‘Oh yeah, that’s definitely happening,’ Tobi said.
‘About time,’ Rosie laughed. ‘Yaz not with you?’
‘She’s here somewhere, I think,’ Tobi said. ‘With a girl she likes. I think she’s trying to avoid us in case we embarrass her. Rhianne’s on a date, too … She’s gone to some Michelin-starred place in Belgravia with Ethan.’
‘Ooh,’ Rosie said, genuinely intrigued. ‘The chap she’s been out with twice already? The one she met the day she took me shopping?’
‘Yep,’ Tobi confirmed. ‘He seems borderline obsessed with her.’
‘He wouldn’t be the first,’ Aled said. ‘Rhi tends to have that effect on people.’
Must run in the family, Rosie thought. Then, as she felt her friends’ eyes swivel in her direction, she realised she’d said it out loud.Shiiit.
‘You must be Aled,’ Tobi said smoothly, smiling at him. ‘Rhianne and Rosie talk about you a lot.’
Embarrassed but abundantly grateful for Tobi’s intervention, Rosie stared at her shoes.
‘I am. And you’re Tobi,’ Aled said, smiling at her warmly. ‘Rosie’s mentioned you, too.’
It struck Rosie that he didn’t seem anxious, despite his usual reluctance to meet new people. It might be the cider, she concluded – or simply the fact that Tobi was roughly the same age as some of his students. He’d told her once that while teaching seemed an odd profession for a self-confessed introvert, it worked very well. Adopting a stern persona wasn’t hard for him; his physical size was an advantage and it was easier to relax with large groups of children and young people once you felt sure they’d stay in line.
‘Rosie has been wonderful to me,’ Tobi said. Rosie immediately blushed, and wondered if Tobi was a little tipsy herself.
‘When I started at the deli,’ she went on, ‘I was pretty down. A bit broken, to tell the truth. Rosie’s helped me put myself back together – get my confidence back. I was going to tell you this next time we were on shift, Rosie, but I’ve gone through all the university websites we’ve been talking about and drawn up a shortlist. I’m going to apply again, for next year.’
‘Yes!’ Rosie shrieked. ‘That isbrilliantnews!’ She drew Tobi in for a tight hug that almost sent her toffee apple flying.
‘I couldn’t wait to tell you and say thanks,’ Tobi said, grinning, before her attention was caught by someone hollering at her from across the field. ‘Oh, I know her from school – I should go and say hi.’ Tobi quickly hugged Rosie again, then turned to go in search of her old classmate. ‘See you next week!’
When Rosie glanced up at Aled, he was smiling at her softly. It was the sort of smile that turned her hot and cold at the same time, and made every inch of her skin tingle. It was a look that said,I see you. I know you. And she almost couldn’t bear it.
‘Have you given much thought to what you’ll do next?’ he asked, as they ambled past a bunch of teenagers writing their names in the dark with sparklers.
‘How d’you mean?’ Rosie asked, crunching the last shard of toffee from her apple.
‘Well, you’ve convinced Tobi to follow her dream. What’s yours? You know, it strikes me that you’d be an incredible counsellor. You’re a fantastic listener, you’re not judgemental … And based on what I’ve just witnessed, as well as how excited you are about volunteering next year, you’re brilliant with young people.’
‘I did always wonder about going into something like that,’ Rosie said. ‘I started a degree in psychology. Also, my old boss told me I was too nice to the callers – let them talk too much about their troubles when I should have been filling in forms. Feels a bit late to start training for something like that now, though.’
‘“It is never too late to be what you might have been”,’ Aled said, with exaggerated formality.
‘Againwith the poetry.’ Rosie elbowed him gently and laughed.
‘It’s not poetry, actually – it’s one of those motivational quotes people put up next to their desks or stick on the fridge. Attributed to George Eliot. In any case, the point stands.’
They’d reached the edge of the field now and it was colder here, further away. They wandered up to an old wooden bench and Rosie sank down on it, deciding to watch the last of the fireworks in relative comfort.
‘You’re lovely,’ she said, before she could stop herself – the words fizzing up to the surface like bubbles in champagne. ‘Really, truly lovely.’
‘And you are extraordinary,’ he said, as another burst of brightness illuminated the sky.
Rosie nudged him again, shaking her head in self-deprecation. ‘You don’t have to say that.’
‘Surely you know by now that, given the choice, I’ll almostalwayssay nothing,’ Aled pointed out. ‘I’m not in the habit of coming out with stuff I don’t mean.’
Rosie nodded. Bit her bottom lip. Heart sinking, she said: ‘I guess I should thank you, then. For earlier. For what you said to Michael.’
‘Rosie, look at me,’ Aled said. ‘Please.’ When she didn’t move, he placed a fingertip under her chin and tilted her face so he could gaze directly into her eyes.
