Angelo held onto the door while Matthew lined up the screwdriver in the hinge. ‘Ok, vai!’
Again, Matthew charged with the screwdriver, and again it failed to catch in the screw head, jarring off in the doorjamb. Matthew sighed.
‘What’s wrong with you today?Eh?’ Angelo finally snapped.
Matthew turned away for a moment to gather his thoughts, but struggled to find the words to explain how he was feeling. ‘I don’t know, Angelo. I’m sorry. I’m just not myself today.’
Collecting their tools from the floor, Angelo quipped, ‘Go have a cold shower or go for a run. You need a distraction today.Vai!’
‘A distraction from what?’
‘Sarah!’ Angelo growled, and exited the room muttering under his breath in Italian.
Matthew’s face wrinkled and he shook his head.Nonsense, he thought then sighed again.
He checked his phone. Nothing.
He refreshed his email inbox. Nothing.
He opened a text to Sarah and typed,Hope the day is going well, beautiful.But no matter how fine it sounded in his head, he felt it wrong to send a compliment he had never even given her in person.
He closed his eyes for a moment to think how to play it. Deciding to simply delete the last word, he refreshed the screen, but his clammy finger slipped across the keyboard and the message sent.
Matthew:Hope the day is going well, beautiful.
Entering the lobby from the spa, smelling richly of luxurious oils and ointments, Sarah practically glowed. Her hair shone under the overhead lighting, its revived blonde highlights glistening as she passed by the many pillar candles in the corridor. Just as she was about to approach the front desk for dinner reservations, an unexpected sight caused her face to bloom.
‘What on earth are you doing here?’ she asked.
Matthew was sat in one of the dark upholstered armchairs by the bar, finishing a tall glass of sparkling water. He set it down and stood to greet her. ‘Couldn’t let you dine alone tonight, now could I?’
‘How gentlemanly of you.’ She gave a playful curtsy.
Noting the rosy tint to her cheeks and the renewed sparkle in her eyes, he asked, ‘How was today?’
She rolled her eyes in delight. ‘Heavenly.’
‘I’m so glad.’ He took her hands and inspected them. Brandishing perfectly trimmed nails, clean cuticles and soft smooth skin, he said, ‘Now, that’s better.’
‘In hindsight, they were pretty worse for wear.’
‘Mine too.’ He held out his for her to see. ‘I hadn’t noticed it until today, but I’ve somehow scratched my wedding band.’ He turned it over on his finger, revealing a scuff in the white gold. ‘I tried polishing it out this morning. Didn’t work.’
‘Mine’s the same.’
‘So, do you have dinner plans?’
Noting how smartly dressed Matthew was, her expression gave her away. She was in her usual cardigan and jeans, not dressed for anything beyond a quick bite in a very casual restaurant. Casting her mind to the change of clothes packed in her overnight case – another pair of jeans and a grey marle cotton sweater – she gnawed on her bottom lip.
Sensing her uneasiness, he said, ‘How about something super low-key?’
She exhaled. ‘Yes! I have nothing dressier than this.’ Tugging on the hem of her cardi, she spotted flecks of white paint and a tiny new hole where it must have caught on something. ‘Damn it.’ She tried her best to scratch the paint from the fibres, but her newly trimmed nails gave her little leverage.
‘I’ve got just the place in mind.’ He raised an eyebrow sneakily. ‘Up for a walk?’
She gestured to her white Converse All Star sneakers and smiled up at him. ‘Always.’
‘Follow me.’ And he proffered his arm, which she gladly took.
