The Empty Room Read online

  “Hey guys,” I said, as all three of them crossed the road and headed over to where I was standing – just as a taxi appeared.

  “Oh nice, who sorted this out?” I asked.

  “Ah, we did, just now,” Louise replied.

  “Well, nice work,” I said, as we all jumped in.

  “So, how’s everyone doing today?” I asked.

  “Yeah, really good thanks Phil,” both Louise and Trudie replied.

  “Mate, got a night off work at the restaurant so let’s go have a few beers.”

  “Sounds good to me bro,” I said.

  “Where’s Hannah tonight, Phil?” Louise asked.

  “Out on a date I reckon aye,” I said.

  Mike just laughed, making me think he might have known something, but he wasn’t letting on.

  “Oh, that’s nice,” Trudie remarked.

  “So, we’ve all heard you’ve got some dance moves Phil,” Louise mentioned.

  At this, Mike started to laugh, while Trudie just shrugged.

  “Yip, can bust out the running man at will, Louise,” I replied, which made everyone in the taxi have a little bit of a laugh.

  As we pulled up to the bar, Mike quickly paid and we all jumped out.

  “Cool bro, I’ll grab us a couple bottles of wine aye,” I suggested.

  “Sounds good man,” Mike said.

  We made our way inside, and got settled in for another huge one, even running into a few of the Waikato guys that were on our boat in Croatia. Some of them walked over to say hello and see if we wanted to do a few shots.

  “Oh man, probably not for me tonight, aye,” I replied.

  With a look of surprise on their faces they walked off with Mike who agreed to join them for a few drinks. Leaving me with the girls at the table.

  “So, not having a massive night then Phil?” Louise asked.

  “No. I’m just pacing myself. I’ve got a massive day tomorrow,” I replied.

  “Oh cool, same here,” Louise said, as Mike snuck back over with a couple of bottles of wine.

  “Nice work man,” I said.

  “Cheers, be back in a second just gonna do a quick shot,” Mike said, heading back over to the Waikato crew.

  “Ah, what am I doing?” I sighed. Sitting there, Louise just laughed.

  “We’ll save the seat Phil,” Trudie promised, as I got up.

  The guys saw me walking over and started cheering, Mike must have known as there was one shot glass of tequila waiting for me as I got to the bar.

  “Ha, nice work!” I said.

  Taking the glass, I drank it straight, not worrying about the salt or the lemon. This shocked a few on-lookers, but I just returned to the table without saying too much. It didn’t surprise those I had joined – if anything, they didn’t really expect anything different.

  After that, the night got really good. After dancing, I nearly got invited home by some random girl, who I actually thought was seeing one of the guys from Waikato. Needless to say we made sure they all got home safely, and I ended up jumping into a taxi home with the others. I jumped out of the cab on Lower Richmond Road and got back home just before 1am. I woke up the next morning feeling a little bit like death-warmed-up. Luckily, Hannah had realised this and left me a card on the bench.

  Morning Phil, late one? Ring me later today, but I’ll see you at Eleven later,

  Hannah

  P.S. Left the dishwasher full, could you empty it :-)

  Laughing I headed back to my room and got some stuff sorted for a shower. I only got around to emptying out the dishwasher when I put the jug on for a coffee and needed a clean mug. Then I got a text from Margaret.

  Morning Phil,

  leaving shortly, Ian’s heading up later so we’re sorted for dinner.

  Susan’s mum.

  Hi Susan’s mum,

  Booked in at Eleven, the bar/restaurant, so all good. Will be at Cam and Susan’s later this morning. See you soon, have a safe trip.

  Phil.

  With that, I made myself a coffee and grabbed another slice of cheesecake for breakfast, and sat down in front of the TV. A few hours later, I had a shower and headed off to Swiss Cottage. There, I thought I recognised Devin’s doctor at Earls Court. I thought nothing of it, and went into a different cafe at Swiss Cottage from the one I visited last time. There I ran into Margaret yet again.

  “Ha, I’m not following you, I promise,” I declared as Margaret laughed, and grabbed her coffee that the barista had just delivered.

