The skin beside his eyes crinkled as he grinned. ‘I was an innocent twelve-year-old boy and you cut my hair.’
That didn’t make sense. Not at first, but then she gasped. ‘Oh my goodness, you’re Theo from school!’ He’d worn a backpack with his name written on the back in big white letters and he’d sat behind her in maths and once helped her when she had no idea of the answers. The haircut had been in return for helping her. ‘I cut your hair in the playground.’
‘You sure did. My mother was not best pleased when I got home.’
She grimaced. ‘I doubt it was my finest work. I’m a bit better these days.’
He put both hands against his chest as if in shock. ‘Don’t tell me you’re still cutting people’s hair.’
‘I’m a hairdresser.’
Now that made him really laugh.
‘I’m not kidding,’ she said when he couldn’t stop. She’d forgotten that they also used to laugh a lot together at school. Not in maths, which she’d struggled with, not in English or history, but in assembly. She couldn’t remember what they’d laughed at now, perhaps it was that they had to be silent, and that was enough to set them off.
How was it possible that funny, kind Theo from school was standing right in front of her now?
‘Well then, the haircut makes more sense, given your career choice,’ he said as they fell into step beside each other to head back up to the coastal path. ‘I thought for years you did it that way to spite me.’
‘No, I thought I was doing something nice, and I admit I wanted to practise.’ She went first up the steps. ‘You seemed like someone who wouldn’t freak out if I messed it up. Funnily enough I hadn’t had any takers before then. None of my family were willing to be victims.’
‘Well I thought you did a great job. I was the talk of the school. You should’ve added colour to really get people talking.’
‘I think your mother would’ve come and given me a piece of her mind if I’d done that.’
‘No, Mum’s gentle. She’s got a sense of humour; she’d have seen the funny side. The only reason she didn’t that day was because we were going to a family wedding at the weekend.’
‘Oops.’
‘Yeah.’ He chuckled. ‘Big oops.’
‘So do you still live in West Lulworth?’ she asked.
‘Not any more. I left, studied in London, but always wanted to settle back this way and about ten years ago I bought a place in Driftwick Bay.’
‘The bay is beautiful.’
‘It is. And all of this is at my doorstep.’
She looked around at the ocean they were leaving behind, the beach, the beauty.
‘You went to Australia. What brings you back to England?’ he asked.
‘My dad is here for a while staying with my uncle not too far away so I’ve come to see him. I’m staying in West Lulworth now.’ They were part way up to the top already but she was getting out of breath. The steps were a lot steeper going up than they had been going down. She stopped. ‘Can I ask you how you knew that it was me and not Steph?’ They’d all been at school together, although Steph had been off with a different group of friends.
‘I wasn’t sure, not at first, but there are subtle differences between you both, and when I got closer I noticed the tiny freckle above your lip.’
Not many people noticed the differences unless they looked really closely to study the girls. The fact that he had pointed one out reminded her of how much time she’d spent with him at school.
‘And your smile,’ he said as they kept on walking. ‘Your sister had a different smile.’
At the top she got her breath back and couldn’t help but show him that smile now. ‘It was really nice to bump into you today.’
‘Likewise.’ But he groaned when his phone went. ‘I’m sorry, I have to take this.’
‘No worries. I should get going anyway.’ She lifted her hand to wave. She still wanted to go and see Durdle Door and then had a decent distance to retrace back to Driftwick Bay.
She felt a little flutter in her tummy because seeing Theo brought back memories of the crush she’d had on him when they were at school, and feeling that way had her thinking of Brad. She felt uneasy, as if she was cheating by having any sort of feeling for another man. Of course she wasn’t doing anything wrong at all, but it was an odd feeling being single, being allowed to feel that way, after being a part of a couple for a long time.
