s and my mission with the resolutions – especially the astrology, which he remains very tickled by.

‘I can’t believe I’ve just been going about my business like some kind of chump without even knowing that Neptune is transiting,’ he remarks, as we sit having dinner in the India Club on the Strand – it’s one of our favourite places, a little hole-in-the-wall spot that seems to have survived intact from the 1970s. ‘I mean, people go on about Mercury in retrograde; there needs to be more awareness about Neptune for God’s sake.’

‘Ha, ha,’ I say, but I’m smiling as I bite into my masala dosa.

‘Although,’ he says, ‘I will say, I think he was on to something about you being nurturing. I don’t mean in a stereotypical cosy way, or a Mother Teresa way, but you are extremely thoughtful – especially when it comes to presents. You give the best presents.’

‘Gosh, Ed, you’re making me blush,’ I say, laughing. But I feel a little guilty, as I remember Dasha’s sad story about her friendship break-up with Swati. I wasn’t terribly nurturing then; maybe I should have tried harder with her.

‘No way,’ Eddie says, when I tell him about it. ‘It sounds like you did the right thing. You gave her good advice about maintaining boundaries at work – if she can’t take it, then it’s not your fault. You tried.’

‘Maybe,’ I say, feeling slightly reassured. ‘What’s funny?’ I ask, seeing that he’s smiling to himself.

‘Nothing, just … I was thinking about him saying you were security-conscious. Remember that time you stayed up all night changing all your internet passwords, because you were convinced you’d been phished?’

‘Not all night,’ I protest, but I can’t help but laugh too. It was probably more like 2 a.m. Then I was so tired I forgot all the new passwords, and now I just have my Safari browser remember them all.

‘I think that’s OK,’ Eddie says when I tell him. ‘It’s scientifically impossible for one brain to remember all the passwords we’re supposed to now. Cut yourself some slack.’

‘You might be right,’ I say, thinking how Eddie always made me feel better about things.

‘So what’s next on your list? A fortune teller? Life coach? Not that you need that.’

‘I’m not sure,’ I say. I’ve been thinking lately about what Peter said about being intuitive about the list – feeling my way into what I want to do next, instead of charging through it like a bull in a china shop, or a management consultant on a deadline, I suppose.

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