‘That’s specific. Well, you weren’t too wide of the mark. He’s half foreign, he’s funny and he will drive my parents ballistic.’
‘He will? As in, you will tell them?’
‘I won’t sit them down for a special announcement, but my future with Loris is a big question mark, so I’d like to simplify our present. Once Milton and Alice are done digesting our breakup, I might stop hiding and… come what may.’
‘Except we’re not breaking up.’
‘We are…’
‘No.’
A tension Charles wasn’t expecting joins the table. He thought they were on the same wavelength about ending their relationship, but given how fast Elsy went from chill to wound up, that was a very incorrect assumption.
‘I can’t make out with you anymore, like we did last night. Even just for show.’
‘I get that. You’ll keep the French kissing for Loris. We just have to come up with new convincing ways to—’
‘It’s not only about him. It’s our arrangement. I want to stop.’
‘But you can’t make that call on your own. Without warning, at that!’
Charles clutches back his mug, regretting his resolution to leave his pen in the flat. ‘Aren’t you tired of scheming? And what’s the point? Your relationship with Catriona is good now.’
‘Yes, because my romantic life, which she could be a nightmare about, is up to her standards! Indeed, we’ve built a good relationship, against all odds, and I’m not ready to give it up for daily strops and constant policing.’
Charles sighs and ducks his head, whipsawed between his guilt and the steadiest determination he’s ever been driven by.
After a moment of loaded silence, Elsy softens. ‘I’m so glad you’ve stopped giving a fuck about your parents’ approval. And I’m sorry about the awful revelations it took for you to get there. Chips, look at me.’
He obliges with another sigh, awaiting the ‘but’ that might invalid her caring statement.
‘But it’s different for me. I love my control freak of a mother, and I wasn’t planning on becoming her biggest disappointment just yet.Not until I get a great position in a great marketing company to make up for my loose morals.’
‘If I dump you, she’ll understand you’re taking it hard and she’ll give you a break. Especially if I dump you for a man.’
‘Fat chance! She’ll introduce me to all remaining bachelors before word gets around that I put you off women.’
‘I’ll explain that’s not it.’
‘You want to give Catriona a “It’s not her, it’s me” kind of speech?’
‘I’d do anything to help you cope with my decision, because… it’s final.’ Charles sits straighter, hoping to appear more confident than he sounds. ‘This is non-negotiable.’
He’s perhaps being a bit selfish, but he’s not breaching the terms and conditions Elsy came up with herself, four years ago. They were only supposed to pretend until he met someone. She also said they would pull the plug if it ever became too messy for him. And she’s perceptive, she knows he’s been struggling with the situation lately. He’s not mad that she turned a blind eye while he kept quiet about it, but he would be disappointed if she didn’t admit that she chose to ignore the warning signs.
‘Are you for real? I’m never more attracted to you than when you’re all assertive, and you’re pulling this now that you’re off limits?!’
‘That’s what’s upsetting you the most?’
‘That’s what I’m entitled to scold you about,’ she says, folding her arms. ‘Alright, I need to confer with myself for two minutes. Can you get us another round?’
Charles stands up with an apologetic pout that makes Elsy roll her affectionate eyes.
He collects their empty mugs and walks to the counter, his stress ebbing away. He might have to meet Elsy halfway, but compromising is a better outcome than the argument he was bracing himself for.
He asks for two teas and a slice of cake, and checks his messages while the barista prepares his order.
17:35 SPENCERgot a date on saturday but told her i ran a 15k last weekend so need to have broken my leg since
