‘Of course. Integrity first! Absolutely.’
‘But yes. The National are incrediblytakenwith my story.’
I hear a soft snort come from River. He looks between Henry and I, his face on the verge of a befuddled laugh. I throw him a pointed glare.
‘Would you like to take a walk?’ I ask Henry. ‘Or we could go up to the roof and chat more? Get someprivacy.’
Henry glances at River again and shifts uncomfortably. He takes off his heavy-framed glasses and wipes them vigorously on the corner of his brand new shirt. ‘Thanks for the offer, but now that I know all is well with you, I think perhaps I ought to be going.’
‘Don’t leave!’ I blurt, the panicked desperation in my voice echoing back at me embarrassingly. Since the day Henry left, I’ve done nothing but wish for him to turn up onthe doorstep. Now that he has, I can’t let him just leave. ‘I mean, you don’t need to rush off. You just got here! Stay a while! Relax!’
Henry steps over to me, planting a soft kiss on my cheek. I inhale the scent of the lovely lemony soap he uses and tears immediately puddle in my eyes. My Henry.
‘Stay,’ I whisper, barely audible.
Henry waves away the suggestion. ‘I told Jim I’d go to Little Crumpet with him today to help him set up for the birthday shenanigans. I really should get going. I’ll see you soon okay, Gert?’
‘I … Okay.’ My voice wobbles a little bit, my shoulders slumping with disappointment.
Henry nods at River, an unreadable expression on his face. ‘Lovely to meet you,Just A Friend.’
And then, before I can run over to him, grab his leg, cling on and beg him once again not to leave me, Henry strides out of the flat, closing the door gently behind him.
I stare after him, trying my best to swallow down the sob now burning my throat.
‘That guy?’ River says eventually, eyebrows gathering to create a divot in his forehead. ‘Thatguy?’
I nod sadly. ‘That guy.’
And then I burst into tears.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
River eyes me curiously as I sob and apologise for the awkwardness of the sobbing.
‘You uh, need a Kleenex?’
I shake my head. ‘I’ve not got any. Toilet roll will do.’
River disappears into the bathroom, reappearing with a wad of loo roll big enough to mop up a litre of water. I thank him, tearing a few sheets off and blowing my nose. When I plop down onto the edge of my bed, River takes a seat in the armchair opposite. ‘So you’ve got it real bad for old Henry.’
I give him a ‘duh’ look. ‘We were in a relationship for four years. That’s proper. A person can’t just get over that.’
‘Four years?’ River looks confused. ‘But you two were sopoliteto each other. Like you’d just met.’
‘What do you mean?’
River sticks his nose in the air, adopting a terribly plummy British accent. ‘Are you well? I am well. All is well with I. Is all well with you? Quite well, yes!’
I tut at his dumb and inaccurate impression. ‘It’s not like we could be our true selves with you standing there, gawking at us the whole time. You could have given us a little privacy.’
‘And go where?’ River asks, indicating himself innothing but a towel, and my tiny single-room apartment. ‘Even if I’d hidden out in your bathroom, I’d have heard everything.’ He folds his arms, bulging biceps making him look like a hot Popeye. ‘Anyway, it was good I was there. Old Henry was seething with jealousy.’
‘He was?’ I perk up for a brief moment.
‘Of course he was. He clearly didn’t expect to see another man around here. He didnotlike it.’
I tut. ‘But that’s a bad thing. I don’t want Henry to think I’m involved with someone else.’ I grab my phone from the table. ‘I should text him now. Just to clarify. To definitely definitely let him know that you are just—’
