‘All right, all right. Chill out, pal,’ Wozza said. ‘Don’t start something you’ll regret. I’ll see you later, my lads are over there.’ And he left, turning to give me the hard stare as he walked away, except he clipped a table as he did and stumbled. His mates started laughing and I turned away. If he caught my eye now he would have to fight me; that was the rule.

‘Are you OK?’ asked Emily.

‘I’m fine. Just don’t look at him.’

*

I knew Wozza and his friends were staring at me without having to look up.

‘What’s Andrew doing while you’re away?’ I asked, moving my chair so I had my back to them.

‘Oh, he’ll be enjoying himself. Going to all the dinners and drinks parties I don’t want to accompany him to.’

‘This must be the best time of the year for him. No teaching.’

‘Yes, just his PhD students through the summer.’

‘He’s quite involved with them, isn’t he?’ I said.

‘I suppose so. What do you mean, involved?’

‘Friendly. Like the one who came to your launch and his talk. I’ve seen him with her a few times.’

‘Chloe. She was at my launch? I don’t remember seeing her. Yes, she’s his biggest fan. And you’ve seen them together elsewhere?’

‘Oh, in the shop. And then walking down the street later, going into a hotel.’

‘A hotel?’

‘A hotel bar, you know. It would have been the bar. The Hoxton – we go there sometimes after the pub shuts.’

‘You watched them go into the bar.’

‘Yeah, I was heading there myself. I even had a chat with him at the bar. This was before I’d met him, but I knew who he was.’

‘You’ve never mentioned that.’

‘What was to mention?’

‘Right. And they were doing work?’

‘I couldn’t say. I wasn’t spying on them.’

‘OK. Really. A hotel?’

‘A hotel bar.’

‘And you saw them leave.’

‘I saw them leave the bar area.’

‘The bar area.’

‘To go outside, I presume.’

‘You presume.’

‘Well, they must have done. They went somewhere.’

‘Right. Do you want another drink? I certainly do.’

‘Yes, please.’

*

I needed the toilet. I went upstairs and stood in front of a urinal. When I heard the door open I didn’t look up.

But I could feel someone looking at me. I finished, zipped myself up and turned to face Wozza, who was standing between me and the door. I nodded at him, wandered to the sink, washed my hands and walked over to the dryer.

‘You’ve been here ten minutes,’ he said, ‘and you start slagging me off straight away. Slagging me off for what I did twenty year ago.’

‘Yeah,’ I said and turned to face him.

‘A lifetime ago. Do you want me to tell you about my life twenty year ago?’

‘Yeah,’ I said.