I nod and fight back tears. How I wish Oliver was back in my life. ‘That’s nice,’ I croak.
Oblivious to my emotional state, the man starts to talk. ‘We split up a few months ago. He moved to the other end of the country. Newcastle, which is a long way away. I was sad for ages and then one day I decided I wanted him back in my life.’
My curiosity has piqued. ‘What did you do?’
He smiles. ‘I got on my bike and I drove to Newcastle. Just kept driving. Once I got there, I convinced him to give us another try.’ With a chuckle he says, ‘He’d been missing me and wishing he’d not moved away.’
‘That’s lovely.’
His phone starts to vibrate. ‘That’s him now. Goodbye.’
I watch him leave the shop and I serve a customer who is buying a book about Egyptian history.
Henry bursts into the shop at midday and the first thing I notice is the sweat on his brow. His jaw is clenched and his arm is trembling. ‘Are you okay, Henry?’
I am secretly hoping he wants to cancel our coffee trip.
‘I’m fine,’ he says, taking out a tissue to dab his forehead. ‘Shall we go?’
Miranda takes over from me at the till and winks as I leave.
The coffee shop, Bean & Cup, sits at the end of the high street. On the outside, it is painted a soft sage-green, and inside, the air is filled with the scents of espresso and cinnamon. After ordering we sit at a table nestled amongst some tall pot plants. Henry keeps checking his phone as we wait for our coffees. ‘Everything alright?’ I ask.
He sighs. ‘My nan had a fall in the night. Mum is in A & E with her.’
‘Sorry, you should have cancelled.’
‘I couldn’t do that, Nelly.’ He lifts his gaze to mine and takes a deep breath. ‘I wanted to bring you here today to apologise for what I said the last time we met and?—’
I don’t give him chance to finish. ‘It was okay, I’m not upset.’
He runs a hand through his hair, and his curls look like they’re quivering with excitement. ‘Nelly, I also brought you here to tell you how I…’
The waiter brings us our coffees, and Henry pauses. I sense he has something on his mind as he looks like he’s willing the waiter to leave.
As the waiter smiles and hurries away, I look at Henry. He takes a deep breath and his phone starts buzzing. With a groan, he looks at it and answers. I watch as he leaves the table to talk in private. My coffee tastes delicious and I make a mental note to bring Eva here. A tall man enters with brown wavy hair and I think of Oliver. My heart lets out a series of aches. Last night I rebuilt the pillow wall and lay in my half. I sobbed in the darkness. ‘Oliver, I wasn’t done with loving you,’ I croaked, running my hand over the pillow wall.
Henry returns to the table. ‘I’m going to have to leave, Nelly. I need to get to London. My nan’s not great and my mum needs me to come home.’ He checks his phone. ‘There’s a train in half an hour.’
An idea illuminates the inside of my mind like Christmas lights switching on. I could drive Henry to London and go see Oliver. I could convince him to give us another go. I recall how my bookshop customer drove to Newcastle when he and his partner broke up. Oliver texted me his address in Chiswick West London, near where Henry lives.
Excitement ripples through me. ‘Henry, I have a better idea.’
* * *
Henry doesn’t think much of Nigella. When I first showed her to him, his first words were, ‘We’re driving in that? Please tell me you’re joking?’
I ignored him and opened Nigella.
We’re on the motorway. Henry is talking about his nan and how he just wants to hold her hand and tell her everything is going to be okay. I am silently praying Nigella is in a good mood and gets us to London so Henry can see his nan, and I can persuade Oliver to give us another go. I can’t believe I am doing this. I have become one of those delusional people I used to moan about who will go to extreme lengths for love.
‘Thanks for this, Nelly,’ he says, putting his bag by his feet. ‘I wanted to tell you something in the coffee shop, but we kept being interrupted.’
‘What is it?’
He takes a deep breath and glances out of the passenger window. ‘I’ve been thinking about you and…’
BUMP. Nigella suddenly lurches to one side. ‘Oh, God,’ I cry out.
