“I bet you were in a sorority,” I said with a wink. “With all those girls in matching pink jumpers. Did you have a pink jumper, maybe with some Greek letters on the front?”
Kate blushed bright red. “I was in a sorority,” she said after a moment. “But we didn’t wear pink sweaters. They were teal,” she said. “And they had to be properly teal. If they didn’t match, we couldn’t wear them.” She laughed. “But I didn’t party very much. I was on a scholarship, so I didn’t want to lose it. Lizzy and I grew up in the country and college was the first chance I really had to be around a lot of people.”
I liked this Kate, the kind of Kate that loosened up and told me things about her past. I grinned. “You feel like dinner?”
Kate nodded. “Can you believe it, but I’m starving,” she said mildly. “After Lizzy was discharged, I took her home and then spent the whole day walking around. It was so nice outside, but my legs are killing me now. Manchester’s a great city.”
“It is,” I nodded. “What d’ya like best about it so far?”
Kate grinned. “Well, the food is incredible, despite everyone back home always complaining about how English food is allegedly so bland and boring,” she said as she reached for a menu. “What would you recommend here? Have you been here before?”
“All the time,” I replied. “This is like a second home to me. And another one of those few places I can go without being mobbed by fans.”
“Cool. So what should I have?”
“The fish and chips is good,” I said. “Also the corned beef, if you want something a little heavier.”
Kate drained her beer and set the glass on the counter. “I’ll have what you’re having again,” she said. “And another one of those.” She pointed at the empty pint glass. “That was incredible. And I usually don’t even like beer!”
I chuckled. “Blimey, I’m in a pub with a snobby wine drinker,” I teased. “If only my mates could see me now!”
Kate grinned. I liked that she could take some teasing and knew it was all just a lighthearted joke. “Would they give you hell?”
“Oh, absolutely,” I said, making my voice as serious as I could. “Little gives them more offense than women who refuse to drink beer because it’s not feminine.”
“I never got the chance to really get into beer. Even the guys I work with are wine drinkers,” Kate mused.
I imagined her colleagues sashaying around the set of her show. “I bet you’re around some real pricks,” I said. “All those media types.”
Kate laughed again, louder this time. “You could definitely say that about a couple of them,” she said. “But overall, the people are great.”
The barkeep brought us two more glasses of dark ale, and he looked expectantly from me to Kate. “Decide on some grub?”
“We’ll both have the brisket sandwich, with a side of chips and slaw,” I said. “And keep the ales coming. Thanks, mate!”
Kate turned to me. “That does sound good,” she said. “And I trust your taste after the amazing Chinese food we had the other day. Thank you for ordering.”
I grinned. “Not a problem. So, you like this place?”
Kate looked around, her deep green eyes taking in everything there was to see. “I do,” she said. “But again, it’s surprising. I keep thinking you’d have more expensive tastes.”
“I do, sometimes,” I said. “But I grew up so close to here, I wanted you to see it. It’s one of my favorite places to come when I want to be alone. Remember the other night, I told you about living with my uncle?”
She nodded. “Yeah,” she replied. “I remember. Does he live around here?”
I pointed up towards the ceiling of the bar. It had originally been white, but it was stained and yellowed with decades worth of nicotine.
“He lives right up there,” I said. “He owns this place. I lived with him after my parents died.”
Kate looked at me with her mouth in a little ‘o’ of surprise. “They died?” she said. “Oh god, how awful. I’m so sorry, Jay.”
“It was an IRA car bombing,” I said sourly as I reached for my beer and poured some down my throat. “Coroner said they had no idea, that they didn’t see it coming. At least they died quickly.”
Kate was looking at me with a mixture of horror and pity on her lovely face, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. As shitty as things had been back then, I didn’t want her feeling sorry for me. “I had a rough childhood,” I said. “But my uncle really did me right, he made sure I grew up properly. He had to teach me all about hard work. I started playing football when I moved out here, and he was the one to teach me about dedication.”