‘Really? You think?’
‘You can see it a mile off. It’s like bonfire night looking at all the sparks between you two. I don’t blame you, though – he is utterly gorgeous.’
I look over at Abe, who is putting the drinks on a tray to bring over to us.
‘Yeah, he is. He’s so nice, as well.’
‘He certainly is, but if I were you, I wouldn’t rush into anything. Have fun and enjoy a bit of a fling perhaps. You’re literally living your best life right now. You have no idea how lucky you are to have nobody to answer to, and do what you want when you wake up. I mean, you can do your felting, go shopping… Forget that, maybe try and stay away from the shops, but you know what I mean, you can do anything you please. You don’t have anyone to rush home for. Quite honestly, that sounds like bliss.’
I know Debbie has sworn off men and marriage right now but she does have a point. Under no circumstances do I want to give up any of my independence.
‘You’re right.’ Maybe I shouldn’t get too involved with Abe. We’re good friends who have a bit of a thing going and that is where it needs to end. It would be incredibly awkward if anything went wrong between us with him living next door.
Luckily, we have just stopped talking about Abe as he places our hot chocolates and waffles down in front of us.
‘Oh, a man who makes the best hot chocolate and waffles. Perhaps your independence is overrated,’ says Debbie, laughing.
‘What’s that about independence?’ says Abe.
‘Oh, nothing. We were just talking about something. Thanks for these, Abe,’ I say.
‘He does seem to tick all the boxes,’ says Debbie, once Abe is out of earshot.
By the time she has finished herstroopwafelshe thinks even more highly of Abe.
‘On second thoughts, I think I’d marry someone this good. That was divine,’ teases Debbie.
‘The one thing I’ll never do is marry again. No matter how fabulous they are. I’ve been there and done that. I don’t think you have to marry someone to be committed.’
‘Look at you. You really have changed. Nobody is ever going to get you to settle down again, are they? Not even gorgeous Abe. You’re free as a bird. Oh, no, talking of freedom, or lack of it, Nigel’s texting. “When you coming back?” he says. When I’m bloody ready, Nigel. When I’m bloody ready. On second thoughts, I was right the first time. Never give in to a man. It’s a slippery slope. They start by wooing you with hot chocolate and end up driving you up the wall.’
‘You two really aren’t getting on, are you?’
‘No, not at all. Maybe we’ve been together for so long we’ve forgotten what we liked about each other in the first place. It’ll be forty years next January. Forty years! I suppose it’s to be expected that we drive each other insane at times. I was sixteen when I met him. He used to be fun then. Spontaneous and bonkers. He’d make me laugh. Now all he does is irritate me. You know, I nearly bought a book the other day. It was calledIs It a Divorce You Need or a HRT Patch?Right now, I think I need both.’
We burst out laughing and are so loud that Abe looks over from the counter and smiles at us.
We are giggling as we bid Abe goodbye and leave the coffee shop, walking arm in arm to our first tourist spot – the Rijksmuseum.
‘Oh, it’s good to have someone to share the sights with. I’m so glad you’re here.’
‘Me too. It’s not the same without my bestie next door. But now I can have fabulous holidays visiting you. It’s not all bad.’
‘That is true.’
At the Rijksmuseum we immediately head to the second floor so we can see the Great Hall. The headsets that we picked up feed us with information about the museum, telling us how the stained-glass windows, which depict the most important of Dutch artists, are dedicated to the art of sculpture and other mediums.
‘Can you imagine Nigel coming here? He’d want one of these stained-glass windows next to the front door if he had his way. That’d get the neighbours talking.’
Poor Debbie, she can’t get Nigel out of her mind. If I didn’t know better, I would think she is starting to miss him. Every other word seems to be about him.
Next, we head to The Gallery of Honour to see the Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer paintings. Debbie is excited about seeing a Rembrandt so close for the first time. We are both thrilled to find the famousNight Watchpainting. We try and count the number of characters in the painting but there are so many. The recorded guide tells us that there are thirty-four, which we can’t see clearly as the painting is under renovation. Although we don’t mind as it feels as if we are part of an important historic event as we witness restorers working on the piece of art.
‘Shall we head to the still life next?’ says Debbie.
‘Oh yes, I’m looking forward to this bit.’
The still life paintings are incredible. If we hadn’t had such a satisfying breakfast, they would make me hungry with the depictions of cheese, oysters and leftover dishes.
