‘Yes,’ she purrs. ‘Mind you, you’ve got your hands full with that tall drink of water next to you.’
I glance at Callum, who is staring determinedly at his screen.
‘Like I said, we’re not … Actually, Jennifer, the weirdest thing has happened to me today.’
‘Oh?’ She leans in.
‘My one that got away is on this flight,’ I blurt out. Apparently, having harboured this information for hours by myself now, I simply cannot hold on to it any longer. I’m like a kettle about to boil.
‘No!’
‘I know!’ I say excitedly.
‘Tell me everything,’ says Jennifer.
‘Okay!’ I practically squeak, thrilled that the gates have opened. I run through the exciting events of the day, the fact that my first and only true love has come back into my life after a decade. The fact that he’s on this very plane which is surely a sign from thegods that we should get back together. I run through our meet-cute and how nobody has ever compared to Hamish.
‘We spent one summer together,’ I finish breathily. ‘And it was perfect.’
‘That’s quite a story,’ says Jennifer.
Callum snorts.
Jennifer looks thrilled by this interruption.
‘I’m sorry, is everything okay?’ I ask him.
‘You’re still in love with a man who ghosted you?’ Callum frowns.
This gets my hackles up.
‘Eavesdropping now?’ I huff. ‘Why am I not surprised. And I’m not still in love with him. It’s just that nobody else has ever come close.’
Callum is quiet for a while. ‘Right,’ he says eventually. ‘It sounds to me like he’s a bit of a dick, Nina.’
‘How dare you!’ I splutter. ‘You have no idea what Hamish is like.’
‘For what it’s worth, I do agree with your beautiful colleague,’ says Jennifer.
I turn to give her a shocked look.
‘Jennifer! I thought we were bonding.’
‘Honey, we were.’
‘Well, I only gave you a very brief rundown of what happened,’ I insist. ‘It’s much more nuanced than that.’
Jennifer nods kindly while Callum looks pointedly at his watch, as if to suggest that my idea of ‘very brief’ and his are quite different.
‘I’m sure it is,’ Jennifer says.
‘And don’t you think it’s a sign, that he’s here now?’
‘Well …’ she wavers. ‘Maybe?’
‘Yes, maybe!’ I say, turning triumphantly back to Callum. ‘Thank you, Jennifer. It’s been so nice to talk to someone who isn’t a big love cynic.’
Jennifer mutters something about going to the bathroom and scarpers.
