She rolls her eyes. “Honestly, you are so like your father.”
“Clever?”
“Sensible. No bad thing, of course, but that’s why we need each other.”
“You and me?”
“I mean, people who are opposites,” she explains. “It would be a very boring world if we were all the same.”
“Matthew used that as the reason for our breakup,” I say,getting to my feet. “We were too different, apparently. I was too ‘together.’ He was too ‘emotional.’”
“Yes, well, I’ve done that plenty of times. Tried to explain away something that can’t really be explained.” She inhales deeply. “Are you ready to run into the sea?”
“I’m not running into the sea.”
“Of course, you are, darling. I can tell that your toes are raring to go.”
“My toes are happy where they are.”
“It’s very cold so prepare yourself.”
“Mum,” I groan as she grabs my hand, linking her fingers through hers. “Do I have to?”
“Yes, you do.” She gives me a knowing smile. “I promise I’ll protect you from any jellyfish.”
“I’m not scared of jellyfish.”
“Course not, darling.” She clears her throat. “Ready?”
“No,” I huff.
“Let’s go!”
She darts forward, almost pulling my arm out of the socket as she runs down to the sea, and I have no choice but to reluctantly run with her, using my free hand to hold up my dress. She barely slows down as we reach the wet sand, running full pelt into the freezing cold water. I scream with the shock of my feet and legs hitting the icy water as Mum yelps alongside me.
“Isn’t this refreshing, darling?!” she cries out next to me.
“No, this is horrible! I can’t see if there’s any jellyfish about!” I respond, shaking my hand free of hers and running out as quickly as possible to the safety of dry land, my calves now covered in goose bumps.
She comes running out after me, laughing her head off, and as the shock of the cold sea wears off, I start laughing, too. I realize then that I can’t remember the last time Mum and I laughed together.
We still have a lot to process; there’s so much to talk about and work through. But moving forward, I would like her to be a part of my life. So that’s a good start.
Who would have thought that my broken heart would bring us back together?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
It’s like a scene from a movie.
Ruby, Cali, Simone, and I are having dinner in a restaurant in Soho, having decided to make the effort to come in to central London for once, something that we used to do all the time, but now is a rare occurrence.
“Everyone is dressed very trendily in here,” Cali remarks, glancing around.
“Hello, that’s because it’s a trendy place,” Ruby informs her proudly, having chosen the restaurant on Leo’s recommendation. “You have to queue instead of booking a table, we’re sitting on an uncomfortable bench, and they’ve served our wine in water glasses. Those are three signs right there that this place is all the rage.”
“I want to eat everything on this menu,” Simone says, glancing down the list. “I know already that I’m going to panic when they come to take my order.”
“I would say we could order a few plates and share, but I know how you feel about that,” I say, giving her a knowing smile.
