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She knew what he meant, knew what had driven him to reach for his own stars.
‘Can I get you a drink? I have everything you could possibly want.’
‘A glass of red’s fine, thank you,’ replied Shay.
‘Shiraz, Tempranillo, Malbec, Pinot Noir…?’
‘Pinot Noir would be lovely.’
‘Come and sit while I dish up.’ He pulled out one of the chairs at the dining table which had been set only for two and then went into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of wine which he opened, poured and left on the table. The aromas of tomato and garlic drifted enticingly on the air.
‘I never asked if you were vegetarian or had anything you couldn’t eat so I hope this is okay,’ said Jonah. ‘It’s just pasta.’
‘I eat anything,’ replied Shay, watching him open up the oven. He seemed to be taller than she remembered, but then he had at least two years growing room still in him at sixteen. His waist was thicker, his shoulders broader, but even from the back, she thought she would have recognised him somehow, despite life’s tweaks.
‘In all honesty, Shay, I’m not sure I could have cooked anything that wasn’t simple tonight. I’ve been a bag of nerves.’
‘You shouldn’t have gone to any trouble, really.’ Shewatched him bring the dish of pasta over to the table, set it down.
‘I like to cook, I’m not bad at it either. It relaxes me after a hard day’s graft, which sounds daft I know because it’s just more work.’
‘Isn’t Terri here?’ Shay asked.
He spooned some pasta into a dish, his hand shaking slightly.
‘Terri, no. She’s at home.’
‘You don’t live together?’
Jonah flashed her a glance. ‘God forbid.’
Shay was totally confused now. ‘Isn’t she your wife?’
Jonah chuckled. ‘Is that what you thought? No, she’s not my wife, she’s my sister’s wife. Remember Amanda? She was two years above us at school. Won all the awards for football.’ He laughed anew. ‘Wait until I tell her that, she’ll think it’s hilarious.’
‘Chloe’s not your daughter then?’
‘Nooo. Terri didn’t want to risk her family genes being passed on, so they decided that Amanda should carry the baby.’
‘But she fancied you like mad at school,’ Shay threw at him.
‘I know, she told me. But I think she was confused from the get-go and thought she liked me more than she did. That was part of the bigger problem because the Briggs family weren’t very accepting of that sort of thing. I don’t think she saw it coming that she’d fall for my sister but she did, after a short and awful marriage to a man. Lots of things changed after Denny died, some for the better, some not so.’ Jonah handed her the bowl, inviting her to help herself to more. He appeared to have made enough to feed a small emergent nation.
‘You’re not married to anyone then?’ She couldn’t help herself. He had no ring on his finger, but then Bruce had never worn one either.
‘No. I was, years ago, but it didn’t work out.’
He filled a bowl for himself, having a battle with some stringy mozzarella that seemed determined to stay united to the motherlode in the big dish. ‘I met someone else about ten years ago I thought I could get serious about, lovely woman, but there was just something missing and that ended too. What about you? I see you’re married.’
He nodded towards her left hand; she was still wearing her rings because taking them off felt like a massive deal, even though there could be no U-turn.
One of the dogs, the shaggy one, wandered over, came to lie at the side of Jonah and rested its head on its great paws.
‘I’m separated,’ said Shay, using the word for the first time. She thought of the divorce papers sitting in Candlemas waiting for her response. ‘We’ve just started divorce proceedings.’ She speared some penne with extra viciousness when she thought about some of those grounds Bruce had cited. She fluttered her left hand. ‘These are still on my fingers out of habit but I should take them off really, they don’t mean anything any more.’
‘Been married long?’
‘Twenty-four years. Two children, a boy and a girl, twenty-three and twenty-two.’ She moved the subject on, not wanting to talk about them. ‘Are Denny’s mother and sister still around?’ She lifted her glass and took a sip of wine which left a warm trail down her throat.
