Lying in his bed, next to Veronica’s sleeping form, Leo stretched and placed his hands behind his head. Right before bed, Veronica had had a meltdown about the few odd items of Esme’s that were still in the flat. Leo thought she was overreacting, and ruining what had been a nice Saturday night, but telling Veronica that wasn’t an option. It was simpler to just agree to phone Esme and remind her the things still needed removing. It wasn’t that much, just a large chest of drawers that had been too big for her weird friend Mark’s hire car, and a couple of trinkets he’d found in a drawer in the kitchen. And seeing how quickly she’d moved out the rest of her stuff, which on reflection was very decent of her, he didn’t feel he could keep nagging. To be fair, he’d just wanted Mark to get done and leave. He’d flounced around the flat giving Leo dirty looks, even though he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. When Mark finally found someone for longer than two minutes, he’d realise that. Leo had never liked Mark, who was too exuberant and loud – it was off-putting.
Leo ran his hand over his chin, flung his legs out of bed and grabbed his dressing gown. He went into the living room and, checking his watch, thought about calling Esme now. It was almost one in the morning and even though it was late, Leo picked up the phone to dial, hoping she’d be asleep and wouldn’t pick up. He’d tried to avoid speaking with her, not wanting to hear the heartbreak in her voice. She must have been destroyed by their break-up and he didn’t want to have to deal with tears. He’d never been able to predict if she’d cry, laugh or get angry when they got into a fight thanks to her tempestuous nature. If only he’d mustered up the nerve to call before now. In his mind, he pictured Esme in her parents’ awful poky little box room, devouring a tub of ice cream while she sobbed. For Esme’s sake he hoped they were laying off the midnight activities. The last thing you need when you’ve just been dumped is to hear your parents getting it on. And she’d definitely have put on weight from all the comfort eating. If he phoned now though, it should click through to voicemail and he wouldn’t have to actually speak to her.
‘Hello?’ came a harsh, wide-awake voice from the other end.
Damn it. ‘Oh, hi, Esme. It’s Leo.’ He could hear moving around, giggling and laughter in the background and his brow creased in confusion. Then he heard Mark’s voice loud and clear.
‘Is that that scumbag? What’s he doing calling at … blimey, it’s one in the morning. We’re all asleep, Leo, you’ll have to call back.’
Idiot. Taken aback, Leo forgot why he was calling. He hadn’t expected her friends to be with her. Then Esme’s voice cut into his thoughts.
‘Leo? What the heck are you ringing me for? I can’t imagine you’ve got anything to say to me and I definitely do not want to talk to you. Plus, it’s the middle of the night. No one calls people in the middle of the night. What are you doing? Are you drunk?’
‘Bog off, Leo,’ he heard Helena shout. So she was there too. They couldn’t all be at Carol and Stephen’s. Esme must be staying somewhere else. But where? Confusion filled him and he suddenly felt adrift. Like he’d floated out to sea and his legs couldn’t reach the bottom. It wasn’t a sensation he was used to. Trying to find some control and regain his footing, he cleared his throat.
‘Yeah, umm, sorry for ringing so late.’ Leo ran a hand down his brilliant white T-shirt over striped pyjama bottoms and pulled his dressing gown tighter against the cold. ‘I just wanted to say, that, you know, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for us.’
‘At one in the morning? Are you mad? And anyway, it’s not that they didn’t work out for us, Leo. You dumped me.’
‘You tell him!’ shouted Mark, before he began chanting ‘Loser’ over and over again.
Leo tutted at Mark’s childishness. This wasn’t the Esme he was used to. The Esme he was used to was much more … nurturing. He felt suddenly on the back foot. He did with Veronica sometimes and it unnerved him. He’d never felt like that with Esme. ‘Yes, but you’ll find someone else, Esme. I know you will. You’re an amazing girl.’
There was a pause. ‘What’s he saying?’ asked Mark. ‘Tell him if he calls you again I’ll—’
‘Sssshhhh!’ Esme replied. ‘What do you want, Leo?’
‘I just wanted to ask if you could possibly come to get the last of your things? There isn’t much. Just that old chest of drawers in the spare room and a few little ornaments. When Mark couldn’t get it in the car he said he’d be back soon with a van but he hasn’t. I didn’t want to get rid of it because I know how much you love it.’
Silence.
‘You’ve rung me at stupid o’clock in the morning to ask me to come and get my antique chest of drawers from the spare room?’ He heard Mark and Helena in the background but couldn’t make out what they were saying as their voices blended into one. It wouldn’t be good though. ‘Why is that, Leo? Are you moving in some other woman and you need the spare room clear for all her clothes and shoes and accessories?’
‘Esme. I’m sorry, it’s just Veronica—’
‘Oh, yes, that’s her name, isn’t it?’
‘Esme, please—’
‘Don’t worry, Leo. I’ll get it sorted out tomorrow. Just don’t be there when Mark shows up. For your sake.’ She hung up and Leo tapped his phone against his chin, exhaling a long deep breath.
That had gone quite well considering her friends had been there. Wherever there was. The sound of Veronica’s gentle snoring emerged from the bedroom and he debated whether to have a cup of tea before going back to bed.
Leo went to the kitchen and filled the kettle. Veronica would ease off a bit now. She required a lot more care and attention than Esme ever had. Veronica was great but it had to be said, she didn’t look after him as well as Esme. They’d shared the housework, and Esme had done all the cooking for them. He gave a scornful laugh; that had changed now. It was him who did all the cooking these days. And though Veronica was grateful, she didn’t hesitate to tell him how he could improve next time. And she wanted to hire a cleaner. Esme had been messy when she first moved in, but she’d soon seen how important it was to be tidy and made an effort to clean up after herself. Veronica just wanted to hire someone to come in and clean up after her. Who would pay for that though? Financials were always a difficult subject in a new relationship, and it wasn’t a conversation he particularly wanted to have yet. Still, things were going to work out fine with Veronica, he told himself as a familiar niggle gnawed at the back of his mind. Of course they were.