  “Looking forward to Eleven later. Should be good. Ian’s gonna meet us there, then we’re gonna head back here to pick up the car. Though we might stay here for a night.” Margaret said.

  “Well, you’re both more than welcome to stay with me and Hannah tonight,” I offered before I walked over to order a coffee and waited around until it was made.

  We finally headed off to the apartment, picking up where we left off last time. Most of the stuff was ready to be packed and sent off which was good. It was all pretty much done. Though someone had to wait around for it to be picked up and I didn’t feel that Margaret should have to do that by herself, and I thought she would appreciate the company.

  “So, how’s Anna doing? Is she coming tonight?” Margaret asked.

  “No. She’s busy at work at the moment, but she sends her love to you both,” I answered.

  “Oh, that’s nice,” Margaret said, just as my phone started ringing saving me from any other questions she might have.

  “Hey Margaret, its Hannah,” I mouthed as Margaret started laughing.

  “Hey, Hannah, what’s going on?” I asked

  “Just finishing up, so gonna come and join you both. Should be there in a half hour,” Hannah said.

  “Sounds good – but you know what?” I asked.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll pick you guys up a coffee each,” Hannah remarked.

  Margaret, seeing the look on my face, started laughing and mouthed “A flat white”.

  “Ha, sounds good Hannah. Just two flat white’s thanks,” I replied.

  I heard Hannah laughing as she hung up. Then she texted me a few minutes later.

  Ha, Swiss Cottage once you’re leaving the cafe text me and start walking back towards the tube station. I texted back.

  “So, what have you found on the laptop?” Margaret asked.

  “Nothing yet. I haven’t actually looked to be honest,” I replied.

  “If there are any pics I know or think you’ll want I’ll send them to you. I still have your email address,” I added.

  “Yeah that’ll be great, thanks Phil,” Margaret answered.

  We stood around for ages waiting for the movers. They still hadn’t shown up when Hannah rang me up from downstairs.

  “Hey Margaret, I’m just gonna get Hannah and bring her up. Might check and see if the guys are standing around outside,” I announced.

  “Sounds good Phil. Take the key with you so you can get back up,” Margaret reminded me, handing me the keys.

  While I was downstairs, I had a look around but there was no sign of the removalists which was annoying, and Hannah got annoyed with me.

  “Hey Phil, I’m right here!” Hannah called.

  “Yeah, I’m just looking for the removalists,” I replied.

  “Oh, I thought you were trying to be funny,” Hannah remarked.

  “No way, you’re holding the coffees, I’m not an idiot.”

  “Yeah fair enough. How’s Margaret doing?” Hannah asked.

  “Come upstairs and see for yourself,” I said, smiling away.

  “Yeah, sounds good. Let’s go,” Hannah agreed.

  As we both made our way back upstairs, Hannah handed me one of the flat whites. As we made our way back into the apartment, she was surprised to see Margaret chilling out on the couch. Margaret got up as Hannah quickly went over and gave her a massive hug.

  “So good to see you again Margaret,” Hannah said.

  “Same to you Hannah. Now, can you tel
l me why I haven’t heard from Anna?” Margaret asked.

  “I thought she was really busy at work,” Hannah replied, looking over towards me. Luckily, we were saved by the removal guys finally arriving, and Margaret had to try and get them all sorted. She wanted them to take everything except one of the beds, as she was going come back with Ian later. They were going to crash out here on it. Hannah looked at me and shrugged.

  “I did offer them to crash at our place tonight Hannah,” I defended myself, knowing exactly what Hannah was thinking.

  “Yeah. Phil did Hannah,” Margaret said. “It’s just easier to head home from here, that’s all,” she added.

  Both Hannah and I started to laugh as Margaret just smiled running around sorting out the moving guys. It didn’t take them that long at all, so we decided to head off to the restaurant, or at least find a bar and get Ian to meet us there so we could get this ‘Dinner with the In-laws’ show on the road.

  5

  The Heart-shaped Pinkie-ring

  I walked around to where Hannah was standing and pulled out her chair for her.

