“Uh-huh,” her mouth screws up like a duck’s backside.
I mumble again to Ash, “Do me a favour and let’s get out of here as quick as possible.”
“How can I resist.” His eyebrows wiggle suggestively, to which I respond with a slap to his chest.
“I’ve finished the tables, so I’m going now Rosie,” I say while hanging up my apron.
“You can’t put it off forever.”
“Oh yes I can,” I call back, pushing Ash out the door. “See you in the morning.”
The door slowly draws to a close behind us and I drag him down the road towards home.
“What was all that about?” he asks.
“Just the whole situation with Scott.”
“And? Is it getting any better?”
It seems my issues with Scott run deeper than I’ve thought about. I don’t want to confront my feelings head-on. Instead, I put on a brave face knowing Ash is eager for us to be friends. “Oh, yeah, pretty good.”
“No awkwardness?”
“Well, yeah. It’s been awkward as hell, to be honest, butthe café’s been too busy for us to talk about anything serious. It’s when we stop working, it feels… strange. He seems to have changed though, and like you said, all I can do is give him a chance.” I press my lips together in a hard line.
“Then that’s good, right?”
I nod, “Yeah, definitely, but Rosie thinks I should talk to my mum about Scott’s dad and get her side of the story.”
“Cal, remember he’s your dad too.”
I stop in my tracks as my stomach drops. “Ash, I’m not ready for all this. You can’t expect Scott to drop this news like a bomb in my lap and for me to be fine with it. It’s like today. I’m sure Rosie was expecting everything to be hunky-dory by now—like in a bloody Disney film or something. Jesus, this is huge for me, you know. I need time to get used to it all and the last thing I want is to get in touch with Mum. Our relationship is amicable, at best.”
His next offer throws me off balance. “We could see your mum together if it helps?”
“In Edinburgh?”
“Sure, why not? We could make a weekend of it.”
“Nooo,” I laugh out. “Absolutely not.”
“You ashamed of me?” He smirks, smoothing his hand over my lower back and down to my bum.
“I could never be ashamed of you, believe me, but chances are, she’ll fancy you for herself. Honestly, it’s for your own protection.”
“What the fuck?” He laughs. “This is your mum you’re talking about, right?”
“You think I’m joking? I’m not exaggerating when I say my mother would eat you for breakfast. She’s something else.”
“I’ll pass in that case.”
It’s alright for him to laugh it off so freely, but he has no idea how accurately I’ve just described her. The woman has no shame, no scruples, no respect for anyone, including herself, which is why I didn’t question Scott’s story too much.
We walk down the narrow streets, hand in hand but silent until Ash says, “Want to talk things over some more? It’s like you’re bottling everything up, Cal.”
I blink several times to hydrate and soothe my bone-dry eyes. “To be honest, I could do with forgetting about it—just for tonight. Actually, I thought I could make you some dinner?” I ask, swiftly changing the subject.
“Tonight?”
