Charlie laughed, and so did I. And then I burst into tears.
* * *
Charlie’s arms were around me before I knew it. He didn’t ask what was wrong or tell me everything was all right, or that I was fine. He just held me and let me cry until I was ready to stop. When I did, I searched in vain for a tissue in my dress pocket, having left my bag in the boot of the car.
‘Here.’ Charlie offered me a freshly pressed, soft linen handkerchief. I looked at it for a moment. ‘It’s clean,’ he added.
A laugh bubbled up inside me at his obvious, yet earnest statement and I flung my arms around his neck. His arms wrapped automatically back around me and in that moment I felt so safe, so secure I didn’t want to ever let go. But I knew I had to. My embrace loosened, and Charlie’s followed suit. I took the handkerchief still in his hand and tried to delicately wipe my nose. Accepting that as a loss, I blew it instead.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, stuffing the hanky in my own pocket.
Charlie gave a small shake of his head. ‘You don’t need to apologise. What can I do?’
I looked up at him. His expression held such concern that I felt the tears fill my eyes again.
‘My mum would have loved you,’ I said, my breath hitching a little as I spoke.
‘I’m going to take that as a big compliment.’
I nodded in reply, smiling at him through tiny prisms of tears. ‘Mum loved rock-pooling. She’d bring us down here on summer evenings, helping us poke about in the pools, but gently so as not to disturb anything living in there too much. She had a never-ending sense of wonder at the world, and her enthusiasm transferred to everyone she came into contact with. Just her smile could lift you out of a bad mood. She didn’t even need to say anything half the time. Her being there was enough.’
Charlie listened patiently. Mum really would have loved him. And if I wasn’t careful, I knew it would be very easy to fallinlove with him, which I knew would be a Bad Thing. We were wonderful as friends but lovers were quite another matter; I knew I was the opposite of his ‘type’, and I didn’t want to lose him as a friend by attempting something that I already knew wouldn’t work. It was times like this I missed Mum the most.
‘I was right when I said you did remember the last time you went rock-pooling, wasn’t I?’
I nodded. ‘Mum took us shortly before she died. It was one of those long summer evenings that seem to go on and on. She’d packed a picnic tea and as soon as Dad got home we all piled in the car and drove here. Dad got to work on the big umbrella and we sat eating this feast, Mum and I taking most of the shaded spot before setting off to clamber over the rocks and see what creatures had been left by the tide. That day we’d made it into a competition, Mum and I against Matt and Dad. We were all scrambling over the rocks, trying to be the first to find something, and then Dad started making up all these daft names of things they had supposedly found which, of course, had disappeared by the time we came over to look. We were all laughing and I remember looking up from the rock I was perched on and seeing Mum and Dad laughing together. I remember the look on each of their faces. I’ll never forget it. It was like…’ I swallowed, and flicked a brief glance at Charlie.
‘Go on,’ he said, his voice soft.
I dropped my glance to my feet. ‘It’s going to sound corny.’
Charlie gently took my fingers and gave them the softest of squeezes. ‘No, it won’t. And who cares if it does?’
I lifted my gaze to him again. There was no judgement in his eyes. No expectation. Just concern. My gaze shifted to the horizon, hazy and indistinct in the heat.
‘The look on their faces… it was like there was so much love in it, it was almost tangible. It felt like you could reach out and touch it. It was so real.’ I swiped at my cheek as a tear rolled down it. Charlie’s thumb caught another before I could get to it. His touch was warm and gentle and part of me didn’t want him to ever stop touching me. I took a deep breath, stepping back from him as I did so, letting his fingers fall away from mine. All the emotion that the memory had evoked, plus the remnants of a hangover and a late night, was muddling my senses. I pulled my hat straighter and shoved my sunglasses back on. Behind their screen, I risked another glance at Charlie. His brow furrowed slightly as he watched me.
‘So, where’s this amazing cake place, then?’
Charlie waited a couple of beats before he spoke. ‘Follow me.’
* * *
Tilly had the Monday off so it was Tuesday before I was able to tackle speaking to her about the shock contents of the accounting file.
‘Morning!’
‘Morning,’ I said, a little less enthusiastically, as I let Tilly in the door. From the corner of my eye, I saw her slide a glance to me.
‘How was your weekend?’
‘Fine, thanks. Yours?’
‘OK. Bit crazy with organising things for the wedding, of course. But that just seems to be par for the course at the moment.’
I smiled and nodded and walked on to the kitchen, where I proceeded to pour two teas from the Art-Deco-style teapot I’d set brewing a few minutes earlier, ready for Tilly’s arrival. She followed me in.
‘Is everything all right, Libby? You seem… a little quieter than usual.’
