‘Nothing so grand. Plays. The clichéd deluded artist starving in his garret, I’m afraid. You wanted to talk about Georgia?’
She watched his face, wondering how much to tell him. The last thing she wanted to do was betray the confidence of a friend, but it was precisely because she considered Georgia her friend that she had to speak to Will.
‘I don’t know Georgia very well. Not before New York, anyway.’
‘So why did you go with her?’
‘Because she asked me to. It was a job,’ she said, struggling to find the right words.
‘A job?’ he said with a note of surprise.
‘I was a companion. A professional companion. For her trip. She didn’t want to go alone, and anyone can understand that.’
He was looking at her intently, and she could tell he was trying to assess the nature of their friendship.
‘Look, I know it’s none of my business,’ she said, taking a deep breath. ‘But I don’t think it’s right that Georgia should be spending Christmas alone. Or at least with someone she doesn’t know very well. She has a family, doesn’t she? So why isn’t she spending this most important time of year with them?’
‘Our family is complicated,’ said Will. His tone was brisk, but it was slightly undermined by the little froth moustache sitting on his top lip.
‘Complicated,’ repeated Amy, remembering that Georgia had used the same word about an old boyfriend. ‘But what is it that’s so complicated, Will? It seems to be pretty straightforward to me. Your family has abandoned her at a time when she needs the most support.’
Will narrowed his eyes. His look was so intense that she had to glance away from him.
‘Why? What’s wrong with her?’
‘She’s old!’ said Amy, exasperated. ‘I mean, she can walk and talk and look after herself, but she shouldn’t be living on her own at the top of all those stairs with no one to support her, or advertising for strangers to come and accompany her on holiday.’
‘I try,’ said Will, his own frustrations becoming obvious. ‘I go round, I offer to help, I even bloody moved down the road so I could keep an eye on her, but seriously, Amy, she doesn’t want to know. She’s cut herself off from the family. Barely tolerates me, and that’s the way she wants it.’
‘But why? Why did the family fall out?’
Will put down his cup.
‘It’s not for me to discuss.’
‘Why not? It seems as if you’re the only one who cares about her. Please, Will. She’s been very kind to me and I want
to help, but unless I know what she’s dealing with, I can’t do anything.’
Will glanced at her and hesitated.
‘It was something that happened when she was a girl, a teenager really. There was a party and . . . something happened, something bad. People took sides – you know how families can get. Let’s just say it didn’t end well.’
‘Come on, Will, you’ve got to give me more than that.’
‘Everything I know is hearsay – family gossip and whispers,’ he said, pushing a sheet of hair away from his face. ‘No one ever sat me down and said, “Okay, Will, this is why Georgia never comes for Christmas.” And I suspect that even if they had, it wouldn’t be the truth anyway. The only person who really knows what it’s about is Georgia.’
‘Maybe I’ll ask her, then.’
‘With respect, I doubt she’ll want to talk to you about it either.’
Amy had to admit that she agreed with him. After all, she barely knew Georgia, and this was the sort of conversation that would be difficult even for someone’s closest friend. For a moment Amy thought about her own family, all of them squashed around a tiny table. Would they ever ostracise her? Could something that happened when she was a girl have driven such a wedge into her family? She really didn’t think so. Her family was separated by distance, but the ties that held them together were strong – bound by blood and love and memories.
‘Jeez, what’s wrong with you Brits?’ she said, feeling suddenly angry. ‘Is it just this stiff upper lip, or is it emotional constipation?’
‘Nice image for first thing in the morning,’ said Will tartly as she threw her filthiest look back at him.
‘It’s not funny, Will.’