  “Oh, thanks Phil,” Hannah said.

  “No worries Hannah,” I replied.

  “He must do that all the time for Anna,” Margaret said smiling.

  To be fair, I only did it because Ian had done it for Margaret and Hannah gave me a funny look. We could have laughed about it, but the room didn’t feel funny, which I’m pretty sure Hannah felt.

  “He’d better,” Hannah said jokingly.

  “Yeah cut it out, so what do we want up first, should we get a couple of antipasto platters?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll order a bottle of wine for us all,” Ian suggested.

  Margaret started laughing.

  “The way these two drink you should order a few,” Margaret remarked.

  “Hey! Easy on, Margaret,” I joked. I was smiling and could see Hannah thought about saying something, but the room still didn’t feel right.

  “I’ll drink whatever you want me to,” Hannah commented, which was not lost on Margaret.

  “The room feels a little weird right?” Margaret asked, staring at the both of us.

  “Yeah, a little,” I replied.

  “Well, in that case, let’s get a few beers as starters,” Ian suggested.

  When he came back he handed both Hannah and I a beer then took his seat and handed Margaret one. Ian started to neck his beer, while Hannah and I just looked on, dumbfounded, until Hannah tried to chase him down.

  “Ha, that’s the spirit Hannah,” Margaret commented, even though Hannah only got about half way down her bottle.

  Ian had already finished and was placing the empty bottle on the table.

  “Well you tried Hannah,” I said.

  “I noticed you didn’t make any attempt Phil,” Hannah replied.

  “Yeah, only cause, I was talking to one of Ian’s brothers at Susan’s’ wake,” I declared.

  “Ah, so one of my brothers dobbed me in then,” Ian joked.

  “Hang on, what?” Hannah remarked.

  “Ian’s a lawyer and over his years at Oxford was put through the yard glass initiations I’m guessing,” I replied.

  “Yeah quite a few times unfortunately,” Ian agreed as Margaret laughed at the look on Hannah’s face.

  “Well, you could have said something to me,” Hannah insisted.

  “Why would I do that?” I shrugged taking a sip of my beer, as both Ian and Margaret looked on smiling.

  Luckily, a waitress came up to us and asked if we were ready to order.

  “Ah, yes thanks. Could we get an antipasto platter for four?” Margaret asked.

  “For starters,” Ian added.

  “Could I get a couple more beers?” Hannah asked, at which Margaret and I just laughed.

  “Yeah, I’ll just get a bottle of wine,” I added.

  “To share, aye Phil?” Margaret asked.

  Hannah decided to challenge Ian, while Margaret and I looked on and laughed. Why she did it, we still don’t know. All I knew was I’d have to be the one to get her home and Margaret knew it too, which made her laugh pretty-hard.

  We watched as Hannah made an absolute fool of herself, but she was doing a great job of changing the feel in the room. A couple of guys offered to buy her and Ian a couple more beers, which was surprising. Ian thanked them when the beers were bought over to our table with the antipasto platters and the wine. It was a great way to start a night, we had so much fun. It never crossed our minds that we were there and our friends weren’t. I did notice Margaret hold something back, but I took it as more of a laugh aimed towards Hannah and Ian. The night went on for so long that, by the end, we had had another antipasto platter and another bottle of wine. Margaret thanked us for a great night and laughed at me after she had hugged Hannah goodbye. Hannah had thrown up once and was in a horrible state by the time I got her home. It was a funny way to leave things, but I’d see them again, and they would never let Hannah forget that night. It was a great night and a really funny story.

  “Oh my god, I feel like death,” Hannah moaned, rolling over and seeing me in her bed.

  “Hey, wake up you,” Hannah whispered, shaking me awake.

  “Oh hey, how are you feeling?” I asked, yawning myself awake.

  “What did I do last night?” Hannah asked.

  “All good Hannah. You were fine,” I replied, smiling.

  “What did I do, did I spew?” Hannah asked.

