It’s Portia, who approaches to our bewilderment.
Harring – damn him – reaches the door quickly. “I, um, I’m busy, I left the oven on and… good luck, Parker!”
“Harring… the same old fearless knight,” Portia comments, once we’re alone.
“What brings you here?” I ask, trying to look as relaxed as possible.
“My brother plays on the opposing team, remember?”
“Sure.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me how I am?”
“How are you?” I repeat, flatly.
“Fine,” she says, but her expression is impossible to decipher.
“I’m glad.”
“Sure, I see that.”
“Sorry about earlier,” is all I can say. “That came out wrong…”
“Oh, so you’re apologising about what you said a little while ago. I must have missed something, though, because I don’t remember you apologising for vanishing and reappearing with a wedding ring on your finger and a wife from Lewisham. Perhaps because you never did.” Portia is a master at disguising resentment; despite what she said, her expression is an enigma.
“Love at first sight,” I explain.
“You? You can’t believe I will buy such a pathetic excuse.”
“What do you want from me, Portia?” I ask, exasperated.
“At first, I yearned for revenge, then I just wanted to make you feel like a worm. Now, I don’t want anything. Being a woman, I’m used to whimsical men who may have passed thirty but are nothing but spoilt babies. In any case, I hope you didn’t think that I would turn a blind eye and not say a word.”
“Perhaps I should have been clearer, but you and I were never a couple.”
“And therefore you didn’t think it was necessary to talk to me. I’m okay with that. Let’s get this straight: I didn’t lose any sleep over you.”
She’s exasperating! Like a boa constrictor that wraps around its prey before strangling it in its coils.
“Peace.” Suddenly, her expression changes, showing a peaceful and diplomatic smile. “We’re adults and we move in the same social circles. Let’s do it in a relaxed way, free from embarrassment,” she reaches out her hand. “Now that we have broken the ice, there’s no point in avoiding each other at all costs. We can breathe the same air. I hope you are happy and treat your wife better than you treated me.”
I shake her hand. “Well then. See you, Portia.”
“Yes, I’d better get going. I don’t want to miss the team taking to the field. I wish you good luck, but don’t hope that I’ll support your team, this time.”
“Thanks,” I dismiss her.
Shortly after Portia left, Jemma arrives at the stables.
“Hey sunshine!” I greet her, picking her up in my arms.
“I thought you were with Harring.”
“I was, he left a while ago.”
“Portia came out from here a little while ago, not Harring,” her voice is shaky.
“Her brother plays in the opposing team. She stopped in to say hello. And to talk.”
