‘Wait there. I’ll get Paul to come and get you and give you a lift. I would do it myself but I’m probably still over the limit too.’
‘No! You can’t ask Paul to drop everything to take me home. Isn’t he with his girlfriend?’
‘Blimey. You were drunk last night, weren’t you? Didn’t you hear the blazing row they had just before the pub closed? Well the blazing row she had. Paul just took it in his stride as he always does. But she walked out and said she never wanted to see him again.’
‘What?’ I almost slid off the seat in the bus stop shelter. ‘How did I miss that?’
‘I think you might’ve fallen asleep by then. Anyway, it’s over.’
‘It’s over? Really? Just like that?’
‘Paul says it’s been a long time coming. And let’s be honest, neither you or I like her, do we? She was always telling him to do this or do that or do something else. But I can tell you all about it later. Let me call him first and tell him to come and pick you up.’ The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on me. ‘Are you sure you don’t have time for a quick drink?’
‘Well. Maybe just the one. And I do mean, one, Berry.’
‘Great. I’ll call Paul now and we’ll see you in a mo.’
Paul and his girlfriend had broken up? Could this really be true? I had to tell Madi right away.
‘You’re kidding?’ she said when I shared the news. ‘See. I told you things could only get better today, didn’t I?’
I laughed at that. ‘I’m not sure how Paul and his girlfriend splitting up makes things better.’
‘Of course it does. It means the hunk of a man is free and single. Now’s your chance. Wouldn’t you like to have a man in your life?’
‘Erm. Yes. It would be nice. And I’d definitely like to have Paul in my bed, I can’t deny that. But I’m so busy with my business that I’m not sure I have time to start a relationship, as tempting as it is. Besides, just because they’ve split up, it doesn’t mean he’d ask me out. I know he likes me as a friend, but I have no idea if he’d consider me as his girlfriend.’
‘There’s only one way to find out. Show the guy you’re interested, and see where it goes from there. And there’s no time like the present.’
I had also told her that Berry was getting him to come and pick me up and that we were going to the pub for a quick drink.
‘I don’t know, Madi.’ I was already having doubts, despite the fact that I had had similar thoughts the moment Berry had told me. ‘What if we did start dating, and we slept together, and then discovered we didn’t get on, or something? That would make things difficult between us, and it would threaten my friendship with Berry. I’m not sure it’s worth the risk.’
‘Worth the risk? What is wrong with you today? Why are you looking on the dark side of this? You’re usually an optimist, not a pessimist. What if things worked out so well between you two that you got married and had kids? Then you’d have a new family. A loving family. I’m not saying you don’t have a loving family now, but yours isn’t the touchy-feely sort, is it? Apart from you and your Gran. Paul, Berry, and their parents, are definitely more affectionate, aren’t they? Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?’
Madi knew me so well. Possibly better than I knew myself.
‘Yes,’ I admitted. ‘I’ve always wanted that. And you’re right. Things might go well between us. Assuming he is interested in me. And there’s no harm in finding out. I’m not sure why I’m not my usual, cheery self. Especially as it’s now December and so close to Christmas.’ I let out a long sigh.
‘I think it’s those neighbours of yours,’ Madi said. ‘You had such high hopes of the three of you becoming friends, and yet here you are, one year later, not that much closer to being friends than you were the day you moved in.’
‘That’s not strictly true. We talk now.’
But Madi was right. I had initially had high hopes for the three of us becoming friends, and the two of them keeping me at arm’s length had made me feel … well, a bit like Mum always made me feel. That I wasn’t quite good enough.
That was why I had always made myself look on the bright side of life. I wanted to be open-minded and open-hearted. I wanted to see the best in people. I wanted to love … and to be loved.
It wasn’t simply that though. Since Adele and Marcus had finally started speaking to me, and I was getting to know them, I had discovered that the two of them had a lot of things in common.
They had both told me in conversation, and without either of them realising I was asking specific questions, that they liked long walks, especially in Fairlight Glen. They both loved wildlife, and birdwatching. They both loved sailing, yet neither owned a boat, or were even members of the Fairlight Bay sailing club – which was odd. They both liked the same types of food, and films, and so many other little things that it made me wonder if Madi had been right and they had once dated or something.
But if so, why hadn’t that worked out? And why did they ignore one another, even though they now spoke to me?
I really needed to get to the bottom of this and I needed to speed things up. I might be utterly and completely wrong, butsomething inside me told me that Adele and Marcus were made for one another. I just had to find a why to get them both to see what I saw. Or, if they had once dated and something had gone wrong, to find a way to put that right.
Maybe Madi was also right about Paul. And as his car turned into the road and he headed towards me, I smiled.
‘Paul’s here,’ I told Madi. ‘I’ll call you later.’
