The Girl in the Yellow Vest (2 page)

But with a valiant smile Robyn looked up again, waving a hand in reassurance. ‘What I’m trying to say is, there is no couple better suited or matched than these two. They are the ying and the yang, the head and the tail, the . . . well . . . you get the point. I just wish we could all be as lucky. Soooooo,’ she lifted her glass unsteadily, ‘I want to propose a toast.’

Emily and the rest of room posed at the ready.

‘To red underwear.’ Robyn thrust her glass in the air. ‘May we all find a set!’

‘To red underwear!’ The wedding guests laughed and everyone drank.

As Lena got up to embrace her friend lovingly, everyone else returned to dinner and conversation.

Julia leaned on the table and said, ‘How embarrassing. I thought her speech would never end. Where did Lena meet that girl anyway?’

‘I don’t know.’ Emily shrugged. ‘I don’t remember her from uni.’

‘That’s because she didn’t go to our uni,’ Will informed them both. ‘Lena met Robyn in high school.’

Emily rolled her eyes. ‘Of course Will remembers.’

Will never forgot anyone or anything: he had a photographic memory. He remembered everything he read and had probably been the smartest guy in their study group. His honours were so first class they had wanted him to extend his thesis and apply for a PhD. He did so and was granted it.

‘Well, I don’t recall her.’ Julia examined her fingernails. ‘I have enough trouble keeping track of you lot.’ She glanced across the table. ‘So, where are you guys working now? Jake?’

‘CPG,’ Jake responded. He was a stocky guy with a streak of red through his dark brown hair. ‘Just started.’

‘Oil and gas,’ Julia murmured. ‘Not bad. I don’t suppose you’ve had to sail to an offshore platform yet?’

Jake cracked his knuckles. ‘I’m working on it.’

‘And what about you, Caleb?’

Julia proceeded to go round the group and interrogate everyone on their current positions. She was very competitive and was always trying to compare their successes, particularly in a manner that elevated her own.

Julia believed, of course, that the footbridge she was working on was the most high profile. And maybe, in a way, it was, because it was going to be located in Perth’s Kings Park. Therefore, it would automatically be heritage listed, built to last a hundred and fifty years and no doubt have some sort of cultural significance written on a plaque and placed beside it. But as far as Emily was concerned, Will had the best gig. Like Lena, he also worked for Barnes Inc, the biggest engineering company in the state. However, he was on a different project at a different location. And what a location it was!

The Whitsunday Islands.

The Great Barrier Reef.

Living in a resort.

And best of all, being part of the expansion of what was already the largest coal export facility in the Southern Hemisphere. Hay Point Wharf – she’d sell her right arm to see it.

But she didn’t begrudge Will his success. It wasn’t his fault he was super-smart and easy to work with. He deserved to be there.

Emily reached over and took a gulp of her wine, dreading Julia getting around the table and back to her. There was no doubt she was going to as she systematically made everyone give a breakdown of the projects they were working on. The moment came all too soon.

‘Emily, are you still with Johns, Anstey & Carlton?’

Emily looked into her glass, studying the translucent liquid and wishing it were just a touch more potent. ‘Yeah,’ she mumbled and took a gulp.

‘What do they have you doing?’

‘Oh, you know, nothing worth mentioning.’

‘Now you’ve tickled my curiosity.’

‘Really, it’s not that exciting.’ She looked around, hoping for a waiter to show up or the band to start playing. Seriously, these people never did their jobs conveniently. ‘I wonder when dessert’s coming.’

Julia’s eyes widened. ‘Are you
still
doing that dilapidation survey?’

Crap.
She’d forgotten she’d had a bit of a whinge to Julia about it over coffee four months earlier.

‘Yes. There’s a lot of buildings involved.’ Emily wound her napkin into a tight rope and then looked up brightly, hell bent on a subject change. ‘Has anyone spoken to Sharon, the other bridesmaid? She looks like an interesting girl. That husband of hers is so funny. Carl, isn’t it?’

‘Hang on a minute.’ Jake exchanged a look with Caleb. ‘So what’s a dilapidation survey? What does that involve?’

Emily had been counting on the ignorance of graduates only two years out of uni. The last thing she wanted to do was enlighten them.

‘It’s actually a really important step in the pre-construction process, especially in high-profile areas like the city,’ Will put in. She cast him a grateful look that was short-lived.

