chapter 23

As they made their way to the restaurant Amy walked quickly, determined to make their dinner reservation on time while Chloe and Daniel moved at a more leisurely pace. They were still less than half way there when Amy realised that she was now a considerable distance between her and the other two.

"She's supposed to be on my side," she thought though she knew it was ridiculous as she turned to see Chloe and Daniel still dawdling behind her. They were laughing and talking animatedly as they discussed the different incarnations of Dr Who (even if Chloe's contribution was mainly based on the merits of pinstripe suits vs bow ties and tweed).

It took her a while to realise that they were no longer following her and she found that they had stopped outside a BBQ place with a neon pink pig sign flashing in the window.

"What are you two doing?" Amy demanded. "We're going to be late and they won't hold the table for us."

"We're never going to make it anyway," Daniel said. "Why not stop stressing about it and have dinner here.?

She turned to Chloe, expecting her to back her up but she only shrugged. "It looks fun and Westminster is still soooo far away."

The restaurant was part of a growing trend of places serving up huge plates of American BBQ classics dripping in grease and coated in a slick of sticky sweet and smoky sauce but with a side of painfully self-conscious London cool. The interior was all exposed brickwork and distressed leather. Jolene by Dolly Parton played semi-ironically on an old fashioned jukebox.

A slightly surly looking waitress who had been leaning over the bar, clearly enjoying a quiet night, reluctantly approached them and led them to a booth. While Amy and Chloe were able to effortlessly slide into one side of the table, it took Daniel a great deal of huffing and sucking in until he was able to tightly wedge himself into the confined space not really designed to accommodate someone of his substantial girth.

"Can I get you guys some drinks?" the waitress asked.

Amy scanned a drinks menu that boasted "meat cocktails" and featured the words "Add bacon to any milkshake!" Gin and tonic sounded like a safer bet.

"What's a "hardshake"?" Chloe asked, looking up from her own menu.

"It's just a milkshake with added alcohol," the waitress explained.

"Ooo, sounds verging on the deviant. I have to try it," Chloe laughed. "Which one is the best?"

"Go for the Five Dollar Shake. It's based on the milkshake Uma Thurman orders in Pulp Fiction."

"Well, if it's half as good as the film then I'm sold." Chloe smiled, although the irony was not lost on her that the Five Dollar Shake was infact £9.50.

"Hey, this is the only place I've come across in England that sells root beer. I'm going to have a root beer float," Daniel said.

"Bleugh," Chloe made a face. "I'll never understand how you Americans can drink that stuff. It tastes like the dentist."

Amy felt another twinge of jealousy as she sat in silence while Chloe and Daniel slipped back into conversation. He liked Chloe. Of course. Everyone liked Chloe.

"I'l have the Ceasar Salad with the dressing on the side and no croutons. And how is the chicken cooked?" Amy asked the waitress when she came back to take their order.

"I think it's roasted."

"With the skin on or off?"

"I can ask the chef to take the skin off if you want" the waitress said.

"Nah, she doesn't want that," Daniel interruptted with an odd smirk on his face. "She'll have the Big Kahuna burger, 12 of the buffalo wings with extra blue cheese dressing, a rack of baby back ribs and the chilli cheese fries. Oh, and why not throw in a side of mac 'n' cheese. Put some crispy bacon bits on it too. Doesn't that sound much better than a salad?"

"Someone's eyes are bigger than their belly," the waitress said with an awkward laugh.

"I'll say. You'd never guess to look at her now but my sister used to huge. I mean, she used to weigh over 300 lbs" Daniel said. "You don't get to be that big without knowing how to eat, believe me. Let's see if she can still put it away like she used to."

The waitress' eyes darted uncertainly between Daniel and Amy. "You know what, I think I'll give you a little longer to look at the menu."

Amy could feel herself burning hot with humiliation and anger but Daniel only smiled at her. "Did you know that 95% of people who lose weight gain it all back within five years?"

Of course this was a statistic that she was painfully aware of, why did he want to rub it in her face? Did he really want to hurt her so badly?

Chloe, who had been sitting quietly, cleared her throat. "And 42% of marriages end in divorce. Aren't statistics fun?"

"It's like all those Biggest Loser contestants that no one wants you to see after the cameras stop rolling," he continued as if he hadn't heard Chloe. "Sure, they might keep their chiselled abs for a while but as the months and years roll on most of them end up porking back up again, sometimes even bigger than they were before."

"OK, I tried doing this the nice, polite British way but you're just not getting it," Chloe said. Amy hadn't seen her this angry since a particularly foolish mugger had attempted to steal her new Paula Cademartori handbag outside Brixton Underground. "So why don't I say it in a language that you will understand: shut the fuck up, Daniel."

The satisfied smirk faded from his face. "Fine. Fuck you both. I'm out of here."

He heaved up his hefty frame and began to make his slow, lumbering way towards the exit.

Amy made a move to follow him but Chloe reached out to stop her. "Let him go. I don't know what's going on between you two but the atmosphere has been just terrible since I arrived. He needs some time to cool down. Believe me, things will only get uglier if we go after him right now."

When Amy nodded Chloe released her tight grip on her arm and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"What if he gets lost?" Amy asked as they made their way into the cold London night. "He doesn't know the city."

"He has my number," Chloe said. "He's not an idiot, he'll contact me if he needs to."

Amy sparked up a cigarette as soon as they left the restaurant and ignored the disapproving look on Chloe's face as she took a long drag. As she exhaled she watched the smoke dissipate into the air. She imagined being able to expel the emotions clouding darkly inside her as a thick smog. She knew that Chloe was only trying to reassure her but it felt like more salt in the wound that her brother would rather turn to anyone but her for help.

Raindrops began to fall heavily on the pavement and they made their way with the hot throng of bodies towards the nearest underground station.

"It's not all his fault... I said some stuff too. Things I shouldn't have," Amy admitted. "I'm just worried about him but it came out all wrong and now he hates me."

"Ah..." Chloe said, not sounding entirely surprised by this revelation. "Honestly, he seems fine to me. It's not fair to hold him to the same punishingly high standards you set for yourself or assume that he's not happy just because you weren't."