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Juliette’s smile fades. She shrugs. “He wanted to call in and see his brother before we came to the party, but I was late leaving work, so we didn’t get time.”
“I thought your last appointment finished at five today,” I say.
“It did. I had a Zoom call with a few of the staff at Artemis about the robotic knee brace, and then I had a chat to Gillian. It took longer than I thought.”
Gillian Taylor is an expert in orthotics, and I know it’s an area that Juliette would like to get more involved in. They’re based in Melbourne. Did Juliette talk to her about a job? Ah, shit. She really is thinking about moving to Australia.
She’s looking down at the crossword at the moment, and the gold eyeshadow on her lids glitters in the fairy lights. Then she looks up at me. The bindis she usually wears are simple flat discs, but the one between her brows tonight is coral-colored with tiny gold stones, drawing attention to the gold flecks in her brown eyes. The look in them is full of misery and pain. She’s terribly unhappy, and I bet I know why. Ah, Juliette… why are you still with that fucking arsehole?
I let my gaze linger on the glittering bindi, fighting the urge to lean forward and kiss it. She’s always worn one from the moment I first met her in the university bar. Me, Alex, James, Tyson, and Damon, who now lives in Wellington, all studied computer engineering at university together. In our final year, Tyson was involved in a horrific car accident that left him in a wheelchair. The rest of us decided we were going to help him walk again, and we began to work on an exoskeleton that would help support him while he regained his mobility. The one thing missing was a physio who would help us with the medical side of things, someone to carry out the exercises. That problem was solved when, during a rugby match, Alex injured his hamstring and met Juliette. Impressed by her work, and liking her sense of humor and enthusiasm, he invited her to join us in the bar that evening to talk about what we were doing at Kia Kaha.
When she walked in, she was dressed much the same as all the other women in the bar, in tight jeans and a tee, but the blue bindi between her brows marked her as different right from the beginning. Over time, I learned that her father is a doctor originally from New Delhi who moved to New Zealand over twenty years ago, and that her maternal grandmother is Maori and her maternal grandfather is English. Juliette is a combination of these different cultures, all of which are very important to her. She has a Maori tattoo on her right arm, a rose of England on her left, and she wears a bindi between her brows as a symbol of her spirituality. I asked her once if she was a Hindu like her father, and she said she had faith, but not religion, which I thought was a great answer.
I’ve known her for six years, one month, and five days. And I’ve been in love with her for approximately six years, one month, and… yeah, five days. Not that I’ve ever told anyone, least of all her. When she came to the bar, Juliette was already dating Cam, and, to top that, we met the day after I proposed to Shaz. I loved my girlfriend and so I stayed with her, and went ahead and married her, and did my best by her, but sometimes I wonder whether my marriage would have had a different outcome if Juliette hadn’t been around.
I kinda hoped that when my divorce came through, she might finally ditch her wanker of a boyfriend, but even though they’ve had their ups and downs, she’s stuck by him. I’d never make a move on a woman who was taken, so here I am, still single, still in love, and still fantasizing that one day she’ll come to her senses and realize she’s picked the wrong guy.
I don’t know how Gaby has guessed how I feel about Juliette, because I’ve never discussed it with her, but hopefully she’ll keep it to herself. The last thing I need is Alex finding out. He disapproves of relationships in the workplace, and he’ll blow a gasket if he discovers I have feelings for her.
Cam comes back now and passes Juliette the glass of wine.
“Thank you,” she says. “Are you going to—”
He turns away from her, rudely cutting off her question. Her face reddens, and her eyes shine.
Fucking bastard.
Gaby exchanges a glance with her, then says she’s going to check what table we’re at, and gestures with her head for Juliette to go with her. She puts an arm around Juliette as they walk away, murmuring to her, so I know she’s trying to console her.
Cam looks down at my crossword. “Go on then, give me a clue.”
“Standing right in front of me,” I say, without looking at the paper. “Four letters. Begins with a C. Ends in T.”
Alex is in the process of having a mouthful of beer, and he coughs into his glass. Tyson stifles a laugh.
Cam’s eyes flare, and he stiffens. “Fuck you,” he says, with feeling.
I straighten, holding his gaze. At six-four, I’m a good three or four inches taller than him, and probably at least thirty pounds heavier, because he’s a skinny fucker.
“You want to say that again?” I demand.
“Oh look,” Alex says with heavy sarcasm, “here’s Aroha. Hey.”
Gaby’s best friend, Aroha, approaches us, and we all say hello, transformed back into gentlemen by her presence. I’m still bristling, furious at the way he’s treating Juliette, but Alex frowns at me, and I lean on the table again and return my gaze to the crossword.
“Everything all right?” Juliette asks me as she and Gaby return, obviously picking up on something.
I glance up at Cam, who’s still glaring at me. “Fine.” I return to the crossword.
I don’t say anything else, concentrating on finishing the clues. Missie finally arrives just as I fill in the last one, and I return the pencil to the bartender, then pick up my beer and follow the others over to our table. I’m not really in the mood for this tonight, but it’s too late to back out now.
I take the last seat on the bench, trying not to crush Aroha, who’s sitting between me and James, and find myself opposite Cam. Great. Now I have to spend the evening being glared at. I decide to ignore him completely, as I’m sure that will wind him up more than if I glare back at him.
Gaby and Tyson pull up two chairs at the end of the table, one of the waiters delivers a bowl of mulled wine, someone else hands out paper and pencils for the quiz, and then the MC begins his introduction.
From the start, there’s an awkward atmosphere around the table. It’s obvious to me that Juliette and Cam must have had words before they came out, and something’s also going on with James and his girlfriend Cassie, because she pulls out her phone and spends the whole of the first half of the quiz flicking through TikTok and not saying a word.
But the rest of us soldier on with the quiz, and as the alcohol continues to flow, we start to relax. Missie has managed to distract Alex, which is a relief, and Gaby and Tyson are on good form. Those of us who aren’t really into the mulled wine switch to whisky, and James orders doubles, so after a couple of drinks I’m feeling nicely mellow. Cam’s glares have intensified, though, probably because I’m ignoring him, and that amuses me. Everything would be perfect if it wasn’t for the fact that Juliette is quiet and obviously struggling this evening.
