Page 73 of Love Letters on Hazel Lane

‘Lovely to meet you,’ he said as he sat down opposite her. ‘I’m Matthew.’

‘Jo.’

‘I’ve heard a lot about you, Jo.’

‘Oh? Who from?’

‘Sal and Mr Morgan,’ he said. ‘They’re always singing your praises. I’m a teacher here.’

‘Let me guess. PE?’

‘Why does everyone assume that? Don’t judge by appearances.’ He smiled. ‘I’m the technology co-ordinator. Sal promised me that if I came along this evening, there might be a couple of extra iPads in it for Year 6. I’m counting on you and your festival to raise loads of dosh this weekend. Gotta have those iPads.’

‘Technology co-ordinator? So, you know about IT?’

An idea was beginning to form in her mind. There’d been so many people here today and it had been difficult for people to watch the games in the tournament. But with an IT whizz on board…

‘I do,’ he said. ‘I mightn’t look it, but I’m a real computer nerd.’

‘Are you busy tomorrow?’

‘Teachers are always busy. Marking. Planning. Everyone thinks we finish by half past three and enjoy ridiculously long holidays, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I could be free tomorrow, though. What did you have in mind?’

‘Could you rig some kind of camera over the Scrabble boards in the semi-finals and the final? And connect it to a screen so more people can watch it?’

‘Easy. What time do you start?’

‘We open at half past nine.’

‘There goes my Sunday lie-in. Sure, I’ll do it.’

The bell rang then before they’d even had chance to begin the game.

As Number Six sat down at her table, she noticed Razz taking his seat opposite Zoey. Jo introduced herself to her new opponent but kept glancing over at Razz. She was too far away to see their Scrabble board. They were leaning towards each other across the table, laughing. He looked confident and completely at ease. What had happened to him? What had happened to the nervous man who’d been so awkward, so reticent, so shy, when Jo had first met him? What had Zoey done to him?

‘Jo, it’s your go,’ said Number Six.

They’d managed to make nine words between them when the bell went again. It was half-time. Number Six said, ‘Thanks for the game’ and Jo realised – too late – that she hadn’t paid him much attention. She chastised herself; she could have at least tried to be pleasant.

The queue for drinks was growing longer and longer. She wanted to go over to Razz, to interrupt his conversation with Zoey, to drag him away on some pretext or other, but she couldn’t leave the mums from the PTA struggling to serve everyone. She slipped into the kitchen area and turned to the first customer. It was Kate.

‘Four mojitos, Jo, please,’ she said. ‘This is a great event. Far better than that pub quiz.’

Jo poured her drinks from the enormous jug and Kate popped another twenty into the tin. When everyone had been served, Jo handed Sal a ginger beer and grabbed one for herself, as the bell rang to signal the start of part two.

Razz was still talking to Zoey. Man Number Eleven, who’d been Jo’s first date of the evening, was standing behind him, but Razz seemed reluctant to relinquish his seat. Eventually, he stood up and joined Kate at her table. Jo hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath, but it came out suddenly, leaving her light-headed. She took a sip of her ginger beer and turned her attention to her letters and to Man Number Five.

After this round, she only had Numbers Four to One to get through and finally Razz, Number Twelve, would be across the table from her. What on earth was she going to say?

She’d tell him straight, she decided. Be honest and say that she wanted to be more than friends. If she could pluck up courage, she might even tell him that she was falling in love. Because she was, wasn’t she? She hadn’t acknowledged it before, but that was what had been happening these last few weeks as they’d organised the festival together. She’d grown closer and closer to him, and she’d started to fall in love. She hadn’t dared admit it, not even to herself, because she was so sick of failed relationships, so sick of embarking on something with someone, of falling for someone, only to realise that she’d chosen the wrong guy to fall for – yet again. Only now, the Universe had given her a sign and anyway, she knew Razz; knew that he was a kind, gentle bloke who’d never treat her the way Si had. She knew she could trust him so yes, she would tell him. Now. Before it was too late. Before Zoey got her claws into him.

The next three games dragged. Really dragged. Jo did her best to be good company, to chat between placing tiles on the board. This was her event, after all, and she wanted these men to enjoy themselves even if she wasn’t interested in them romantically.

As Number One took his seat at her table, she couldn’t help but be aware of Razz sitting down opposite Woman Number Ten, only a couple of feet away from her.

She placed her fifth word down on the board, her hands shaking as she did. I.

‘What’s that?’ said Number One.