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‘Of course I don’t mind! I’d never forgive myself if I let you drive home in that state and something happened to you. Why don’t you send your grandparents a text to say you’ll be late, and I’ll wake you in an hour?’
I don’t feel entirely comfortable with his proposal, but the idea of a lie-down is too much to resist. I send the text and follow him up to his flat, where he shows me into the spare room. It’s like the rest of the flat, tired and dated but scrupulously clean. I draw the thin curtains and stretch out on the bed. It’s not particularly comfortable, but that doesn’t make a difference. My head has barely touched the pillow before I’m fast asleep.
20
I feel totally disorientated when I wake up, and it takes me a while to remember where I am. I glance at my watch, which informs me that it’s nearly seven o’clock in the evening. So much for Matt waking me. I get up quickly, run my fingers through my hair to get rid of the worst of the tangles, and walk out into his living room.
‘I thought you said you were going to wake me after an hour!’ I exclaim.
‘I tried. I knocked on the door and called your name, but nothing. I didn’t feel comfortable coming in, so in the end I gave up and left you to it. Do you feel better?’
‘Much, but I really have to go. Nan and Grandad will be wondering where I am.’ I check my phone to make sure that they got my text, and I’m surprised to read their answer.
No problem, love. As it’s just the two of us, Grandad’s going to take me out for dinner, so fix yourself something when you get in. Nan x
‘Everything okay?’ Matt asks.
‘Yes. It seems that they’re taking advantage of Katie and me not being there to have a romantic dinner out. It looks like I’m fending for myself.’
‘You’re welcome to stay and eat with me, if you like. It’s nothing very special, I’m afraid, just grilled chicken and some salad.’
I’m torn. It would be very easy to let Matt cook for me, but I can’t help thinking I’ve probably outstayed my welcome already. On the other hand, it might be an opportunity to talk about extending the menu.
‘I don’t want to be more trouble,’ I tell him.
‘You won’t be. In fact, you’re doing me a favour because the chicken came in a pack of two, so I was going to have to freeze one.’
‘Well, let me go and get some wine at least. What do you prefer, red or white?’
‘I like red, but white might go better with this. You choose.’
It takes me a little while to find an off-licence, and I dither a bit trying to choose the right bottle, so it’s around half an hour later when I return to Matt’s flat. From the aromas that greet me when he opens the door, I would say his interpretation of ‘just grilled chicken and some salad’ is rather more advanced than mine. He takes the wine and pours us each a glass, respecting my wish for a small one, because I’ve still got to drive home after this. I settle myself at his table and he brings over the chicken, salad, and some garlic bread that I’m pretty sure wasn’t mentioned before, but smells incredible. We clink our glasses, pile our plates, and I take a big mouthful. It all tastes just as good as it smells, and I tell him so. Although Matt is purely a work colleague, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between him and Paul. Paul is, and I put this politely, not a good cook. How he hasn’t poisoned himself is a mystery. I wonder how he’s getting on. Maybe he’s in a blissful relationship with the woman who keeps coming into the shop.
‘Sorry?’ I realise that Matt has been speaking and I haven’t taken in a word he’s said.
‘I said, I’ve never known anyone who works as hard as you, but I’m worried that you’re overloaded.’
My first instinct is to flare up. How dare he tell me what my limits are? But then I realise I’ve just spent three hours asleep in his spare bed because I was so tired I wasn’t fit to drive, and decide to cut him some slack. Plus, the food is so delicious I really don’t want to storm out and leave half of it behind. I take a deep breath and prepare to be candid.
‘I didn’t expect it to be this difficult,’ I begin. ‘There are some things, like clearing out Fred’s flat, that won’t carry on forever, but even once that’s done, I think I’m going to find juggling the café and my main job a struggle. There’s so much more I want to do with the café, but I need my main job for the income.’
‘Do you, though?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, you own Fred’s flat outright. I know it needs a bit of work, but I bet you could get quite a nice monthly rental income from it. That would go quite a long way towards tiding you over, wouldn’t it?’
‘Yes, maybe. It would mean taking quite a substantial pay cut, but I have done some calculations, and I could probably survive on it.’
Matt smiles.
‘What?’
‘Well, you’ve obviously been giving it some thought. That’s encouraging. It means you might not be in quite such a hurry to sell up.’
‘Nice try! I’m focused on trying to turn the café around at the moment. I’ll make a decision about selling it once we see whether I’m successful or not. Can I ask you a question?’ Time to change the subject, I think.
‘Go on.’
