‘Maybe,’ she says. ‘After your sharp exit yesterday I wasn’t sure if you’d want to see me again …’
‘I will always want to see you again.’
‘That’s good, because now that you’ve finished work on your house and all, I thought I’d bring you a housewarming gift.’ She points towards the plant she’s standing next to.
‘That’s really kind of you. Did you clone Saskia?’
‘ThatisSaskia!’
‘What will you do without her?’
Alice rubs her hands together for warmth before her eyes meet mine. That instant connection I’ve felt with her all along ignites once again, like a switch being turned on.
‘Well wherever Saskia goes, I go. So ask me again, Zach.’
She’s jigging about on the doorstep, trying to stay warm while a smile lights up her face.
Ask her again? She can’t mean …?
It’s worth a shot.
I train my eyes on hers, nerves jangling. ‘Alice, will you move in with me?’
She laughs. ‘YES. I would love nothing more than that, Zach.’
In an instant I pull her into my arms, breathing her in and feeling like I might explode with happiness. She said yes.
‘You didn’t think I would just give you Saskia did you? We’re a package deal,’ Alice says, the pompom tickling my chin as she looks up at me. She pulls the hat off her head and stuffs it into her bag, turning to face me and we kiss right there on the doorstep of my house, which now feels exactly like the home I’d hoped it would be.
Alice is running her fingers across every surface of our home, stopping now and then to make comments about how different things look since the last time she saw it. It reminds me of our second date at the bookshop, when I watched her flick through the pages of the books we were looking at. That same curiosity, interest, zest for life. All of the things I’ve come to love so much about her.
‘So this isourmantelpiece, huh?’ she says, pausing in the living room with her eyes wide.
I nod in confirmation, still buzzing from the news that this incredible woman will be moving in with me. She moves into the kitchen.
‘And this isourfridge?’
‘Correct,’ I laugh.
She opens it up and gives me a look. ‘I’m obviously going to need to be in charge of filling it.’
‘You can be in charge of whatever you’d like,’ I say.
‘That’s good, because there’s no way I’m living in a house where the only comestibles appear to be parmesan cheese, a ready-made pizza and a four-pack of beer.’
I hold my hands up. ‘In my defence, I did not know you would be coming here today. If I had the fridge would be filled with your favourite things.’
‘You are my favourite thing,’ Alice smiles, shutting the fridge door and stepping into the middle of the kitchen. ‘The house looks really good, Zach.’
‘Would you like a proper tour? The bathroom’s finished and my … our bedroom is painted now, too.’
‘I would like a proper tour. Do you have a tour guide hat?’
‘I’m afraid not, ma’am,’ I say, doffing an imaginary cap instead.
‘Here,’ she says, pulling her bobble hat down onto my head and failing not to laugh when it barely fits. Before I have time to protest, she’s grabbed her phone, opened the camera and is ordering me to smile. Then she doubles over in a fit of laughter after examining the picture.
‘I’m not sure pompom hats are my thing,’ I object.
