‘Oops, sorry!’ Guiltily, I dropped my mobile onto my lap. I’d had a message from my friend Dawn, reminding me that we were meeting for lunch on Saturday. Another trek into the city. I could only hope the weather had improved by then.
‘I should think so too,’ he said. Scrolling down he added casually, ‘have you heard back yet?’
‘Huh?’ I’d found the remote for the television and was searching for something worth watching.
‘I’m guessing you want the extra spicy burrito meal?’
‘Yes please. With beef and black beans. Make it a large one.’
Rory raised an eyebrow and I shrugged defensively. ‘I didn’t have time for lunch.’
He gave me a knowing look and tapped the screen again. ‘Well?’ he asked. ‘Have you?’
‘Have I what?’
‘Heard back,’ he said patiently. ‘About the holiday.’
‘Oh, that.’ I nodded. ‘Yes. It’s fine. Although they did say I should try to give more notice next time. I pointed out that it wasn’t my idea and that my husband had, for some reason known only to himself, decided we should both take a week off work, even though we’re not going away and it all seems a bit pointless to me, but?—’
‘It’s our wedding anniversary.’
His voice was flat, and he didn’t look at me.
My stomach lurched and I swallowed. ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Yes, I know. I mean, of course I knowthat. But we’re not going away and we don’t really do anything special, do we?’
I’d forgotten, and he knew it. I could have kicked myself.
‘Ten years,’ he said. He put down the phone and smiled at me. ‘Ordered. Should be here in about thirty to forty minutes. So you didn’t forget then?’
‘Of course not! Ten years. April 11. The big day. How could I possibly forget that?’
Had it really been ten years? But that meant…
I swallowed again and cradled my coffee cup as if for comfort. ‘Well, that’s quite a thing, isn’t it? Whatisthe tenth anniversary anyway?’
‘Tin,’ he replied.
‘How on earth did you know that?’ I shook my head. Sometimes he amazed me.Mostof the time he amazed me. Most of the time it amazed me that he was amazed by me. The fact he’d stuck with me for ten years amazed me most of all.
‘So it’s definite then? You’ve got that week off.’
I nodded, wondering why it was so important to him. ‘Yes. Like I said, I break off on Good Friday, and I go back to work on Monday 13 April.’
‘Great.’ He leaned back in his armchair and sipped his coffee.
‘What’s the big deal, though?’ I asked suspiciously. ‘Yes, I know it’s our anniversary – our tenth anniversary – but we could still go out to celebrate without us taking a week off work. It’s on a Saturday this year, after all. Why do we need time off?’
‘Don’t you think it’s about time we took a break? We’ve worked solidly since Christmas, and I can’t remember the last time we went anywhere or did anything different. I thought it would be good to spend some time together, that’s all.’ Rory leaned forward, an eager look in his dark eyes. ‘Maybe, if the weather improves, we could have a run out to the coast, or into the countryside one day. A change of scene and some fresh air would do us good.’
I eyed him worriedly. He’d sounded casual when he said that, but he’d mentioned a couple of times recently about how good it would be to live by the sea or deep in the countryside, and how working in London was all very well when you were younger but when you got to our age maybe it was time to think again.
Had he been serious? I’d laughed it off at the time. Told him we weren’t in our dotage yet, thanks very much, but maybe he’d meant it. Was that the reason he wanted me to take a week off work? Did he want to goproperty viewing?
If so, he was being very sneaky about it.
The thought gave me chills. I’d been here before and I didn’t think I could face it again.
The first time he tentatively mentioned the subject I’d distracted him with something else. The second time I’d tried to laugh it off, even though I didn’t feel remotely amused. ‘I’m only forty-four,’ I’d told him. ‘Just because you’re an old man doesn’t mean we’re ready to retire just yet.’
