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She was a bit like a magpie, Bright thought. Or that sound on a train when the brakes ground, metal on metal. He and Mary gave each other a look, then, when she grinned and then covered her mouth with her hand, he had to look away to avoid laughing out loud. Mary lifted her beer bottle up to her lips, her shoulders shaking. He took a long sip of his drink. It was surprisingly good, with a nice mix of sweet and sour and the aftertaste of passionfruit.
The woman sang on, hitting some notes with extreme force, while others cracked in the middle. Mary made a strangled sound, then bit into a spring roll and discreetly wiped her eyes with her napkin.
Bright was having a fabulous time.
“Oh, no.” Mary put down the rest of her roll. “Please tell me she’s not ...”
Bright stopped watching Mary and looked up at the stage. Lovey had removed the jacket and he was reminded of Sher- ry’s comment about the tassels.
There were two. One for each nipple.
“Do you think perhaps we’ve seen enough?” he asked.
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They’d tried to leave without anyone noticing after Lovey had produced a banana and started to peel it, but Bright doubted anyone else’s eyes had been on them.
They got into his car, neither of them daring to look at each other.
“I am so sorry,” she said. “I had no idea.”
“No, no, not your fault,” he insisted, trying not to laugh. “But I don’t think it’s quite the vibe we want for a Christmas dinner in a retirement village.”
“No, I agree,” she said. Her voice was unsteady.
He chanced a glance over at her. She was biting on a knuckle. He tried not to laugh, but let out a snort and she looked up at him, her eyes shining, a grin breaking out on her rather lovely face.
By the time they’d finished laughing, his stomach hurt and Mary’s mascara was a bit smudgy. Without thinking he leant across the centre console and wiped his thumb under
her eye. They both sat there, looking intently at each other, and he wanted to move his hand to her cheek and draw her closer, kiss her pale-pink lips. Their faces were so close, he could feel her breath on his clavicle, warm and inviting.
“I could really go a burger,” Mary said.
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They went to Burger King. It was full of teenagers in board shorts and sweaty band T-shirts, milling around filling up their cups with as many varieties of soft drinks as possible and throwing fries at each other across the booths.
“God, I love the barbecue sauce they use on these things,” Mary said, biting into her burger with enthusiasm. “I swear they must put crack in it, just the smell of it makes me drool.” Bright took a sip of his black coffee and ate a few fries, happy just to watch her.
“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?” he asked. Mary thought about it, swirling her straw around in her fro- zen Coke.
“Hard to say. I had crocodile in Aussie. Umm, kangaroo too. Oh, no, fried tarantulas. In Cambodia.”
Bright pulled a face. “What did they taste like?”
“To be honest, I can’t really remember. I was drunk. Sort of like crayfish legs maybe? Not bad. But I threw up later.” She grinned. “I think that was the alcohol though, not the spiders.”
“Do you plan to travel more?” Bright asked. He was hop-
ing she would say no, he realised. He wanted her to stay so he could get to know her better.
“Not on my own, no.” She finished off her burger and wiped her fingers on a napkin. “Maybe with the right person though.”
He hoped she meant him.
CHAPTER 29