Brad made a face. “Okay, I can see how you might feel like this was a setback.”
Peter burst out laughing. “A setback? Brad, it was completely humiliating. I had to walk out of her aunt’s house feeling like a total idiot. That was on top of already feeling like an idiot last night after we…”
When he stopped talking, his brother wiggled his eyebrows. “Ah, right, I see.”
“No, you don’t see, and stop doing that with your eyebrows, Brad. What are you, twelve years old? This wasn’t just some casual thing, you know.”
“Yes, I do know. The fact that you’re obviously out of your mind right now is evidence of that. So, what are you planning to do next?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing I can do. I told Gaby how I feel and she’s leaving anyway.”
“If it was the other way around and she’d said she loved you and asked you to give up everything to follow her off on her cruise ship or whatever, would you do it?”
“Don’t try to outsmart me, Brad. Gaby already asked me that same question and I’ll tell you what I told her. I know it’s not a fair question to ask because it assumes it’s no big deal to just ditch your job and your commitments and leave people in the lurch. So no, I couldn’t just walk out of school in the middle of the term. I’d never do that.”
“You’re both people of principles. The best kind of people, in my opinion. And I’d be surprised if either of you just threw off your responsibilities like that anyway. That’s not how the real world works. But there are other options, surely?”
Peter sighed. “Like what?”
“Well, this cruise ship she’s working on. You could find out where it’s going and book a holiday on it over Christmas. That’sonly a few weeks away. That would show her you’re willing to make a big gesture.”
“A big gesture that’s borderline creepy, Brad. You think it’s a good idea to follow her around on a cruise ship while she’s trying to work, demanding time with her?”
“Okay, point taken. Where does the cruise ship sail from?”
“Southampton.”
“You could find out which one she’s on. I bet her aunt will know. You could drive down there and tell her you just had to see her one more time before she goes and that you hope when she comes back, you’ll be her first port of call.”
Peter stared at his brother for a long moment. “How did you ever persuade Donna to marry you?”
“What? You don’t think that sounds really romantic?”
“I think you’re lucky Donna didn’t need much persuading when it came to deciding you were the one for her.”
“Hey!”
“Look, thanks for your suggestions for the various romantic grand gestures I could make to prove my love. But I already drove to her aunt’s house this afternoon and told her I was madly in love with her but that I understood she had to honour her commitment to her job and told her to let me know if she ever felt the same way about me and wanted to see where it might lead. And that’s when she said thanks and goodbye. She lives her life on the road, Brad, and I live mine right here. And that’s all there is to it.”
Brad sighed and looked unhappy. “I’m sorry. But I don’t think that’s all there is to it. The other night at dinner, you looked happier than I’ve ever seen you. Happier than any of us have ever seen you. And it was because of Gaby. We know you want more out of life than a bachelor pad and an empty bed.”
“Thanks for that,” Peter deadpanned. “I feel so much better after those words of comfort.”
“You know what I mean. You want a wife and children. You’ve never made a secret of that. But if you’d wanted just any woman to be your wife and give you kids, you’d have both by now because it’s not like you’ve been short of girlfriends over the years. We all wondered why none of them ever stuck. After seeing you with Gaby, we understand why. You can’t let her just walk out of your life, Peter.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice. You just have to keep looking until you find it.”
Peter sighed. His brother was starting to annoy him now. Brad didn’t seem to understand that Peter had laid his heart on the line and Gaby had turned him down. There might be good practical reasons for why she’d done it—her job, her commitments, her desire to honour her word with employers—but she hadn’t given him any reason to think she would be interested in pursuing things with him if those obstacles weren’t in the way.
“Thanks for the sage advice, Brad, but I’m throwing you out now.”
“Fine. But you’ll think about what I said?”
“If it gets you out of my flat then yes, I’ll think about what you said.”
At the door, Brad gave him a hug and his usual dumb cool-dude handshake before leaving, which took the edge off and made him laugh. Nothing Brad had said had helped, but knowing his family was there for him was enough.
