"Yeah," she said, knowing she wouldn't.
They both stood. She stuck her hand out. He took it, holding it a moment too long before warming it between both of his.
"Think I can risk a hug?" he asked, with a smile.
Her throat felt like it was full of tears. "Yes."
He pulled her into a gentle, solid bear hug. He smelled like the woods and coffee
They broke apart awkwardly.
"You're gold, Rune. And he's a bloody twat." he paused, looking down at his scuffed shoes. "He has been summoned by his mum today. The ratty ol' hag must be talking his ear off."
"Serves him right" Rune answered with a watery grin.
"May I walk you to the station?"
"I'd rather you didn't," she said, not making eye contact. "Take care, Eli."
"Bye, Rune."
He picked up her neck scarf from the back of the chair and looped it carefully around her throat. Then, he adjusted her hat before she shrugged into her coat.
She turned and walked away. Neither of them noticed the man sitting two tables away, seemingly absorbed in a game of Sudoku.
The station wasn't far. She waited by the big billboard, ticket in hand. Three changes before she'd reach home.
Her Da, who also ran the local mechanic's shop, would be waiting to pick her up. They'd all once lived on the farm before moving closer to the hospital after Owain got sick. Her grandparents had stayed on, with the dogs, the sheep and the cows.
She couldn't wait to be back.
Chapter thirteen
Chapter 13
The journey home took three jumps. London to Chester. Chester to Llandudno Junction. And then the mad rush across the platform to catch the last train to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Through the window, she watched the scenery change. London's unpredictable weather gave way to Wales's even more moody temperament. The sky seemed lower here, heavy with fast-moving clouds. Mountains rose sharp and shadowed, the sea flashing in silver slivers when the train curved toward the coast. She knew these colours-a green so deep it was almost black, slate-grey peaks, the silver shimmer of the water, and the white specks of sheep scattered over hillsides.
The station at Blaenau Ffestiniog was just as she remembered, three platforms, small enough to cross in thirty strides. The coffee shop on the corner still had its sign in the same faded green. Mrs. Hughes was behind the counter as always, cheeks like shiny red apples, her white and pink floral dress peeking out under a well-worn cardigan. Her granddaughter, Ffion, wasn't there today, but Rune remembered her last phase – fire-red hair and enough piercings to qualify as a lethal weapon. Rune had once had a nose ring herself but that felt like a lifetime ago.
She stepped off the train, only to be immediately engulfed in a bear hug. She hadn't seen him coming, but she smelled him instantly, the sharp whiff of engine oil, the rusty tang of metal, and the warm, salty trace of sweat.
The smell of home.
"There's my little lass, yeah?" her Da said gruffly as if he hadn’t seen her just months back. "All grown up. Come on now, your mum's waiting."
The drive back to their semi-detached took them past abandoned slate heaps on the mountainside and the stone walls, sheep grazing right up to the roadside. The clouds hung low over the mountains, the air sharper than London's but also cleaner and somehow tangled with memory.
Her Da was a couple of inches taller than her, her mum matched his height exactly. Rune had the same grey-blue eyes as her Da while her slightly upturned nose and full, sensual lips came from her mother.
The homecoming was warm hugs and kisses, her mum fussing over her coat and hair, her eyes suspiciously wet as she held Rune for a few extra seconds.
"Let me look at you. Oh,Roo Bach*, you're too thin. That London food doesn't stick to your bones, does it?"
"Mam..." Rune laughed, while rolling her eyes.
Her mum waved her off, linking her arm through Rune's as they headed for the house. "Now, you've missed plenty while you've been away. You know Megan up at the post office? Well, her Idris has finally had that knee done, oh, the trouble he gave the surgeon,bechod**. And Carys, still running that café by the police station, but she's taken to baking bara brith every Thursday, so we've all put on a stone."
