“And your husband?” she asks, smiling. Does she not…? I press my lips together but let it lie since it might be embarrassing to remind her. Besides, Gus doesn’t fill the gap for me, just tilts his head and smiles for me to continue. He can tell I’m too socially awkward to make her feel bad. So, I say, “That’s Gus.”
“Sara and Gus,” Paul says. “And what a gorgeous couple you are.”
“Thank you,” Gus replies. Because of course he does. He reaches over the table and slides his fingers with mine. It’s familiar in a way that spreads from my palm to my core, heating me throughout, especially when one fingertip strokes the sensitive part between my ring and middle finger.
I roll my shoulders back. I’m in so much trouble.
“Where are you two from?” Paul asks.
Gus sucks his bottom lip in, eyeing me. I feel like this is peak entertainment for him. I’ll let him have his fun. “The Cotswolds,” he explains. “Near Tetbury.”
“A lovely part of the world,” Edith says.
“What about you?”
“Surrey,” she says. “Do you know of Godstone?”
Gus nods politely. “I’ve definitely heard of it.”
“We’ve lived there for fifty years,” she says. “Wouldn’t change a thing.”
Paul hums in agreement as our drinks are delivered. “What is it you two do?” he asks us.
This time I answer before Gus, his lips parted in readiness. “I work in business. And Gus is in a band.”
“Oh, how interesting. What kind of business?”
“It’s corporate. We help companies negotiate high-risk procurements.”
“Fascinating,” he says, before turning to Gus. “And you dabble in music?”
I nearly choke on my first sip of wine at the way Paul brushes Gus’s band off as a hobby. Gus handles it exactly as I knew he would. “I absolutely dabble.”
“And what about you two?” I ask to keep the conversation moving.
Look at me, being friendly, socialising with strangers. Must be whatever I’ve caught from Popstar these past few days.
Edith and Paul spend the next twenty minutes walking us through their entire career history. The depression only starts to wade in when I realise that they got incredibly lucky with the property market, buying young and building equity. Paul was a postman for thirty years and Edith only worked a year before becoming a full-time mother. I suppose they can’t be blamed for their own luck.
“When did you marry?” Paul asks.
Gus looks at me as he says, “Actually, this is our honeymoon.”
Edith gasps. “Well, no wonder you both look so loved up. What made you pick this cruise?”
“We’ve been craving adventure,” he says, and it isn’t a lie.
“I can tell you two are going to be married for a long, long time. You’re so handsome,” she says, reaching out and patting Gus’s hand.
“Now, now, Edith, you’re going to get me in trouble with your husband.”
Paul laughs. “She’ll do and say what she likes either way.”
“And you’re beautiful,” she says to me, squeezing my hand. “You’ll have the most stunning babies.”
I choke on red wine.
I give Edith a look. “I don’t know if we’re ready to talk children.”
