‘Because that would not reflect my immense skill and talent.’ He cracked his fingers painfully and began pulling out various drawing utensils from his bag.
‘Forget me not,’ Eleanor whispered to herself, closing her eyes and allowing her mind to wander freely.
Then all at once, his face appeared before her, as clear and real as if he were standing right in front of her.
‘OK, Dad.’ She reached for a pencil. ‘Let’s do it.’
*
By Friday night her avoidance plans had been thwarted. Ben had surprised her by turning up on her doorstep with takeout and dark chocolate.
‘If the lady won’t come to me, then I guess I will just have to come to her.’ He shrugged, handing her the plastic bags full of food.
‘Ben!’ She was thrown completely, her mind a blur of thoughts and her heart a whirr of feelings. ‘You really shouldn’t have.’
‘I wanted to see you.’ His smiling face dropped. ‘Wait, are you busy? Sorry, I didn’t even think. Do you have people over?’
Eleanor couldn’t help but laugh. ‘No, it’s fine, come in.’ She turned and walked back into the kitchen, her stomach growling in response to the spicy aromas wafting from the bags in his hands.
‘Pretty full-on week for you then, hey?’ he asked, leaning his sturdy frame against the worktop. He couldn’t look any more different from Fin if he tried.
Why are you even thinking about Fin right now?
I’m not thinking about him.
I was just observing.
Well, don’t.
‘Yeah, it’s been busier than I expected.’ She unpacked the boxes, trying not to meet his gaze. ‘How was yours?’
‘Fine. Same old, same old for me.’ He came and stood behind her, placing his hands around her waist. The touch of him made her skin prickle with goosebumps. ‘Definitely much better now.’ He nuzzled his face into the back of her neck.
‘Hey!’ She melted a little. ‘We’d better eat or this will get cold.’
‘Argh,’ he groaned as Eleanor pulled away. ‘You’re killing me over here. I haven’t seen you in so long.’ Ben ran a hand across his shaven head.
Just like Fin.
She shook the thought from her mind and busied herself with grabbing fistfuls of cutlery.
Pull yourself together.
She turned to face him, her lips curling into a wry smile. ‘Well, Mr Ryans, the quicker we eat the quicker we can …’ She paused, surprised by her own boldness. ‘Dootherthings.’
His blue eyes flashed with excitement. He grabbed the food and ran to the table. ‘Hurry up then, what are you waiting for?’
‘You’re ridiculous.’ She laughed. ‘Only here for one thing. Typical.’
‘Yeah.’ He looked up at her, fixing his eyes on hers with an intense gaze. ‘I’m here for you.’
Eleanor’s body burned with a confusing mix of longing and guilt. She forced her eyes away from his and laughed self-consciously. ‘And look at that, here I am.’
‘I love it when you get all shy.’
Eleanor shot him a glaring look.
‘All right, all right, I’ll be quiet and eat.’ He reached over and took one of the trays of food, unloading it hastily on to his plate. ‘How’s Fin doing?’
