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‘Everything okay?’ she asked. Her wavy hair was still in its messy bun, but now there was a twig sticking out of it, he presumed from forest school. He had a sudden urge to pull her in for a hug.

‘Sorry, I’ve had a funny day.’ He pushed his hands through his hair and sighed. ‘I might go for a swim and clear my head.’

That didn’t work either, though. For once, his laps did nothing to ease out his muscles or calm his mind. By the time he was showered and in his pyjama bottoms, he was ready to just go to bed and put an end to the day. It suddenly felt like everything around him was changing, like he was walking on shaky ground, and he didn’t like it. Everyone was moving on except him. He grabbed the post from the kitchen table, locked the back door and headed upstairs, shaking his head.

The boys liked new foods, strange sandwiches and wacky combinations. They were learning new things. Things he hadn’t taught them or showed them.

His friends were all settling down and had other priorities. He couldn’t begrudge them that, but was he ready to move on himself? The thought itself was terrifying. Although, if he allowed himself to think about it, then he could now see that there were people out there that he could imagine sliding into something with. Erin, for example. Common ground, work drive. And she was pretty, in that girl next door kind of way, he had to admit.

His mind returned to Robyn and he sighed. There was definitely an attraction there, but not one he could do anything about. And what was the point? Because she herself would be moving on with her life in a matter of weeks.

Fox opened the envelope and scanned the post. Finally, he pulled open the cardboard box and shook out the contents. Rather than the electric toothbrush he was expecting, a large, bright purple vibrator landed in his lap.

He held it in his hands, stunned, not just at the unexpectedness of it, but at the design. A rabbit, with very carefully designed ears to hit the right spot. Picking up the packaging, he studied the label.

Robyn Wells. Honeybridge House.

He laughed out loud for the first time that day at exactly the same time as his phone went off.

Robyn’s name flashed on his screen. He opened the message.

Robyn: Fox, I’ve picked up your parcel by mistake. Please don’t open mine.

He laughed again, imagining the horror on her face at finding his toothbrush.

He ambled through to the en-suite and positioned the vibrator next to his toothpaste, where his toothbrush would normally stand. He snapped a picture on his phone and sent it to her.

Fox: Sorry! Too late!

Robyn: 🤦

Fox laughed out loud again, eyeing the sex toy. Damn, the things he would like to do to Robyn with that. Instead, he resolutely shut the bathroom door and prayed that the old saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ would get him through the night.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Robyn

Wren: You okay today? I know what day it is.

Robyn: You mean the anniversary of my non-existent wedding?

Wren: Thought you might like some company. Want to meet for a walk?

Robyn: That would be great.

Wren: See you at the rowing club at 12.

It was bright outside, but cold, as the two women made their way along the river path. A good crisp kind of day for Robyn to clear her head. She wore Willow in her sling under her coat and had a double-wrapped scarf around her neck. Wren looked stylish as ever in boots and a military coat which hung open around her baby bump. They took the path away from town, where the river got wilder, walking in comfortable silence.

‘Thanks for remembering the date,’ Robyn said. ‘Although I kind of wish I’d forgotten it by now.’

Wren linked her arm through Robyn’s.

‘I always think of you on this day, more than I do on any other,’ Wren said. ‘Even when you were abroad and I didn’t know what country you might be in, I always thought of you on the fifteenth of November.’

Robyn smiled at that. It was comforting somehow, to think of Wren in Honeybridge looking at her calendar and sending virtual hugs to Robyn.

‘And I always think of Finn too,’ Wren continued. ‘And hope he knows what he lost that day.’