  Finally, with one big yawn, I got out of Hannah’s bed. “Yeah you spewed a couple of times. Once at the restaurant after you started talking to these two guys who bought you and Ian beers all night. Then Ian nearly hit one of them and we were asked to leave, which was awesome timing, as one of the owners had just walked in to help the kitchen staff that night,” I said.

  “Oh wow! All I remember was Margaret asking me if I felt all right,” Hannah declared.

  “Yeah, I think the guys might have put something in your beer, so I’ve been keeping an eye on ya,” I said.

  “So, did I spew in the taxi?” Hannah asked,

  “No, you were really good. I had to fireman carry you into bed though,” I said laughing.

  “Thanks Phil,” Hannah said trying to stand up and walk into her bathroom.

  “Oh my god,” Hannah said, then started to throw up again.

  “Are you okay Hannah?” I asked.

  As she threw up again into her toilet,

  “Yeah. I’m never drinking again,” Hannah said.

  “I can’t say I blame you,” I said, quickly sticking my head into the bathroom.

  “Hey I’m just gonna have a quick shower, are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m gonna crawl into the shower and head back to bed I think,” Hannah said.

  “Well if you need help in or out, let me know,” I said

  “Yeah, okay,” Hannah said, feeling awful.

  I must admit I might have laughed a bit as I left Hannah’s room. I headed off to mine to check my phone and get some kit to change into after having a shower. There, I noticed a message from Karen,

  Hey Phil, still in Scotland, sorry.

  I must admit I had other things on my mind, but knew we’d see each other soon enough so, I grabbed some gear and headed straight to the bathroom. Before getting in the shower, I quickly darted into the kitchen to get Hannah a glass of water and some panadol, and quickly put them on the desk in her room. Then I headed back to the bathroom to wash off last night’s mayhem. I never told Hannah but she threw up from the taxi to the front door, and all over the back of my shoes. Not that I cared, but I told Margaret and Ian, and we all decided through a lot of laughter that she shouldn’t drink with Ian ever again. We all had a bit of a laugh about it, but far out, it took Hannah a few days to recover! For a couple days, Ian and I thought someone might have popped something into her beer, though Ian did say they both had a lot to drink.

  Before I knew it, I was sitting at a table at O’Neil’s in She
pherd’s Bush, waiting to see Karen having a quiet jug of snake bite. Laughing at myself, I was having a panic attack. It was the only way to explain what was going on. I saw her through the window and for whatever reason, I stood up. As Karen walked in she noticed the jug and two glasses. Coming straight towards me, she planted her lips straight on mine.

  “Sorry you had to wait three days,” Karen said, as she pulled away.

  Only for me to pull her back lightly from the waist and lock lips again, as we parted.

  “That’s for those three days,” I said.

  Which didn’t have the desired effect, instead Karen started laughing at me and calling me Mr Cool.

  “Hey cut it out,” I commented, happy she had broken the ice, the only way she knew how.

  Grabbing a seat next to me, I filled up her glass and we sat there for a moment.

  “So how was dinner?” Karen asked.

  “Yeah really good thanks. Thanks so much for organising that. Have you been there yet?” I asked in return, hoping that it wouldn’t end up a night full of questions.

  “No. One day we should go,” Karen replied, smiling at me as I looked at her.

  “What is it?” Karen asked.

  “Just – after all this time, we’re here finally meeting again, it’s a little surreal,” I replied.

  “Yeah, a bit. You can’t use it in a book though, aye Phil?” Karen joked.

  “I promise you nothing,” I said, laughing back.

  “Yeah, ’bout time you took a jump and started writing,” Karen declared. “Follow your passion, I always said – and you were always a great writer,” she added.

  “Yeah, I know. I guess I wanted something to fall back on though – if that makes sense.”

  “Oh okay,” Karen laughed, at the same time shrugging at me. “So, what else has been happening?” she asked.

  “Not much, book stuff and life stuff, I guess,” I said. I could tell Karen wanted to ask me if I was seeing somebody, but for some reason she didn’t. She just looked at me either not wanting to know or dreading the answer.

  “So, hey, there’s a really great pizza place around the corner, let’s go there and have one and a few more drinks,” Karen suggested,