* * *
A week later, Evie had just trudged home from the supermarket with her groceries, after an entire week of trudging, basically, because the whole of life felt like a bit of a chore with Dan definitively not in it, when she got a message from Matthew. It was out of the blue; they’d only spoken once since they split up, to give each other some belongings back. Their split had been amicable, but Matthew had seemed very hurt and had said he didn’t want to stay in touch, which Evie had felt awful about.
Did she want to join him for a charity quiz night the following Friday evening? Not really. Life felt too boring to be bothered to do anything. And she’d already done one quiz night this year. Two in the space of about nine months felt like overkill.
But, actually, she should snap out of this. She couldn’t mourn her relationship – such as it had ever been – with Dan forever. He clearly wasn’t the right person for her. She didn’t want to end up like her mum. Maybe Matthew was her Grant. Maybe this was a sign. She was going to go.
* * *
The quiz night had been better than expected – it was actually really nice to see Matthew again, and there’d been a musicals roundanda seventies music round, both of which Evie had shone in – and now she and Matthew were wandering along the Broadway in Wimbledon together in the direction of both the station and Evie’s flat.
They came to the little junction where they’d say goodnight if Matthew wasn’t going to come back to Evie’s flat with her: decision time.
Matthew was lovely. Matthew wouldn’t hurt her. And if you ever needed someone to answer golf questions at a quiz night he was a complete legend. In fact, their general knowledge was completely different. You could say they had little in common,oryou could say that they complemented each other perfectly.
‘Would you like to come back for a coffee?’ she asked.
‘I’d love to.’ He smiled at her and took her hand.
When they rounded the bend in her road, Evie saw a man sitting on her doorstep. Maybe Josh was locked out again. It had happened once or twice before. Although wasn’t he out with Fergus this evening? God, she hoped they hadn’t split up.
Goodness.
Total stomach-lurching realisation.
It wasn’t Josh. It was Dan.
‘Evie.’ He stood up. ‘And Matthew.’ His voice was remarkably cold. He looked pointedly at where they were holding hands. Matthew tried to let go of Evie’s hand and she clung onto his. ‘I thought we ought to talk. But apparently you’ve wasted no time.’
‘Apparently I’vewhat?’
‘Wasted no time,’ Dan repeated, enunciating very clearly.
‘Are youjoking?’
‘No.’
Matthew pulled his hand a bit harder, and Evie clung on a bit harder. No way was Dan doing this.
‘Goodnight, Dan,’ she said.
‘I’d like to talk,’ he said.
Matthew said, ‘If you’re alright, Evie, I think I should probably leave you to it.’
‘Okay,’ Evie said and reluctantly let go of his hand. ‘Thank you for a lovely evening, Matthew. I’m so sorry about this.’ She gestured at Dan.
‘Don’t worry.’ Matthew looked almost as miserable as she felt. ‘Goodnight.’
Evie looked at Matthew’s disappearing back, and then back at Dan. His jaw was clenched and he actually looked like he wanted a fight. She looked down, and, yes, his fists were clenched too.
‘Excuse me,’ she said. ‘I’d like to go inside. I can’t open the door with you standing there.’ She wanted a fight too. Howdarehe say that she’d wasted no time. Howdarehe. But, also, had he, maybe, come to tell her that he loved her and he was ready for a relationship?
‘Could we talk?’ he said, not moving.
‘Do you mean so that you can apologise for being a hypocritical arse? I mean, “wasted no time”? Are youinsane? Frankly, I could have slept with a hundred people in the past twelve days and that would benothingto do with you, because,if you remember, you told me that you “couldn’t do this”. And it isn’t like you didn’t leap into bed with me in Vegas straight after getting Hannah pregnant, is it?’
Dan stared at her for a really long time, his jaw still clenched, while Evie hoped desperately that he was going to tell her that he was sorry and he loved her and wanted to be together and that he’d manage to say it convincingly enough that she’d be able to believe him and forgive him for all his arsery.
