‘He’s enjoying himself,’ gushes Oliver.
I glare at Oliver, and he turns back to my cat. ‘Lenny, mate, you need to come back as I am in a lot of trouble with your?—’
‘Mummy.’ The word flies out of my mouth, and I instantly regret saying it.
Oliver arches an eyebrow at me. ‘Mummy wants you to come home.’
The smile on his face is annoying me. ‘What were you to Figgy? I can’t believe you were just Oliver to her.’
He’s touching his nose. ‘Just Oliver.’
I think he’s lying. ‘I don’t believe you.’
‘No one has ever asked me,’ he says, flicking his eyes to the pavement.
I feel victorious. ‘Well? You can’t mock me for calling myself “Mummy” and keep your own name to yourself.’
He’s shaking his head. ‘This is a bit too much for the first day of a flat share.’
‘You let my cat escape. I call it a suitable punishment.’
‘Will you promise not to laugh?’
I roll my eyes. ‘Oliver, right now I am incapable of laughter.’
‘To Figgy, I was Papa Tiger. Figgy was the little cat, and I was her… big papa cat protector.’
There’s an awkward silence. I am trying my hardest not to laugh. Papa Tiger – what the hell? We can’t look each other in the eye, so we turn back to look at Lenny.
‘Were you in the bookshop today?’ Oliver asks.
I keep my eyes fixed on Lenny. ‘No, I went to visit my aunt.’
‘The one who lives by the sea – right?’
‘Yes.’ I don’t say more as I’m busy trying to tell Lenny to come home telepathically.
‘Did you spend the day lazing around on the beach? The weather was amazing today. I bet you and your aunt were sipping cocktails and?—’
The words shoot out of my mouth before I can stop them. ‘No, I took my aunt to have chemo.’
‘Oh.’ Oliver goes back to staring at Lenny. The silence between us is uncomfortable, punctuated by the distant sound of a car alarm and the evening breeze rustling the leaves.
Why did I say that Aunt Polly had chemo? Did he need to know that about me?
‘Do you have a key for this garden?’ Oliver asks.
‘Gary has my key.’
‘Why does Gary have your key?’
‘I don’t come in here.’
Oliver is looking at me as though I’ve just told him the sky isn’t blue. ‘You don’t come and sit in this beautiful place?’
I shake my head. ‘I’m an inside sort of person.’
Oliver’s eyes are studying my face. He turns back to Lenny. ‘Come on, mate, I’m going out soon.’
