She typed a fast reply as she walked into the hallway.‘I’m on the world’s worst date with one of them. He’s just run me home and now he won’t leave.’
‘Seriously?’Will replied.
‘Yes, he’s a bit creepy. He’s just taken his shoes off!’
She waited for three dots to appear indicating Will was composing a reply. But there was nothing. He’d gone. Had she offended him? Had she bored him? She stood in the hallway and looked at the phone for so long, waiting, that the backlight switchedoff and the phone locked itself. And then the doorknocker sounded loudly.
Lucy reached out and opened the door to find Will standing on the doorstep, and before Lucy had a chance to say anything, he said, ‘How creepy are we talking?’
Lucy smiled with relief that he was here. ‘Mid-level creepy.’
‘Everything all right?’ Simon called from the sitting room. ‘You coming back, Lucy?’
Will made a face. ‘Want rescuing?’
Lucy toyed with saying no thanks, I can rescue myself. But she’d done a terrible job so far and so she opted for, ‘Yes please.’
Will rolled up the sleeves of his jersey.
‘You’re not going to hit him, are you?’ Lucy asked in horror.
‘Of course not.’
‘What are you going to say?’
‘I don’t know yet.’ He walked into the sitting room and stretched out his hand. ‘Hello, mate, I’m Will.’
Simon stood and awkwardly shook his hand. ‘Er, I’m Simon.’
‘Great. Good to meet you. You the estate agent?’ Will asked.
Simon looked at Lucy, still standing in the hallway. She moved into the room in a bid not to be cowardly.
‘Yeah,’ Simon said, looking back to Will. ‘Are you …? Wait, who are you?’
‘I’m Will. I’m her husband. Lucy’s too nice to say but I think it’s a bit past our bedtime now. Do you mind if we give you a ring tomorrow about the house and … well, the house mainly,’ Will said.
Confusion passed over Simon’s face and Lucy wanted to close her eyes and die of embarrassment. ‘She didn’t mention—’ Simon started.
‘Good man,’ Will said. ‘Bit nippy out there. You’ll need your shoes.’
Lucy cringed as Simon looked at his shoes and then sat on the settee, putting them on in silence.
Eventually Simon said, ‘Right. Well, yeah. I’ll be in touch about …’ His sentence trailed off and he looked around the house and gestured. ‘About the house and … yeah …’
‘Great, I’ll show you out,’ Will said and waited for Simon to walk in front of him.
Lucy stood mutely, her eyes wide. She gave Simon a nervous smile as he said, ‘Goodnight,’ and walked past her.
‘Night,’ she muttered, embarrassment rendering her unable to say anything else.
‘Night, Simon,’ Will called from the front door. ‘Drive safe.’ Will closed the front door and turned back to Lucy.
Lucy closed her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Then she raised her hand to her mouth to cover it as her shoulders started shaking and she couldn’t stop.
Will stood with his back against the closed front door as they listened to Simon start his car and the crunch of gravel as it left the drive. ‘And that’s how it’s done.’
‘Oh my God, you made me look unhinged,’ she said through big gasps of laughter.
