She meets his eyes and something passes between them.
‘You will have to show her, Luke. Don’t just tell her.’
He knows words are not enough. Every year, he tries to show her with his anniversary gift, trying to find something interesting and creative related to the symbol of their years together, to tell her that. She always smiles and looks pleased, always says how much she loves his gifts, but he’s started to wonder if she’s receiving the message he’s trying to send her.
‘I have a special present planned for this year. I couldn’t make something of tin – it’s too soft – but pewter is made of mostly tin, so I went with that.’ He thinks about the hours he put into the thought and design, the extortionate amount he spent on the metal work and jewellery designer who helped him put it alltogether. The commission is something that hopefully will show Jess just how central she is to his life, that he would like her to be woven into every part of it. If only she’d let him.
And then there’s the biggest surprise of all. Her mother. He’s invited her to the party. And if those two things don’t work together, he has no idea what he’s going to do.
TIN
Tin is a malleable silvery-white metal that is most often alloyed. While it may borrow strength from the metals it is mixed with, tin will not tarnish or rust. It may seem lowly and unassuming compared to precious metals, but do not be fooled – there is nothing better for the purposes of storage and preservation. Some items made from this material may last a lifetime.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
JESS
I wake up with a jolt. No! I can’t have fallen asleep! I need to … I need to …
What the heck?
Last time I remember feeling sleepy I was on the sofa downstairs, but now I’m back in bed again. On my own, which must mean that I’ve slept in. How did I get here? I don’t remember walking myself up the stairs!
Oh.
I’m too late.
My stomach swoops. This is it. Today’s the day.
I bring my left hand out from under the duvet to where I can see it, but my ring finger still only has two rings on it instead of three. What am I going to do? And what is Luke going to say if he discovers I’ve misplaced a family heirloom? I’m going to have to try and find it, or at the very least prevent him from noticing its absence until this day is over.
Have I been without it for a whole year? That can’t be good. When Luke’s grandma lost it at the beach, it came back to her within twenty-four hours, but I skipped right over that day,and hundreds of other ones after it. What does it mean that it hasn’t found its way back to me? Has it considered me somehow unworthy?
But there’s not much I can do about that now. I’m just going to have to put my best foot forward, build on everything I’ve already tried to change, and hope I’ve done enough. I take a few deep breaths, flip the duvet back and get out of bed.
I find Luke downstairs, sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea, engrossed in his phone. ‘Morning, gorgeous!’ I say, cheerily. ‘I think it’s your turn to make the pancakes this year!’
He frowns at me. ‘What pancakes?’
I put my hands on my hips. ‘You know … the banana and blueberry pancakes. Our tradition.’ Or it seems to have become that over the last few years.
Luke looks perplexed and he stands and goes over to the fridge. ‘Do we even have any blueberries? Or eggs, for that matter?’
‘Um … I don’t know.’
He opens the fridge door and scans the interior. ‘Eggs, no. Blueberries, yes. You can always have them with yoghurt.’
I blink. Yes, I can, I suppose. He stands back from the fridge door and allows me to gather what I need to make myself some breakfast. When he returns to the table and picks up his phone, I notice a plate with toast crumbs sitting next to his mug. He must have eaten without me.
As I dollop yoghurt into a bowl and start hunting through the kitchen cupboard for some almonds or pecans to sprinkle on top along with the blueberries, I start chattering away to him. ‘When are you off work this afternoon?’
‘Normal time,’ he says without looking up from his phone.
‘You’re not finishing early because of the party?’
‘You said you had it all covered. And we knew that was the downside of doing it on our actual anniversary rather than waiting for the weekend.’
‘Oh, yes. I forgot.’ I sit down opposite him with my breakfast, and he still doesn’t look up from his screen. ‘What have you got planned for today? Have you got any prospects on the go in terms of houses?’
