I gaze into his eyes. He has come back because he loves me. This is something my curse has never shown me. It is quick to show me endings, but not what happens after two people have walked away and then realise they still love each other.
Mr Ellis starts to clap and cheer, which makes us both laugh. ‘Can we eat now?’
I bury my head in Oliver’s shoulder, and he presses his face in my hair.
We all sit down at Mr Ellis’s table and Oliver puts a plate of casserole in front of us. I look up at Mr Ellis. ‘I can’t believe you have gone to so much trouble to make this, Mr Ellis.’
He laughs. ‘Firstly, call me Roger, and secondly, it wasn’t me who cooked this.’
Oliver comes to sit next to me and squeezes my hand under the table. I turn to him. ‘Did you cook this?’
‘Nelly,’ he says, softly, ‘I had a lot of making up to do. I needed to pull together my best team. The other day I came to see Roger and we hatched a plan. Jamie brought over the ingredients last night and today I cooked the casserole.’
Roger laughs. ‘I love keeping a secret. Was I convincing in the bookshop?’
‘I didn’t suspect a thing.’
Oliver beams at Roger. ‘How is the casserole?’
‘It’s not as good as Joan’s,’ says Roger, with a wink, which makes us chuckle.
After we’ve had a cup of tea, washed up and tidied away, Oliver and I say goodbye to Roger. ‘Do you promise to visit soon?’ he asks.
Oliver nods. ‘Let’s make this a weekly visit. What do you think, Nelly?’
‘I would love that.’
‘Promise me you’ll bring your little son next time too, Oliver.’
‘I will and your tidy living room will not be the same again,’ Oliver says, jokingly.
Roger laughs. ‘I can’t wait. I’m so pleased you both have found each other again.’ He nudges me. ‘I did ask Oliver what we were going to do if you stormed out. I told him that whatever happens, I will eat the casserole.’
Oliver extends his hand to mine. ‘I’m a lucky man, Roger. We will see you next week.’
‘I look forward to it.’
49
We walk back towards my flat. When we pass the entrance to the private communal garden, Oliver pulls us to a stop. ‘I never gave Gary the key back.’ He gestures to the garden. ‘Shall we have a moment to talk?’
We hold hands as we enter and sit down on the patch of grass.
He turns to me and takes a deep breath. ‘I’m asking for a chance to show you that I’m here to fight for us, to fight for you and Alfie. Because you both are all I’ve thought about since I left.’
‘Have you spoken to Molly and Rory?’
He leans over his legs, placing his elbows on his thighs. ‘It was the hardest thing I had to do. Jamie went with me yesterday. I apologised to both, and I’ve committed to focusing on co-parenting Alfie and moving on from the past.’
‘That must have been tough.’
He nods. ‘Rory said he could understand why I got angry about the video.’
‘He did?’
‘Yes, which I thought was a start. Hearing my child call another man Daddy is hard, but when that man used to be your best friend and is now with your ex-girlfriend, that’s when the red filter slipped over my eyes.’
I place a hand on his shoulder. ‘I understand.’
