He blinks. ‘Uh … car parts. I’m the new Senior Regional Manager, bracket Spares close bracket, for Hunt Motors.’
‘Sounds like a big job,’ I say. ‘You have … brackets.’
‘I’ve been working for it a long time.’ He swallows hard. ‘Which is why I don’t want to die in a ball of flame. I really don’t want to die in an airborne ball of flame.’
I am tempted to point out that it wouldn’t actually be an airborne ball of flame, more a rapidly descending one, but suspect it wouldn’t really help. He splashes his face again and I hand him another paper towel.
‘Thank you.’ He lets out a shaky breath, and straightens, attempting to pull himself together. ‘I bet you never saw a grown man behave like an idiot before, huh?’
‘About four times a day.’
His tiny eyes widen.
‘About four times a day I have to fish someone out of the men’s loos. And it’s usually down to fear of flying.’
He blinks at me.
‘But, you know, like I say to everyone else, no planes have ever gone down from this airport.’
His neck shoots back in his collar. ‘Really?’
‘Not one.’
‘Not even … a little crash on the runway?’
I shrug. ‘It’s actually pretty boring here. People fly off, go to where they’re going, come back again a few days later.’ I lean against the door to prop it open. These lavatories never smell any better by the evening. ‘And anyway, personally, I think there are worse things that can happen to you.’
‘Well. I suppose that’s true.’ He considers this, looks sideways at me. ‘Four a day, uh?’
‘Sometimes more. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I really have to get back. It’s not good for me to be seen coming out of the men’s loos too often.’
He smiles, and for a minute I can see how he might be in other circumstances. A naturally ebullient man. A cheerful man. A man at the top of his game of continentally manufactured car parts. ‘You know, I think I hear them calling your flight.’
‘You reckon I’ll be okay?’
‘You’ll be okay. It’s a very safe airline. And it’s just a couple of hours out of your life. Look, the SK491 landed five minutes ago. As you walk to your departure gate, you’ll see the air stewards and stewardesses coming through on their way home and you’ll see them all chatting and laughing. For them, getting on these flights is pretty much like getting on a bus. Some of them do it two, three, four times a day. And they’re not stupid. If it wasn’t safe, they wouldn’t get on, would they?’
‘Like getting on a bus,’ he repeats.
‘Probably an awful lot safer.’
‘Well, that’s for sure.’ He raises his eyebrows. ‘Lot of idiots on the road.’
I nod.
He straightens his tie. ‘And it’s a big job.’
‘Shame to miss out on it, for such a small thing. You’ll be fine once you get used to being up there again.’
‘Maybe I will. Thank you …’
‘Louisa,’ I say.
‘Thank you, Louisa. You’re a very kind girl.’ He looks at me speculatively. ‘I don’t suppose … you’d … like to go for a drink some time?’
‘I think I hear them calling your flight, sir,’ I say, and I open the door to allow him to pass through.
He nods, to cover his embarrassment, makes a fuss of patting his pockets. ‘Right. Sure. Well … off I go, then.’
‘Enjoy those brackets.’
It’s two minutes after he has left that I discover he has been sick all over cubicle three.
I arrive home at a quarter past one and let myself into the silent flat. I change into my pyjama bottoms and a hooded sweatshirt, then open the fridge, pull out a bottle of white and pour a glass. It is lip-pursingly sour. I study the label and realize I must have opened it the previous night, then forgotten to put the top on the bottle, and decide it’s never a good idea to think about these things too hard. I slump into a chair with it.
On the mantelpiece there are two cards. One is from my parents, wishing me a happy birthday. That ‘best wishes’ from Mum is as piercing as any stab wound. The other is from my sister, suggesting she and Thom come down for the weekend. It is six months old. Two voicemails on my phone, one from the dentist. One not.
Hi, Louisa. It’s Jared here. We met in the Dirty Duck? Well, we hooked up [muffled, awkward laugh]. It was just … you know … I enjoyed it. Thought maybe we could do it again? You’ve got my digits …