‘How—’
‘He was the paramedic who saw him.’
‘Wait, so Dom the grandson is also the paramedic who saw Fred?’
‘Yes and yes.’
‘And Nathan’s a fireman?’
Lisa felt a pang at hearing Nathan’s name. ‘Yes.’ She sipped her tea.
‘Are you trying to workyour way through the cast of “YMCA”?’
Lisa swallowed her tea in a lump. ‘Cheeky bugger, and, as I am sure you know, there was neither a fireman nor a paramedic in the “YMCA” line-up. In fact, I’m pretty sure none of them were my type.’
Felicity laughed as they made their way across the car park back to her car. ‘Seriously though, what about Nathan? What happened there? I kind ofalways felt you two belonged together.’
Lisa got in the car. ‘I don’t know. It was lovely – really lovely to spend the evening with him. But I think our timing is all wrong, again. We want different things.’And I can’t just be his friend.
‘Oh, Lisa, I’m sorry I encouraged you to go there.’
‘It’s fine, I had a great night,’ she turned and grinned, ‘a really great night.My God he still does it for me!’
Felicity looked shocked.
Lisa burst out laughing and turned the music back on. ‘Road trip!’ she chanted, clearly not about to give anything else away.
Lisa had convinced herself that Ben would be there. She had spent most of the night wondering what she would say to him, or rather what he might say to her. The fact he wasn’t made the wholething easier. It really would be just a matter of collecting the boxes he had already parcelled up for her and closing the door on that part of her life.
Walking into the flat that had been her home, Lisa was surprised to feel disconnected from it. Of course, Ben had moved things and removed all the things relating to their relationship, and that made it feel different. But still, sherealised, as she came to terms with her lack of emotion, she hadn’t missed it. Not even in those early, lonely months at her mum’s house.
Her boxes were piled at the side of the living room. The flat was furnished when they took it on, so there were only clothes and personal effects to collect. She didn’t want to take anything else: the stereo, pictures, kitchen utensils – the things theyhad amassed along the way – she didn’t need and had told Ben to keep.
With Lisa and Felicity working together to take things to the car, it didn’t take long until just two boxes remained. Lisa glanced round the room. She looked at the couch. A vision of her and Ben snuggled up together and laughing there came to mind. There had been happy times, she knew there had. She just hadn’t noticedwhen they started to fade. A glance at the bathroom made her think of the morning she had lost Pip. The pain, the loneliness and the emptiness she felt. She turned to face Felicity. Without saying anything Felicity gave her a hug. It was exactly what Lisa needed.
‘Do you want to leave a note or anything?’
‘No, I’ll just check that I’ve got everything, and then we’ll take thesetwo boxes and get going, shall we?’
‘Sure, whatever you want.’
Lisa began checking around, and went into the bedroom. Opening what used to be her wardrobe she found a box marked ‘Tip’ and looked inside. It contained the collection of artefacts she and Ben had gathered on their travels. Never anything big, back then they didn’t have the money or space in their luggage to keep unnecessaryornaments, but pebbles, shells, postcards, leather and string friendship bracelets they had made each other, beer-bottle tops from drinks they’d shared on special occasions, and coasters from various bars. They were small but significant things, each marking different moments of their life together. Lisa sighed; they were happy then. When it really was just the two of them. It was only asthey had returned to England and embarked on settling down that the little things had become less significant to them and Ben had changed. She decided to leave the box where it was. Its placing was probably intended to ensure she saw it and maybe even to hurt her. But, really, it just made her realise how much their relationship had changed since those days.
Felicity called out that shewas going to use the bathroom and Lisa took one more look around. As she entered the living room, the sound of the front door opening startled her and, before she could panic, she came face to face with Ben. Lisa felt her colour drain.
‘Ben! I’m sorry. I hoped… I mean, I thought I’d missed you.’
Ben slid his tie down. ‘I was going to stay away. I wanted to stay away. But, as muchas I tried, I couldn’t. Being here is against my better judgement, but I knew I had to see you. You see, the more I thought about it the more I thought… well, I thought if I came back, spoke to you face to face, maybe—’
‘I’m not sure we have anything left to say.’
Ben moved closer to her. ‘I know you think that. And I did too, but we were good together, you and I.’
Lisathought about the box in her wardrobe and the happy times they had shared, when life was an adventure. ‘Yes, we were, once.’
‘And we could be again.’
‘Ben, too much has happened. You’ve changed; I’ve changed. We’re both so different now compared to—’
