‘Really? Rude.’ He lowered the hand, looking wildly offended. ‘Whatever. Glad you’re here, saved me a long drive. Who wants a drink?’
‘And the gang’s all here,’ Derek said to me. ‘Right. Since I’ve not had one ounce of sense out of the boy, perhaps you can enlighten me as to what the bloody hell’s been going on?’
I looked at Callum and Callum looked at me.
Silence.
‘I don’t really know where to start,’ I said, not sure who I was talking to. His father asked the question but Callum was the only one I cared about. ‘I didn’t mean any harm.’
‘Apology not expected,’ Derek declared.
‘Good because I didn’t apologize.’
‘Dad, give it a break,’ Callum said, finally finding his voice. ‘I have explained, you just don’t want to hear it. Laura hasn’t done anything wrong.’
‘Not entirely true,’ I muttered, thinking about but not speaking of the massage from hell.
Callum came forward, stepping in front of his parents, Rory and Elsie behind them, and a couple of old dears at the closest table completely rapt.
‘You’re here,’ he said to me. His eyes roamed my face, my body, as though he was looking for something that would prove otherwise, that I was a cardboard cut-out or greenscreen projection. ‘How are you here?’
‘She popped in for a pint.’
‘Unhelpful, Else,’ Rory clipped his sister around the back of the head.
‘Only telling you what she told me,’ she replied, immediately slapping him back in true sibling stylethen glancing down at the car keys in his hand. ‘Will you drive me home please?’
‘Are you insane?’ he said with a screech of disbelief. ‘And miss whatever the fuck this is? Not a bloody chance, sit your arse down, Elsie McClay.’
He didn’t know it but they were my thoughts exactly. Whatwasthis? What would Callum say? Why did Derek look like he’d just had a gobstopper from Willy Wonka’s factory? When would Elsie launch herself on me like a silverback gorilla and beat me around the head with one of Graham’s homemade Scotch eggs? And why, oh why, was Lizziesmiling?
‘You’re here,’ Callum said again, breathing out the second word on a sigh.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘There’s a chance I was a bit rash in leaving.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Hmm.’ I offered a slow nod. ‘Desi thought you might have something to say and I didn’t really give you a chance to say it.’
His lips twitched and the ghost of a smile passed behind his eyes.
‘That’s what Desi thought, is it?’
‘And Joel. And the security guard at the little M&S at the service station but that’s a longer story.’
‘One we’ll be coming back to.’
It felt as though I was watching it all happen from outside my body, hanging from the rafters above and wincing at the absurd, blank expression on my face as Callum came closer, until we were toe-to-toe, and took my hands in his.
‘Is this OK?’ he asked, very, very softly.
‘Yes,’ I said, rushing back into myself at the touch of his soft, warm skin. ‘It’s OK.’
‘Good. Joel, Desi and your man at M&S were right. Mum, Dad,’ He turned toward his parents, Derek still purple-faced and fractious, Lizzie looking strangely pleased. ‘I’d like to introduce you to someone, this is Laura Pearce, she’s a neurosurgeon.’
‘Trainee neuro— you know what, never mind,’ I said, cutting myself off. ‘Yes, I’m a neurosurgeon.’
‘Wouldn’t want her fiddling around in my brain,’ Elsie muttered, loud enough to make sure we all heard.
