Lottie nods. So… let us get some drinks… and now lean down and listen closely to me as I pull you over here towards… Time Out… Art Monthly… Hackney massive… Deptford massive… Black man in a hat.

Black man in a hat.

Good choice.

They have spilled out onto the street, beyond Johann, to the smoking area. Lottie looks past Jeanie’s shoulder. He’s looking at you.

Jeanie flares her nostrils and waves her arms, splashing Lottie with beer and flaking burning ash onto her dress. She turns to Samson and laughs loudly at whatever he just said. And then she stares at him.

Can I try on your hat? she says.

Lottie levels her gaze at Johann. He meets it for half a second and looks away.

Shall we look at the art? says Lottie.

That’s for amateurs. Let’s look at the guest list. Jeanie picks up a clipboard abandoned by one of the girls on the door. She casts her eyes around the room.

Jeremy’s here, says Lottie, tilting her head.

*

Jeanie is with Lottie, shamelessly scoping (he’ll have to talk to her about that one day). She is wearing a fur coat that’s slightly too big for her, and a leather pork pie hat. It’s actually quite a good look. Ollie watches them for a while, Jeanie pointing people out to Lottie. They haven’t seen him. He wonders if they’ve seen Johann – not that you can miss him, really. He takes a shot of them with the zoom. Then walks into the centre of the market and takes a few install shots, to get it over with. He gets another beer and walks over to them.

He strokes the coat. How many animals died for this?

I don’t care. It’s vintage. There’s your blogger, Lottie – quick. Go and talk to him. See if he’ll write a piece about Marcus, he likes you.

What are the key messages?

Doesn’t matter – just go and chat him up.

Lottie grinds out her cigarette and scurries off in pursuit of the blogger. Jeanie continues to stare across the room.

He follows her line of sight over to Jeremy Deller. Are you still trying to shag Jeremy? He’s not interested, you know. He thinks you’re unhinged.

Did he tell you that?

No. But I can read people.

He is very attractive though, isn’t he?

I suppose. If you were seventeen years older and starting to lose your teeth. Yeah, why not, why not?

Hello Jeanie. They look up. The accent is totally OTT, like something off a World War II channel. The height and the blondness also. Just – over-egged.

Jeanie stares. Yo-hann, she says. Her chin is trembling and her eyes start to fill. It is horrible to watch. Horrible.

Johann glances at Ollie and chooses to ignore him. He looks down at Jeanie, giving her his full attention.