‘Nice. And the driver went to prison?’
‘Yes. Fifteen years and a hefty fine. Not that the fine was anything. Pocket change to people like that. I doubt he’ll do the whole term. There were a couple of appeals but it was upheld. Which is probably just as well.’
He turned to look at me. ‘I don’t know what I would have done if he’d walked free but it wouldn’t have been good.’ His gaze flicked down to the dog. ‘I’m not proud of that thought and Alice would be livid with me. She was very much the pacifist.’
‘But if the situation had been reversed, there’s no saying that she wouldn’t have felt the same. Extreme circumstances cause people to think, and sometimes do, extreme things. But I’m glad you didn’t.’
Jesse tilted his head back so that it rested on the cabinet door and his eyes focused on the ceiling.
‘So am I.’ He blew out a breath, slowly. ‘So am I.’
We sat on the kitchen floor together for several more minutes. His hand still rested around my waist, each of us having one hand on the dog. My bum was numb and I had a cramp in my leg but I was prepared to sit there for as long as Jesse wanted.
Another minute passed and he patted my leg a couple of times. ‘I have something for you.’ Quickly, he got up and pulled me up with him. Ned gave himself a shake, executed a fabulous Downward Dog and waited to see what exciting thing would happen next.
I wiggled my toes on the heated floor, loving that this house was always warm. Even before the heating had been scuppered by the storm, ‘warm’ was still not really a concept my house had yet become well acquainted with.
‘This is for you.’ He pointed to the package he’d retrieved from the parcel box earlier.
‘Me?’
He nodded.
‘What is it?’ I asked, excitement fizzing within me.
‘Open it and you’ll see,’ he replied, the smile back in his voice now.
I did as he said and tore off the cardboard. Inside was a tissue-wrapped package, which I undid more carefully. Within that lay all the stationery I could ever want for starting my new business. Beautiful paper for printed invoices and quotes. I knew from before that some people still liked a printed copy, even in these days of email and digital everything. Pastel sticky notes – how did he know I had an aversion to the neon ones? Envelopes, the most beautiful planner, three emerald-green, suede-touch notebooks with the word ‘Notes’ embossed in gold script lettering.
‘Jesse, this is wonderful! Thank you. But I have to pay you for it.’
‘It’s a gift.’
‘Jesse.’
‘Fliss.’
‘You shouldn’t have.’
‘I wanted to. Don’t you like them?’ For a moment, something in his expression wavered.
My hand automatically went to his. ‘I love them. They’re perfect. They’re exactly what I would have chosen myself. But?—’
‘There is no but. You needed stationery. Now you have it. There’s something else though.’
‘Something else?’
‘Dermot sent me over the pictures of the survey.’ He pulled up something on his phone. ‘Is this your laptop?’
I looked at the photo on the screen as Jesse pinched it to enlarge the image. It was of my bedroom. And there, on the water-stained and beyond-hope bedside table was my equally beyond-hope computer.
‘Oh, God. Yes. I forgot I’d taken it in there. Ironically, I’d been looking up house insurance before I went to sleep.’
Jesse let loose a giggle and then sucked his lips as if to try and pull it back in.
I gave him a whack. ‘It’s not funny!’ It was another blow and right now, I wasn’t sure how many more of them I could take.
‘No. No. I know. Sorry.’ And then he giggled again.
