‘Well, I’m glad I managed to change your mind on that one, Lucy.’
I have goosebumps as I look at Elias and our surroundings. I don’t know if it is the emotions of being somewhere so beguiling or the slight chill in the air from being above sea level, but I wrap my pashmina around me that little bit tighter.
When the food arrives, it warms me up. The crab ravioli is to die for, and when dessert comes around, Elias’s eyes light up at the waiter’s suggestion of rice pudding.
‘I bet it won’t be as good as my mum’s,’ says Elias.
‘Was she a good cook?’
‘Oh, she was the best. I’d come home from school, and she’d always have something piping hot from the oven. She enjoyed her cooking, did my mum.’
‘Yeah, my mother used to be a good cook. I hate to admit, but I definitely didn’t follow in her footsteps. She used to try and show me stuff, but I was too young to be interested in cooking, really. I was more bothered about going out clubbing.’
I think of Poppy and Jasmine, who I am starting to miss. Maybe that’s why I am so protective of them on their nights out. I still remember what Soraya, Carol and I used to get up to.
‘So, were you a wild party boy when you were younger then?’
‘No. Met Jane in school. We got engaged at eighteen. I took her out on her first date when she was fourteen. Only to an amusement arcade, mind you.’
‘That’s so sweet.’
‘How about you? I can see someone annoys you on the phone from time to time. Your ex-husband, I’m guessing?’
Despite all our discussions, I have tried to keep Michael out of our conversations until now.
‘Ha. Yeah. He’s always annoying me. So Michael… Or Mickey, as he prefers to be known nowadays… wasn’t a bad husband. I loved him. Met him when I worked in a retail store in town. He used to come in every Saturday looking for something to wear out on the town. He kept asking me for advice and then buying whatever I suggested. The girls in work always teased me that he fancied me. Eventually, I realised they were right when he asked me out one Saturday. I agreed, we went on a date to the cinema, some cheesy film, which I’m ashamed to admit I don’t even remember now, and then we just hung around all the time. Then one day we realised we’d been dating for two years, and so we got engaged, married, had the girls and then… Well, he decided he wasn’t getting any younger and, let’s say, wanted to experience new things. Anyway, it’s beautiful here, and that’s enough about him.’
‘Of course. I’m sorry to hear about what happened, though.’
‘It’s worse for you, losing the love of your life like that. I suppose Michael and I just plodded along. We fell into it all. It sounds like you and Jane knew from the start what you both wanted.’
‘Yeah, we did. But sometimes you just do.’
I look away as Elias smiles at me. I gaze down at the flickering candle, anywhere but his eyes, which seem so sincere. It is all getting so intense.
‘And now we crossed paths. If Michael hadn’t had his midlife crisis, I wouldn’t be sat here. I’d be watching TV back home in my dressing gown most probably.’
We both laugh as the waiter turns up with our bowls of rice pudding. They are a lot fancier than anything a normal mum would make, with the side of the dish decorated with pretty little lavender violas.
I take a spoonful of my creamy rice pudding. It has a tang that I can’t quite place, but I expect it is a melange of so many different ingredients.
‘What’s the verdict then? How does it compare with your mum’s?’
Elias looks around, leans in and whispers closely, ‘It’s nice. But not a patch on my mum’s and a damn sight more expensive too.’ Then he laughs and makes a face and we both start to get the giggles. The other diners, enjoying the candlelit romance of our surroundings, look at us in disgust as Elias’s loud laugh reverberates throughout the terrace. It makes us laugh harder and louder until we can’t stop, and I begin to realise that as fabulous as this place is, we probably don’t fit in with the rest of the guests, who seem to think we are a bit beneath them.
‘Old money,’ winks Elias.
We manage to stop laughing before we get told off and finish the evening with a nightcap at the bar where Elias tells me about his heart attack.
‘I have to confess, when we stayed on the boat, I was so worried about my scar. You’re the first person to have seen it and the only woman since…’
‘It doesn’t bother me at all, Elias. I hope you realise that things like that mean nothing at all to me. I’m just glad the op saved your life and you’re here with me now and okay.’
‘That means a lot. My confidence took a bit of a hit after it. Of course, first of all I was paranoid about having another heart attack. But I was never in bad shape doing the window cleaning round, you know? It kept me fit, and suddenly, I realised I wasn’t as fit as my body looked on the outside. Maybe it was the stress of the business side. Chasing payments and all that.’
‘It’s hard as we get older with health scares. You just have to try and do everything in moderation and look after yourself.’
‘Yes, indeed. Time is limited. So, what do you want for the future?’