‘But boring as hell,’ Julia scoffed. ‘I’m surprised she hasn’t shot herself in the head yet.’

Trust Julia to elaborate. Oblivious to Emily’s mortification, her ex-study-buddy turned to the rest of the group. ‘You know how they’re putting in that second tunnel under the city? Well, Emily here has to go check out all the buildings that will be sitting over the top of it.’

‘Check out?’ Jake repeated.

‘She has to examine every room, floor and wall in every building and take a record of the cracks present in the structure so that her company has a snapshot of what they were like before construction. So when construction starts and the lawsuits start coming through, they can say, “No, sorry, those cracks were already there and not caused by us.” ’

The truth dawned on Caleb, a sandy-haired guy with freckles to match. ‘Let me get this straight: you’re counting cracks?’

Emily winced. ‘In a manner of speaking.’

‘That must give you the shits.’

The rest of the table burst out laughing at his unfortunate play on words.

Emily wanted to crawl under the table and die. ‘I’m not just counting them precisely; I have to look at dents and water damage too.’

But nobody was really listening, except Will. ‘We’ve really got to find a way to get your boss to give you something else. It’s been way too long.’

She nodded. Thankfully, a few seconds later the table conversation moved on to something less close to the bone than her floundering career and Emily could concentrate on the after-effects of being the laughing stock of her peer group. The worst thing was she had stayed in that job for the benefit of her relationship. The company seemed to focus on Perth-based projects and she hadn’t wanted to leave Trent to work out of town, especially when she thought he was on the verge of proposing. In her mind, she had been about to settle down, maybe even go part-time when they decided to have a family. What a joke!

She had sacrificed her career development for the man she thought was the love of her life. And he’d dumped her. How could she have read the signs so wrong? Her embarrassment about her career was only compounded by her poor judgement about Trent. Somehow she didn’t feel like making the announcement that they were no longer together now. When she’d first arrived at the wedding, her friends had all remarked on his absence but she’d simply told them he was working late. Which, let’s face it, was perfectly believable. As a lawyer, Trent worked horrendous hours and they were used to him only turning up sporadically to social functions. So there was no rush to set them all straight. She had a bit of time before the truth had to come out.

On the pretext of wanting to wish the bride and groom luck, she left their table shortly after the main meal. Luckily, she didn’t have to follow through with her cover because the blushing bride and her handsome husband had been waylaid by one of those elderly relations no one has ever heard of but who always seem to resurface at weddings. Aunt Betty had Dan by the cheek and was saying, ‘Well, I never thought I’d see the day.’

Emily escaped outside into the gardens, breathing in the fresh fruity smell of the nearby vineyard as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Lena and Dan had chosen to get married in the Swan Valley. They had a huge marquee set up on the lawn at Featherdowns Estate, right next to a giant circular pond with a fountain in the middle. The spotlights at the bottom of the pond made it possible for Emily to see her reflection in the rippling water.

Curly brown hair, brown eyes, a pert little nose. She looked a lot like her mother, which wasn’t exactly a bad thing. She had always thought her mother was pretty, though not beautiful in the way that some girls like Julia and Lena were.

With a sigh she guessed somebody had to be average. And in this case it was her. Average engineer. Average looks. Below average love life.

She leaned over the wall and swatted at her own reflection.

‘Hey.’

With a start she turned around, lurching back against the wall of the pond on one elbow. ‘Will!’ She put a hand to her chest. ‘You scared me half to death.’

‘What’s the matter? Why are you moping around like the world has come to an end?’

She blew on her fringe. ‘I wasn’t moping.’ At his disbelieving stare, she lifted her hand and pinched her thumb and forefinger together. ‘Okay, maybe just
a little
.’

‘Because of the fuss Julia made over your job?’ He frowned. ‘You know, with friends like her, who needs enemies?’

Despite herself she smiled. ‘Julia can’t help herself. I make her look good.’

‘You’re too hard on yourself.’

‘You think so?’ She cocked her head to one side. ‘I can’t help feeling like a failure.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just a job. You can change it. Have you spoken to Trent about it?’

‘No.’

He sighed. ‘Well, I hope you’ve at least given him a piece of your mind for missing Lena’s wedding. He’s been working weekends way too much lately.’

When she didn’t respond, he added, ‘Come on, they’re just starting to bring out dessert. That’ll cheer you up.’

She shook her head. ‘I’m on a diet.’

His jaw dropped. ‘Okay, now you’re starting to worry me.’

