‘I’m not here to fight with you,’ I said with sigh. ‘I’m here to talk to Callum. Is he here?’
She scoffed, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and almost taking a passing man’s eye out with it. ‘I think we’ve all heard more than enough out of you.’
A lesser woman, a lesser version of me even, would’ve taken this as a sign. The universe did not want me to speak to Callum. Why else would they put this gorgon in my way? But my emotional shutdown switch had been permanently eliminated and my fear of confrontation was gone with it.
‘No, Elsie, I don’t think you’ve heard enough from me,’ I said, standing my ground. ‘I don’t think you’ve heard anything from me as it happens. You heard from Caroline, and last time I checked, you’re the super sleuth who worked out she doesn’t exist.’
‘I don’t know where you get the audacity to even still be here,’ she said, seething. ‘Let alone the fact you haven’t even tried to apologize.’
‘For what?!’ I demanded. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong! And correct me if I’m wrong but after the way you acted this morning, I’m not exactly breaking my neck to make things right with you. Pretending to be Callum’s girlfriend might’ve been stupid but what you did was thoughtless and cruel, not just to Callum but to your whole family.’
She pursed her lips, eyes flickering to the floor because even Elsie McClay had to know there was truth in what I’d said. But she wasn’t ready to back down just yet.
‘You should at least say sorry to Shiv.’
‘Who should do what to Shiv?’
Callum’s ex was on her feet, perfect blonde hairbobbing about the shoulders of her fuzzy Christmas jumper.
‘She, whoever she is, owes you an apology,’ Elsie stated.
‘What for?’ Shiv asked.
‘Messing things up with you and Callum.’
‘Oh my God, not this again.’
Rolling her eyes wasn’t enough. Shiv rolled her entire head around on her shoulders before throwing her hands up to the sky. ‘Else, how many times do I have to tell you, I do not now, nor will I ever want to get back together with Callum!’
Well. That was news to me.
‘You don’t?’ I said.
‘What?’ Shiv turned to look at me, eyes scrunched up as though I’d just said the most out of pocket thing she’d ever heard. ‘No! You couldn’t pay me to have him back. Why would you think otherwise?’
‘But you wanted to marry him? And Graham said …’ I stammered. ‘And his dad, and Elsie … ?’
‘Not that I owe you an explanation but yes, I let everyone convince me we should get married. In reality, I was trying to patch up something that was already over. If he’d gone along with it, we’d both be miserable,’ she said as my words faded away. ‘And strangely enough, I don’t share my innermost thoughts with my ex-boyfriend’s dad or his best friend, and believe it or not, Else isn’t exactly the best person to talk to when it comes to Cal.’
‘I’m stood right here, you know,’ Elsie said, tapping her friend on the shoulder.
‘Good, maybe it’ll sink in this time,’ Shiv replied, sounding exasperated. ‘I’m not getting back togetherwith your brother, I’m completely and utterly over him, and there’s no secret plan to bring him back and usurp you from the farm throne.’
‘Actually, there is, sort of, but it’s your dad, not Callum,’ I said. ‘Which probably doesn’t make you feel any better now I think about it, sorry.’
‘Why were you talking to Graham and Elsie and Derek about me and Callum?’ Shiv asked, turning her keen eyes on me. ‘If you’re only pretending to be his girlfriend, what would it matter?’
‘General curiosity?’
She squinted at me and I could almost feel her picking through my brain.
‘Are you in love with him?’
‘No,’ I replied, face instantly flaming. ‘It’s just, well, you weren’t very nice to me when we met.’
‘I don’t remember you passing out friendship bracelets either,’ she replied. ‘The fact I wasn’t turning cartwheels when we met doesn’t mean I want to get back with Cal, only that I don’t know you. He’s still my ex, forgive me for not being evolved enough to invite his new girlfriend over for pizza and a sleepover.’
I couldn’t argue with her logic. Even though Shiv had given no indication she wanted to reconcile with Callum, it hadn’t even occurred to me that Graham, Derek and Elsie could be wrong about her intentions. So caught up in my own confusing feelings, I couldn’t even imagine a world where she wouldn’t want to be with him.
