letters to dan // dan smith

Chapter 23

"Steph, sweetie, listen..." Beth sighs, trying to console her crying friend, "it's okay, he's just another guy. If he left you like that, without even explaining, he's a douche and he doesn't deserve you." Beth waits for a response, but hears only quiet sobs and someone speaking frantically in French behind her.

Steph had met a guy on her trip to Paris, and had fallen madly in love with him. Things were going so well and then just-

"I can't believe he just dumped me! One minute we're looking online for an apartment, the next he says he's going out for coffee. By himself," The last part is spoken with an awful French accent, "And then he comes back and says 'leesten, I don't think I can see you anymore, I'll book you a hotel room for tonight, you feegure it out from there' and that's it!" There's a moment of silence, and then Steph gasps. "Oh my god, you don't think he cheated, do you?"

Yes, Beth thinks, of course he fucking did what the hell do you think, and then Beth feels guilty for being a horrible friend, and then Beth remembers she's supposed to meet Dan for dinner in 20 minutes, and decides to end this conversation quickly. "No, of course not, don't be silly Steph, he's an ass, but he's not an idiot, look how well he treated you,"

"But-" Steph interrupts.

Beth groans inwardly, praying to god that she never mentioned to Steph that her mum lives in Manchester. "Listen, Steph, I'm meeting mum for dinner and I don't want to be late, so I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay," Steph sniffles, before hanging up.

Beth groans again, loudly this time, and sprints towards their room, praying that she'd left some decent clothes here, because she'd worn nothing but trackies and sweaters since... Well she couldn't really remember how long it's been since she's worn proper clothes. Finally Beth digs out the shirt she wore to the airport, along with a skirt. She puts on the blouse, hoping that it will button up over her now-large stomach - It had got a lot bigger since the last time she'd worn it, almost three months ago. Thankfully it does, so Beth puts on the skirt that her mum had bought her, with the stretchy part over the tummy. Once she finds some boots, tights and a black sweater, she's ready to go. As Beth stands in the bathroom brushing her teeth, she glances at herself in the mirror and realises no, she's not ready to go. After a moment's hesitation, she decides it's better to be a bit late but look presentable, than to be on time but look like a scarecrow who's been to hell and back. She splashes her face with cold water and runs a brush through her hair, gritting her teeth when it gets caught on knots.

There, that should do, she thinks.

"Bye Cal," she tells her puppy, kneeling down to pat him before leaving the apartment.

***

As Beth steps out of her car (she'd finally got around to buying one, a beat up second-hand red Holden), she realises that she is extraordinarily underdressed, and when she goes inside the restaurant and sees Dan in a suit (something she's seen maybe once before), she feels as though she's come in her pyjamas. She wonders if maybe she slips out now, Dan won't notice her, and she can call him up and say she'll be late because of traffic, which will give her time to go home and get changed. But just as she's about to slip outside, a waitress comes over.

"Hi, do you have a booking?"

Beth panics, realising, too late, that there is no getting out of this situation. Unless...

"I... Uh, could I possibly use the bathroom?" Beth asks.

"Yes, of course, right this way," the waitress replies, leading her to the bathroom.