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It was another forty minutes before he’d collected his phone and wallet, left the prison, and caught the bus into Wandsworth, where he’d arranged to meet his sister for coffee.
The Brew Cafe was situated on the Old York Road. It was modern and cosy, and considered to be one of the ‘cool’ places to hang out. According to his sister, anyway. Matt didn’t care. As long as they served decent coffee, he was happy.
Leah was seated by the window. She glanced up when he approached and her face broke into a grin. She waved from behind the glass, beckoning him in.
He loved the way he never had to second-guess what his sister was feeling. If she was happy, she smiled. If she was sad, she cried. And if she was angry, she’d throw a saucer at his head – he still had the scar to prove it.
It meant their relationship was uncomplicated. Easy. No games or miscommunications. Something he couldn’t say about any of the women he’d had romantic relationships with. His track record wasn’t great. Three back-to-back bad experiences had dented his self-esteem and left him reluctant to try again, which was a shame, as he’d love to meet someone, but he wasn’t sure his heart could cope with another battering.
The bell above the door tinkled as he entered.
Leah rushed over and threw her arms around him. See? Happy to see him. He had no problems understanding that.
His sister was a lot shorter than him and had to stretch up on tiptoe. ‘I swear you get taller every time I see you.’ She kissed his cheek and patted his chest, before returning to the table. ‘I ordered for you.’
‘Maybe you’re shrinking,’ he said, shrugging off his jacket and slinging it over the back of the chair. ‘What did you get me?’
‘Americano. Half-fat milk. No sugar.’ She sat down, curling one leg under her. One of the benefits of being a PE teacher – flexibility. ‘Did I do well?’
‘You did.’ Unlike his sister, he kept his feet rooted to the floor. His physique wouldn’t accommodate bending a leg under him. His sister might be compact and small-framed, but he was all bulk. Well built, as his mother referred to him. Hagrid, as Leah called him.
He didn’t mind being thickset, but it was a constant battle to keep his weight down. Thankfully, an active job and playing rugby at the weekends kept the belly in check. For now.
Leah sipped her cappuccino. ‘So, how is he?’ She grimaced and added another sugar to her coffee.
By ‘he’ Matt knew she was referring to their dad. ‘Delusional, as usual.’
‘Still playing the victim?’ She stirred her coffee. ‘The system is against me, and all that crap?’
He sighed. ‘Not so much these days. He’s less belligerent than he used to be. He doesn’t moan quite as much about the unfairness of his sentence.’
Leah rolled her eyes. ‘Because jailing a man for killing a bloke is so unreasonable. What were the courts thinking? They should’ve let him off with a slapped wrist.’
His sister shared his views on the punishment fitting the crime. She had strong morals, an unwavering sense of fairness and annoyingly straight teeth. Her only flaw was the inability to forgive. Once lost, there was no regaining her trust. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out why.
‘So why the change in stance?’ she said, sipping her coffee. ‘Has he found God? Taken up yoga? Been medicated?’ She wiped a smudge of foam from her top lip. ‘Please don’t tell me he’s finally accepted some responsibility for his crime? Anything else I could cope with. Not that.’ She added another sugar to her coffee.
‘He’s applied for early release. He envisages he’ll be out soon.’
Leah frowned. ‘Is that likely? Why would they release him early?’
Matt sipped his coffee. ‘So he can attend his grandson’s wedding.’
A beat passed before Leah burst out laughing. ‘No way! Are you serious? You’re kidding me?’
‘I wish I was.’
She stopped laughing. ‘He thinks he’s coming to the wedding?’
Matt nodded. ‘He said… and I quote: “Why wouldn’t I be invited?”’
Leah snorted, attracting a few strange looks from the other patrons. She waved an apology. ‘Wow, he is delusional. Did you put him straight?’
‘I tried to. I mean, I warned him there was a chance he might not be invited, but he dismissed the idea. He can’t fathom why everyone wouldn’t want him there.’
‘Unbelievable.’ Leah ran her hands through her wavy brown hair, shaking her head. ‘You have to hand it to the man. I mean, that is one whole new level of narcissism.’
‘The fact is, I have no idea whether Zac would want him there, or not.’
