‘Yeah, nothing on the roads. And before I forget, everyone sends their best wishes including Robbie Williams.’
There was the sound from the kitchen of a mug smashing on the tiled floor. Charlotte was clearly eavesdropping. ‘NotthatRobbie Williams,’ called Liv. ‘I’ll tell you later.’ There was some muttering from the kitchen by way of reply.
‘And it was Winnie who ghosted you,’ said Fraser.
‘What?’ Liv started to laugh.
‘It was Winnie on the internet. She thought she was helping but obviously she wasn’t.’
‘Shit. You mean it was little old Winnie who set up the fake profile?’ said Liv, quite bewildered.
‘Yeah. I know. She feels awful. Turns out she’s got a degree in computer science so she’s actually dead smart and computer-savvy. She was trying to find me someone but then she closed everything down without thinking through the impact of that. Sorry.’
‘You don’t say.’ Liv tried to process the information. ‘How did she not recognise me?’
‘She said the picture was of a blonde, elegant woman with film-star looks.’ Fraser had the good grace to look a little uncomfortable. ‘We thought maybe it wasn’t your photograph.’
‘Bloody cheek! Thatwasme. It was taken last summer.’
‘If it’s the one of you at that party, I did your make-up and it did have a filter on it,’ called Charlotte unhelpfully from the kitchen.
‘Still. I thought it looked like me. Maybe a best version of me. But anyway, we’ve gone down a rabbit hole. Why did she ghost me?’ This was the crux of everything. What was it about Liv that had made Winnie do this?
Fraser’s discomfort was increasing. ‘There’s a little place on the way to Edinburgh called Blackburn so she thought you were Scottish. But then when she realised you weren’t…’
‘She ghosted me because I’mEnglish.’
‘Winnie deleted it all in a bit of a panic, I think. She is truly sorry and sends her apologies. Oh, and these.’ He pulled a package from his pocket and handed it to Liv.
Liv read the wobbly handwriting on the label: ‘With love from the world’s worst matchmaker. Truly sorry. Love Winnie xx’
Liv unwrapped a pair of tartan slippers, which made her smile.
‘They’re regifted. A present from Winnie’s neighbour but they’re a couple of sizes too big for her,’ said Fraser but Liv was struggling to concentrate on what he was saying.
It was a lot to take in. More than anything she was relieved because she’d never felt Fraser was entirely convinced about her story and she could understand his scepticism when she had no proof. But best of all it meant it really was absolutely nothing to do with her. She couldn’t change being English. And now she didn’t want to change anything about herself at all.
‘I wasn’t expecting that,’ she said. ‘Not being funny or anything but you could have telephoned to tell me. Not that it’s not great to see you ’cause it is.’
‘I didn’t get you a present so…’ Fraser pulled another small neatly wrapped package from his pocket and handed it to her.
‘Thanks,’ she said as she pulled the paper off. She stared at the gift for a moment. ‘A signed Mariah Carey album. I don’t know what to say.’
‘I won it in a competition when I was a kid. Listened to nothing else that summer.’
‘I can’t accept it,’ said Liv trying to hand it back.
‘No, I want you to have it. I know you’re a fan too.’
Liv ran her thumb over the thick marker-pen signature. It was something she would treasure that was for sure. ‘Thank you. I’m blown away. I mean it’s a seriously close second to the slippers.’
‘I get that. Nothing beats second-hand tartan slippers. I’m glad you like the CD though and I wanted to see you open it. Not everyone gets Mariah.’
‘Thanks. I really appreciate you coming all this way on Christmas Day to play postman.’
‘And I also needed to tell you that I like you.’ Liv stopped staring at the CD. He liked her – this was huge. ‘I’m not expecting anything in return,’ he said hastily. ‘Because I think I could have behaved better, been nicer. Listened more. But in my defence you were a bit full-on crazy most of the time and none of what you said made much sense to me. Anyway, I’m sorry and I need to pass on a big sorry from Winnie too. Or did I already do that?’ He looked a little flustered, which was quite cute. ‘And Effie says hello and wanted me to give you a big hug but you might not want that now.’ It was funny to hear him ramble. It was the first time she could see the family similarity with Effie and it was endearing.
‘Apology accepted. I know I can be a bit intense when I’m focused on something,’ said Liv.
