‘Plenty of time,’ said Ana. ‘We’ve only done half of it.’
‘Well – according to Bee, the first time we met was when I collected her from the airport after she’d been in Germany. But I think that was another driver. She had a terrible memory, that woman. The first real memory I’ve got of Bee, though, was this day when I had to take her to the dentist. That woman, I tell you, that woman was just obsessed with her fucking teeth. It was unreal. I swear to God half her fortune ended up in the pockets of posh dentists on Harley Street. She said she had toothache, so I drove her over there and two hours later she comes out and she’s all wobbly and all over the place. The dentist had only taken her fucking wisdom teeth out while she was sitting in the chair.’ He winced. ‘Her face was all puffed up down this side and she could hardly talk and there was all this drool’ – he demonstrated it with fingers on his chin – ‘pouring down her chin. So there’s this tiny little woman wearing a black leather trenchcoat and black shiny boots, with her boobs hanging out of this tight corset thing, with her face all fat and swollen with drool all over her chin. And then she started crying, too, so there was mascara running all down her face, and she’sgoing,’ he adopted a mincey accent, ‘ “Oh Flint, I hurt, Flint, I hurt so much I want to die,” just on and on and on and on, like a scratched record. So eventually I stopped the car and I turned around and I said, What the bloody hell do you want me to do about it? And she sits there looking all shocked like I’ve just slapped her, or something – all hurt and injured. And then she pulls herself up, like this, trying to make herself look tall, and she says, I’ll tell you what you can do about it,FlintYou can take me into that bar over there and buy me 8,000 fucking margaritas and stay with me until I’ve drunk them all. OK?
‘And we both just stopped, then, and she stared at me until I couldn’t stand it for another second. And I said, Can I laugh at you now? And she just looked at me all sniffy and serious and said, Yes, you may laugh at me now. And I tell you what – I just lost the plot – totally. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard before or since.
‘So anyway, we walked into this bar, and I knew what we must have looked like to other people – this big bloke with a scar on his cheek holding up this tiny beat-up little woman in head-to-toe leather who’s so woozy she can’t walk in a straight line. So, of course, everyone just stared at us, and I tell you what – that was the moment when I knew that Bee was special, that I wanted to get to know her. She was this famous popstar and she honestly didn’t give a fuck about people seeing her looking like a crack-head All the money that her label invested into creating and maintaining her image and she didn’t give a flying fuck. I loved that …
‘So. We stayed in that bar all afternoon, and she wanted to know all about me – my family, my childhood, mygirlfriend, my hopes and dreams. She was so easy to talk to, that woman, so excited by people and life and all the … I don’t know – all the little stuff. She liked detail. Not that she’d ever remember any of it afterwards.’ He smiled. ‘You could never just tell her that you’d met a girl in a bar and gone to bed with her. It would be, What bar? Who spoke first? What were you drinking? Whose place? What colour sheets? What fucking colour was her fucking bush? She honestly asked me that once … ’He laughed and then fell silent, staring at the grubby pattern on the carpet. ‘Fuck. I’m going to miss her. I’m going to miss her so much. Still,’ he said, snapping out of his reverie, ‘we’re breaking the rules here, aren’t we? We weren’t supposed to be talking about Bee. And – oh look – my half-hour’s up. Time to get another round in. Same again?’
At eleven o’clock, Ana and Flint spilled from the pub and into the slightly chilly outside air. Flint had offered Ana his sofa for the night, but she’d declined, and they were now waiting for a cab to take her back to Ladbroke Grove.
‘So,’ said Flint, ‘tomorrow. Daytime. We’ll do some research, yeah? Maybe I’ll come over to Gill’s – she’s got the Internet, hasn’t she?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘I’ve got a job tomorrow night, but you could always come out with me, if you fancied it?’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘I mean sit up front with me, in the passenger seat.’
‘But – won’t your client mind?’
‘Nah. They won’t even know you’re there. And besides –it’s my car. I can have whoever the fuck I want in it.’
‘OK. Maybe.’ Ana didn’t want Flint to think she was leeching on to him. ‘But definitely, tomorrow, research.’
‘OK. I’ll phone you. Tomorrow. Yeah?’
‘Yeah. Tomorrow.’
‘Good. Well – it’s been an experience, hasn’t it?’
‘God – that’s an understatement. Sunday morning feels like years ago now, doesn’t it?’
‘Uh-huh. Oh look – cab.’ Flint strode out into the road with one large arm held aloft. It pulled up beside him and he gave the address.
‘So,’ he said, letting Ana into the cab, ‘see you tomorrow. And sleep tight.’ He closed the door on her and leaned into the open window. ‘And thank you.’
‘What for?’ laughed Ana.
‘For being such great company. I’ve had a really good night.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. Really.’ He stepped on to the pavement and started to walk away, but Ana felt suddenly compelled to ask him something. ‘Flint?’ she called out, gripping the edge of the open window.
‘Yes, sweetheart,’ he said, turning back to her.
‘Were you … were you ever in love with Bee?’
He laughed. ‘No,’ he said, ‘no. I’ve never been in love with anybody.’
And then, before Ana had a chance to check the expression on Flint’s face as he said it, the cab pulled away and bore her homewards. And as the cab drove on, Ana wondered to herself how anyone who was friends with a man like Flint could ever possibly want to kill themselveswhen all they’d have to do, she was sure, was phone him up and talk to him and everything in the world would be just fine …
29
‘That’ll be £18.60, please, love.’