Page 69 of Love Letters on Hazel Lane

‘Weren’t there any letter S’s left?’ she said. ‘I bought plenty.’

He looked baffled for a moment. ‘Oh, my name? I’ve always spelled it like this – since primary school. I even have a sign on my door at the surgery that says, Doctor Razz.’

So Ras wasn’t Ras at all?

He was Razz – 22 glorious points.

How had she not known this? If only she’d walked down the corridor to his consulting room at the health centre, rather than sitting in the waiting room.

‘Time for round two of the tournament, Jo.’ Ras – or rather, Razz – tapped on his watch. ‘I’d better go and find my table.’

‘Sure, I’ll… er… go up and make an announcement.’

But Jo didn’t move. She watched him walk away then looked at Gemma. ‘R-A-double Z.’

‘Now I’m not as into Scrabble as you,’ said Gemma, ‘but even I know that Z scores 10 points. On your Scrabble dating chart, he scores a massive 22 points. That’s not just a sign from the Universe. That’s a Bloody Big Sign.’

27

A Bloody Big Sign.

In a daze, Jo announced the beginning of the second round of the tournament and sat back down on the edge of the stage with Gemma, surveying proceedings.

‘R-A-double Z,’ said Gemma. ‘The Universe has given you your sign. Not that you needed a sign in my book, but well, you’ve got it now. You’ll have to tell him.’

‘Tell him?’

‘How you feel about him. You clearly have feelings for him, Jo. I don’t know him, obviously, but I reckon he has feelings for you too.’

Jo wasn’t so sure. ‘We do get on, Gem, but as friends. I did think he was about to kiss me in the staffroom yesterday, seconds before you arrived, but that was probably wishful thinking on my part. I mean, after that first date, I didn’t hear from him. If I hadn’t gone along to the Scrabble club, I’d never have seen him again. If he liked me in that way, surely he’d have got in touch.’

‘There could be all sorts of reasons why he didn’t,’ Gemma said. ‘Maybe he was waiting for you to get in touch with him. I think you should tell him how you feel.’

‘But we’re friends now. If I tell him and he doesn’t feel the same way, then it could be tricky. It might ruin our friendship. I’d feel really awkward at Scrabble club – it was bad enough realising that first time that he was the organiser. I nearly left. But if I tell him now and he doesn’t feel the same way, well, I’d feel even more embarrassed. I’m not sure I’d dare go back, to be honest. And that Scrabble club’s become a big part of my life.’

‘I know you love Scrabble, Jo, but if he does feel the same way, this could be life-changing. What if he’s The One? And both of you are too reticent to declare your feelings. Isn’t it worth risking potential embarrassment at Scrabble club to find out what he thinks about you? Oh, hang on. Someone’s got their hand up.’

Jo settled an argument about whether the word YOWZA was allowed – it was, according to the most up-to-date copy of Collins’ Scrabble dictionary, which one of the professionals had brought along – and returned to her seat beside Gemma.

‘You should tell him,’ said Gemma.

‘Kate says that it’s better to let men make the first move.’

‘Maybe with some men, but Razz seems kind of shy. And as I’ve said before, this is the twenty-first century. Why shouldn’t a woman tell a man if she likes him?’

The discussion continued for the entire second round. Jo was so lost in her thoughts about Razz and her dilemma about what she should do that she didn’t notice at first that every table had finished. She and Gemma sprinted around the hall, jotting down the results. Razz, Florence and Mr Morgan were all through to the last round of the day, along with one of the parents, two of the professionals, and little Alfred, who had beaten his opponent easily, using up all his letters not once but three times, and racking up masses of bonus points.

Mrs Hamilton-Jones was beside herself with excitement. ‘My Alfred could win the whole thing,’ she said to Jo.

‘He could. Definitely.’

Personally, she thought it was unlikely. The professional Alfred would be up against next had quite a ruthless look in his eyes.

After a short break, the third round kicked off. The hall was even busier now, with hordes of people milling about, many of whom were standing around the tables, avidly watching the games. Razz took an early lead in his match against Mr Morgan but was beaten with only three points in it. Florence went out, despite arguing over at least four words and being proved right on two occasions. Miraculously, Mr B was still in the running, but he had got lucky in the draw and hadn’t been up against any of the pros yet. And little Alfred saw off the ruthless professional; someone had to fetch his mother a glass of water as she looked a little faint.

And then it was time to say goodbye to Gemma; it was Jack’s parents’ wedding anniversary lunch the following day and she’d been unable to wriggle out of it.

‘I wish I could stay for the whole thing, but you know what his mother’s like – she’d never forgive me if I missed it. Besides, you’ve got this, Jo. It’s all going brilliantly. Everyone’s enjoying themselves and you’ve had your big sign from the Universe that Razz is the one for you. Promise me you’ll tell him.’