Page 13 of The Only Way Is Up

Daisy’s hand flew to her mouth as a thousand disconnected thoughts and fragments of recent phone conversations tumbled forth like jigsaw pieces from a box, then her brain deftly fitted them together. In that moment, she knew with absolute certainty that she was being taken for a fool.

She took a deep breath and forced a smile as she handed back Ruby’s phone. Whatever game Christian was playing, she was determined it wouldn’t ruin the first weekend she’d spent alone with her daughter in months. ‘Shall we do some online shopping later? Find something for your dad’s birthday?’

Ruby reached over and took her mum’s hand, forcing Daisy to suppress a sob. ‘That would be nice,’ she said brightly, adding an extra squeeze for good measure.

‘What are you staring at?’ Daisy asked an hour later, as the landlady cleared their plates and Ruby’s attention drifted to a table near the bar.

‘No, don’t turn round!’ whispered Ruby. ‘It’s a boy doing his homework. Don’t look.’

‘OK,’ Daisy smiled. ‘What’s so interesting about him?’

‘He’s super-cute, and he’s reading The Handmaid’s Tale,’ replied Ruby.

‘Ah, one of your favourites. For school, do you think, or is he just a fan of dystopian feminist classics?’

‘It’s an A level text, so he must be a year or two older than me. He looks like Timothée Chalamet.’

Daisy raised her eyebrows in amusement. ‘Goodness, that’s quite the recommendation.’

‘He just accidentally smiled at me, then blushed bright red,’ Ruby muttered.

Daisy smiled at her daughter, her eyes glittering. ‘OK, here’s a little challenge for you. I’m going to the bar to order some tea. By the time I get back you need to have found out his name, how old he is and where he lives.’

Ruby smiled and stretched her neck from side to side like an athlete warming up, interlacing her fingers and pushing them inside out. ‘You’re on.’

Daisy leaned on the bar and watched Ruby approach the boy out of the corner of her eye. He was tall and thin with a floppy mess of dark curls that fell over his face, like the pictures she’d seen of Simon as a New Romantic in the early eighties.

‘Hi,’ said Ruby. ‘How’s the book?’ A good start, thought Daisy. Always ask an open question.

The boy opened and closed his mouth for a few seconds, then found his voice. ‘It’s good. Better than I thought it would be, I suppose.’

Ruby smiled at him, looking like an angel with her hair hanging in loose curls around her shoulders; the poor boy didn’t stand a chance. He stared at her in awe for a moment then looked down at the book again, hiding his face behind the curtain of fringe.

‘Why are you doing your homework in the pub?’ asked Ruby as Daisy placed her order for two cups of tea. Subtle, Rubes.

The boy looked up again, his face now scarlet. ‘Oh. It’s warmer in here. My dad won’t put the heating on, so the house is freezing.’

Ruby’s brow furrowed. ‘Wow, that’s harsh. Where do you live?’

The boy nodded to his right. ‘In the rectory next door. It’s freezing. Full of ghosts, probably.’ He blushed again, and Daisy felt momentarily glad she wasn’t single, then remembered the gossip about Christian and felt a wave of sickness in the pit of her stomach.

Ruby gave a tinkly laugh. ‘I’m Ruby.’

The boy pushed his hair out of his face and attempted a smile. ‘Oh. Um, I’m Will.’ Daisy glanced at him with renewed interest, realising he was Melanie’s son, the boy Justin had mentioned.

‘Is this for A level?’ asked Ruby. ‘How old are you?’ God, Ruby, thought Daisy. Let the poor boy breathe.

‘I’m seventeen, so just started second year,’ said Will. ‘English Lit.’

‘I’m sixteen in a couple of months,’ Ruby ploughed on. ‘GCSEs next year, I’ve got my mocks after Christmas. I’m at Milton Park.’

Will nodded as Daisy headed over with two cups and saucers. His eyes widened, no doubt putting two and two together and recalling a specific photo he’d probably seen on social media. Daisy took a deep breath and smiled.

‘Mum, this is Will.’ Ruby waved at the blushing young man. ‘He’s seventeen and lives in the rectory next door.’

Daisy gave Ruby a triumphant grin, then looked at Will. ‘Hi, Will, nice to meet you.’ She twisted her head to look at his book. ‘You should ask Ruby about The Handmaid’s Tale, she’s read it loads of times.’

Will looked at Ruby, his mouth half open. ‘Really?’