‘Helô, Ash,’ I hear her call warmly and his face breaks into a broad grin at the sight of her.
I hop down from the counter and walk outside in time to hear her say, as Ash climbs over the lavender border with his long legs, ‘I think you might need akutch, from what I’ve been hearing.’
‘What’s akutch?’ I ask Bethan as she joins me.
Siân freezes theatrically and turns around to look at me. ‘You don’t know what akutchis?’ she asks. ‘C. W. T. C. H,’ she spells out.
‘As if that explains it,’ I reply with a laugh.
I meet Ash’s eyes momentarily and quickly look away.
‘It’s a hug,’ Evan says.
‘Oh, it’s so much more than a hug,’ Siân corrects him. ‘It’s like a proper emotional snuggle, isn’t it? There’s no word for it in English. Come here, Ash,’ she says sympathetically, opening her arms.
He has to stoop right down to embrace her. I watch as he closes his eyes, and it feels kind of personal and intimate, theway she’s holding him right now. I experience a funny little twinge of envy.
They break away. ‘Anytime you need acwtch, you let me know,’ Siân says to me. ‘Or ask Evan, he’ll give you one,’ she teases.
This time I blush.
Ash steps forward to greet Bethan, Harri and Evan, finally turning to me with a small smile.
‘Hello,’ he says.
‘Hi.’ I feel so shy all of a sudden.
Thankfully Celyn comes out of his cottage and calls out to him. Ash strides off and they meet in the middle with a brief but warm hug.
Shit, I actually am kind of peeved that these people get to hug him and I can’t.
Jac and Dylan emerge from their cottage next door. ‘Urgh, can you change the music?’ Jac moans.
The Supremes’ ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ is playing now. Stella used to love the Kim Wilde version.
‘Be quiet, you! It’s Bethan’s birthday, she can play what she wants,’ Catrin, Celyn’s girlfriend, chides from behind them.
The boys grin and pick up their chairs, relocating them to behind our cottage. We make a rough circle on the lawn and they crack open a couple of brightly coloured beer cans.
Ash sits down two chairs away from me, beside Celyn on my right. Evan is on my left.
‘How have you been?’ I hear Celyn ask Ash as the others start talking amongst themselves.
‘I’m okay,’ he replies, taking a sip of his pale ale.
‘I heard on the grapevine what happened.’
What has he heard? Siân has obviously got wind of it too, if she wanted to give him that long cuddle.
‘I don’t even know what to say,’ Ash replies.
I’m pretending to listen to a conversation between Catrin and Siân, but I can’t concentrate.
‘She’ll come back,’ Celyn says gruffly.
Ash kicks his foot at the grass. ‘I don’t think so,’ he replies.
‘No, she will. You guys are made for each other.’
