‘Fuck off,’ he said, his hand flying to his scalp.
I grinned. He knew I was teasing – we were both lucky to still have thick heads of hair, but I knew Andy was paranoid aboutlooking old. ‘Anyway, I don’t want to talk about me. We need to sort out this mess you’ve got yourself into.’
‘I know.’ I sighed. ‘I don’t see that there is any way to sort it though.’
‘So, you’re still totally convinced that this Emma lives in 2019? There’s definitely no other explanation?’
I stared at him. ‘I’m completely certain.’
He held my gaze, then shook his head. ‘Well then, tell me about her.’
I closed my eyes and tried to think of the words to describe Emma. ‘She’s…’ I opened my eyes. ‘She’s amazing,’ I said, my voice cracking. ‘It’s not just that she’s beautiful, although she is. She’s got this amazing red hair, and piercing green eyes, and she’s funny and sad at the same time, and she likes sweets, and music and theatre and…’ I stopped, spinning my can round on the table, and looked at Andy. ‘You know, when Dawn died I never thought I’d even want to imagine a future with someone else. And yet now I’ve met Emma and we’ve talked for hours, we’ve shared so many things I never thought I’d share with anyone else apart from you. She’s… Meeting her has helped to mend my broken heart, Andy, and it feels magical.’ I swallowed. ‘Except now we’ve discovered that we can’t be together.’
‘Jesus, Nicky. I had no idea you were this serious about her.’
‘I am. I think…’ I shook my head. ‘Iknow– I’m falling in love with her.’
‘And does she feel the same way?’
I nodded sadly.
‘I don’t know what to tell you,’ Andy said. ‘I mean, this is insane. You know that, right?’
‘You think I’m insane?’ A beat of anger thumped in my veins.
But Andy shook his head. ‘Not you. This situation. It’s insane and, if what you say really is true, it’s completely impossible.’
‘You’re telling me.’ I decided to ignore the implication that he still didn’t believe me.
‘So what are you going to do about it?’
I shrugged. ‘Both of us have thought about nothing else. But we’ve run out of ideas.’
‘So you say you can only see each other in the bandstand?’
I nodded.
‘And she lives in your house?’
I nodded again.
Andy screwed his face up, thinking.
‘No,’ I said.
He looked at me. ‘No what?’
‘I know what you’re thinking.’
‘You don’t.’
‘You’re wondering why I don’t ask her to look for me in 2019.’
He nodded. ‘Okay, I was wondering that.’
‘It’s not an option.’
‘It’s not ideal. But if she really is in 2019 then itisan option.’