She ran her hands down her size-twelve hips. ‘Since when is slimming down a crime?’

‘You don’t need slimming down,’ he said quietly. ‘Besides, diets are dumb. I don’t see how starving yourself can possibly be healthy.’

‘Oh, I’m not starving myself.’ Emily lifted her chin. ‘This is a special diet. It’s the magic bean regime, proven in the US a billion times over. I bought the book and everything. It’s actually not that hard to do and very flexible.’

‘Really?’ His flat tone clearly conveyed his scepticism.

‘Absolutely.’ Emily held up her hand in reassurance. ‘Basically, what you do is eat nothing but legumes all day.’

‘Legumes?’ He made a face.

‘Alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, mesquite, carob, soybeans and peanuts.’

‘I know what legumes are; I just didn’t think you did. Otherwise you wouldn’t commit to eating them.’

‘I will admit it is slightly challenging.’ She winced. ‘But if you’re good you’re allowed to reward yourself with your choice of a berry after dinner.’

‘Just one?’

‘Well,’ Emily flushed guiltily, ‘sometimes I have a handful.’

‘You rebel, you.’

‘Don’t give me that.’ Emily put her hands on her hips. ‘This diet has been helping me feel stacks better about myself. And today is the first time since I started that I’ve had to break the rules, so it’s no wonder I’m standing out here feeling depressed.’

‘When did you start the diet?’

She hunched a shoulder. ‘Yesterday.’

‘Oh, Em, for goodness’ sake. You don’t need to lose weight. What’s really going on with you? You’ve been acting weird all night.’

She clasped her hands tightly together and looked back at her reflection in the pond. ‘They’re kind of interrelated . . . You see, I need to look my best because . . .’ she paused ‘. . . I’m . . . back on the dating market.’

For a moment there was dead silence before he said incredulously, ‘You’re
what
?’

She knew he’d be surprised. The last time they’d caught up, she’d been talking marriage and babies and now . . .

Emily swallowed hard. ‘Trent and I broke up.’

‘What? When?’

‘Two weeks ago.’

‘Why didn’t he tell me?’ He frowned. ‘Why didn’t
you
?’

Why didn’t I?

Shame.

Shock.

Maybe the vague hope that the split was really just a bump in the road and one morning Trent would wake up and say he’d made a mistake. Two weeks later she had to concede he wasn’t going to do that.

Emily hugged her arms as goose bumps broke out on her skin. ‘Well, I knew you were flying back to Perth for the wedding and I thought, if he hadn’t told you, I’d tell you then . . . now. Besides, I needed some time to get used to the idea before, you know, I made the announcement that I’m single again after five years.’

Man, I don’t even know how to be single any more.

Will’s face seemed to harden. ‘What happened?’

Emily couldn’t help it. ‘To be honest, I don’t know.’ She felt her face crumple.

Will blinked at her, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. ‘Now we both know my love-life is a train wreck but even I can usually pinpoint the place where things went wrong.’

It was true. In the entire time she’d known Will, which was nearly two years longer than she’d been with his best mate, he’d been out with exactly five women. None of them had been on the scene for very long but there always seemed to be a legitimate reason for his relationship failure.

There was the copy-writer who’d annoyed the hell out of him by speaking all the way through every movie they went to see. And then there was a Korean girl who giggled at everything, even when it wasn’t funny. After these two, he decided to go for an older woman – hoping for someone more mature in her outlook in life. And she was.

Unfortunately, so was her husband.

His last relationship had seemed the most promising. The female in question had been sweet, intelligent, pretty. All was going well until she asked Will if he wanted to join a cult with her and live in a commune so as to recapture the missing pieces of their souls.

Uh-huh.

Emily still hadn’t found out what had happened to his first girlfriend, Sasha, with whom Will had been going out when they first met. But she figured that if Will had thought her ‘viable’ he would have said so. In fact, that was the difficulty: Will approached women in the same way he approached an engineering problem. Like a scientist. He dissected their personalities into parts and used the breakdown to decide how compatible they were with him. He had no belief in the old idiom ‘Opposites attract’ or that, given time, some idiosyncrasies could grow on a person. He even had his own theorem about conversation. More than three awkward silences and the relationship was dead in the water. It didn’t help that his facial hair was too long to be fashionable and he refused to take an interest in his physical appearance. Usually only men in their fifties wore cardigans, a circumstance that Emily had been moaning about for years, to no avail.