Girl and Boys (#Wattys2015 Winner - New Adult Romance)

Chapter 30

I'd kissed Scott goodbye when the tube pulled into Embankment station and then I'd meandered to the bridge to make my way to Waterloo. As I walked slowly across it, I inhaled the crisp early morning air. A blanket of grey clouds stretched before me and the Thames lapped below me. I felt exhausted yet alive.

I looked down at the steel beneath my feet and, considering I was the only person occupying the entire bridge, I felt compelled to test out my tap dancing skills. I'd taken tap classes for years when I was younger - I'd liked them a hell of a lot more than I'd liked the ballet classes.

Front slap ball change, front slap ball change.

Only now, as an adult, did I realise that the words sounded funny. I giggled to myself, again proving that my ten year old self had been more mature than my slightly still drunk 25-year-old self.

Shuffle hop step. Shuffle hop step.

I was about to attempt a cramp roll where, if my memory served me correctly, you took two steps on the balls of your feet then dropped your heels to make a sound like a drum roll, when my phone shrilled.

It was a number I didn't recognise but, what the hell? I answered it.

'Hello?'

Static. Then what sounded like a whoosh of wind and some garbled crowd noises filled my ear.

'Hello?' I repeated.

'Beth? Beth, is that you?'

'Izzy! How the hell are you?' I halted in the middle of the bridge, my shrieking voice joining the sounds of the birds fluttering above me. I realised it was around the same time she'd first called me on that fateful morning a few weeks ago. Was she at my doorstep right now, her bright pink lipstick smeared across her face, waiting for me?

'I'm fine,' she said. 'In fact, you shouldn't be asking me how the hell I am. You should be asking me where the hell I am!'

'Well, where the bloody hell are ya?' I asked, giving Izzy my best Lara Bingle impersonation and picturing her sitting on my doorstep, easing her heels off as she spoke down the phone to me.

She giggled. 'I'm in bloody Australia! I'm having a glass of wine at Opera Bar and looking out at the Sydney Harbour Bridge right now.'

'No?!'

'Yes! I did it Beth! I finally did it!'

'I can't believe it!'

'Believe it,' she said. 'I got the courage to bloody do it and make the move.'

'Is Will with you?'

My question was met with a long pause followed by a loud sigh and an unmistakeable sob.

'Izzy? Are you sure you're okay?' I asked.

'No, Will isn't with me,' replied Izzy. 'He told me he never wants to see me again. I can hardly blame him.'

'Maybe he just needs some time to process it all,' I said.

'No, we're getting an annulment,' said Izzy with a loud sniff. 'I don't even know why I went through with the ceremony. I mean, I'd already applied for my working holiday visa here, so what the hell was I thinking? I'm so sorry for putting you in that awful position at the wedding. That was really unfair.'

'Don't worry about it,' I assured her. 'You provided me with alcohol and Beyonce tunes which more than made up for it.'

'You're a good friend Beth,' she said with a soft laugh.

I imagined her wiping away a tear as she took in the view around her, unsure if she was happy or sad, excited or anxious.

'I also don't know what I was thinking hooking up with Matt,' she continued. 'Does Dee hate me? Actually, don't answer that. In fact, let's not talk about the whole mess anymore. It's behind me and this is my fresh start.'

'Here's to fresh starts,' I agreed as a gentle breeze fluttered around me. 'As for Dee, I wouldn't worry too much about her. She'll be fine. In fact, check out some gossip sites later to see how fine she actually is.'

'What do you mean?'

'You'll see,' I said cryptically.

'Right, well, I'm also so sorry for not doing a proper goodbye but I can be a real coward sometimes. It's ironic, really. I'm brave enough to move to Australia, but not brave enough to tell people I'm doing it.'

'What about Scott?' I asked. 'He'd really like to talk to you.'

'I'm calling Scott next,' she said. 'Do you think he'll be up?'

'Something tells me he'll be up.' I smiled to myself.

'He's going to be crazy mad at me for not saying goodbye, but he can't slap me from all the way over there!' Her laugh tinkled down the phone. 'There are so many people here Bethy and the view is beautiful. I feel alive!'

I looked out at the silent London cityscape and replied, 'I know exactly what you mean.'

'I'll call you this week, yeah?' she shrilled. 'We need to properly catch up.'

'Enjoy your night. Snog an Aussie boy whose nickname ends in 'o,' like Robbo or Steve-o or something like that, okay?'

'I think it might be a bit soon for that, but I'll get there. One day I'll snog a hot Aussie bloke. Speak to you soon!'

'You'll be fine Izzy, I know you will. Talk to you later.'

And just like that, I was alone on the bridge again. As I resumed my beautiful, crazy walk of shame over the Thames back to my poky flat, the googly-eyed, orange, mocking face of Princeton the Puppet came back to me. How had his story panned out in the end?

I realised I couldn't remember how the musical had ended. I must have been so livid about the laughter that met his opening line, 'What do you do with a BA in English?,' that I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the musical. I remembered a puppet sex scene and a song with a monster screeching on about porn, but that was it. Surely it was a happy ending?

Shuffle hop step, shuffle hop step.

As for me, the girl tap dancing along an empty bridge on a grey London morning? Well, take a leaf out of my book, Princeton the Puppet, because I think I'm doing alright.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end! If you liked the story, please vote and comment.