Chapter Nineteen
As promised, Matt was there bang on ten o’clock, a takeaway chai latte in one hand and a bunch of red roses in the other. Thankfully, Joy had decided to have a trial run in the new shop before the official grand opening and had been delighted to see him. As tactful as ever, the woman had a lovely way about her which invited you to tell her about the reason for the bouquet without ever being pushy or nosey. Matt had proudly said he was going on a date, no prizes for guessing who with! Joy had commented on how romantic it was and that, as her first official customer in Cheen Cheer, he’d won a beautiful notebook and bookmark to go with the gift.
“Off to a good start,” Matt whispered to himself as he juggled the things in his hands so as to knock lightly on the bedroom door.
“You’ve cut your hair!” Was the first thing Robyn said – or, rather, squealed - when she saw him.
Matt did a faux bow and handed her the gifts, trying to hide his blush behind the flowers for a moment, “Madame, a pleasure, you look beautiful.”
And she did, all bundled up in her skinny black jeans and knee-high boots, a fluffy white jumper, and a red tartan hairband. Plus a touch of red lipstick to add to the seasonal effect.
“When did you get it done? Thank you for these, by the way, they’re beautiful. Can I use one of your mum’s old vases from the hall cupboard?” She was breathless and beautiful, and clearly as nervous as him.
“Er, first thing this morning, not quite got used to it yet, you’re so welcome, and of course, use anything you like, you know that,” the last word was lost on a sharp intake of breath however, as Robyn stood on her tiptoes to run her hands through his newly-shorn locks.
“Ooh, it’s soft and spiky, really suits you, smells so good too, what’d they use, gel?” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth as she raked her fingertips through enthusiastically.
Matt wanted nothing more in that moment than to kiss her. The feeling he got from that simple connection of her hands in his hair was out of proportion to the amount of actual touching involved, it felt so good. If he’d known getting rid of the ponytail would have this effect on her, he’d have done it much sooner.
But, this was their first date, so it was holding hands only… until the end, at least.
“Do you like it?” Matt croaked, unsure where to put his hands now the gifts had been placed on the bed so that Robyn could continue feeling his new haircut.
“I love it,” she whispered, looking from his eyes to his mouth and back again.
He may not be a hormonal teenager, but Matt was still a man after all, and there was only so much temptation he could take now that he knew how good kissing her felt, “Right! Let’s get going shall we?” Anywhere out of this bedroom, for a start!
Even just holding Matt’s hand in public felt new and special and Robyn felt on top of the world as they made their way along Oak Tree Lane. The snow had melted almost as fast as it had arrived and the street seemed to shine with a festive sparkle to match her mood. She knew they still needed to have ‘the big talk,’ knew that they hadn’t even clarified what they were to each other now, but all that didn’t seem so huge of a deal now that they were on their first official date in her favourite place.
“Where to?” Matt asked, covering her hand which was resting in the crook of his elbow.
“Shall we go into Brush Stroaks first? Look at Meg’s beautiful window display, maybe I could get Sorcha a sketchbook to record her designs for the castle renovation?”
“Sounds perfect, look at the mini Christmas tree and fairy lights around the window, we could get something like that for the bar. What do you think?”
“I think yes, but that you need to switch off from work for a few hours,” Robyn elbowed him playfully in the stomach as they entered to the distraught sobs of a young child.
“I’m sorry, Betsie, but you’re meant to be off school poorly, we really can’t go to the play park. Besides, it’s cold and I need to be here in the shop,” Meg bent on one knee, cuddling the little girl to her, “how about some finger painting in the Silly Splats Corner?”
It was like magic as the tears dried up and Betsie skipped happily over to the area in question.
Child occupied, Meg came over to the pair, “Sorry about that, she woke with a slightly high temperature and very weepy so Josh kept her off school, but he’s got some Bespoak Builds cabinets to deliver this morning so,” she shrugged her shoulders, smiling, “anyway, my little patient doesn’t seem too ill at all!” Meg spoke brightly, but there was a definite undertone of rueful sarcasm in her voice that made Robyn laugh.
“Santa’s coming soon,” Betsie shouted randomly from where her hands were now a delightful shade of purple, “and he might bring me a horsey!”
“A toy horse,” Meg corrected gently, “one of those you pretend to ride on. It’s called a hobby horse.”
“It’ll be my real horsey!” Betsie declared and this time it was a wide-eyed Matt’s turn to stifle a giggle. He hadn’t had any real experience with young children, and this was certainly an eye opener! Like when they had all had dinner at the pub last week and Betsie had insisted on tucking everyone’s paper napkin under their chin. He’d been a bit surprised then too!
“Your paintings are beautiful,” Robyn remarked, “I love this one of the pier with the storm clouds above.”
“Thank you, that’s a recent work. I’m really happy with how it turned out.”
Robyn turned her attention to looking at the sketchbooks for Sorcha whilst Matt had a quiet word with Meg, then it was back out into the bracing air and on to their next stop.
“Do you fancy a fry up in the tearoom or fish and chips on the pier for lunch?” Matt asked when they’d spent an hour wandering up and down, “or back to Upper Oakley for a deli sandwich?”
“Ooh, pier please, I know it’s freezing, but you know it’s my favourite place. Perhaps Brin will lend us a blanket when we buy the fish and chips.”
Ensconced as close to the end of the pier as the wintery conditions allowed, their backs to the old stone wall on one side, they huddled close together and blew on the freshly fried, boiling hot food. With the salty sea air and the distant shrieks of seagulls there could be no question where in Oakley they were. Matt had always marvelled at how close the villages were to both the countryside and the coast. One of the many things that made Oakley so special.
“Brin seems so much happier since he and Janet made it official, doesn’t he,” Robyn remarked.
“He really does, I know how he feels,” Matt said, before wondering if he should’ve thought the reply through in his head before it reached his mouth.
“Me too,” Robyn agreed, “and we are ‘official’ aren’t we?”
“I’d love to be, if you’re happy to be called my girlfriend?”
“Very happy,” Robyn replied, leaning over to kiss him gently, “ooh you taste all salty with a hint of vinegar, very nice.”
To prove the point, she kissed him some more, and more again until their food was forgotten altogether.
“Whew, perhaps we should eat this before the seagulls get it?” Matt took a few deep breaths.
“Betsie is so sweet, isn’t she? I’d love a daughter like that one day,” Robyn had a wistful look in her eye that Matt had rarely seen.
“She is, I’ve never heard you mention having a family since back when we were in infant school and you were washing the dolls and calling them your babies. You made me dry them all, do you remember? Saying that was the dad’s job.”
“Haha, yes I do. Well, I suppose I’ve never thought about having a family of my own before, never seemed like I could quite make it a reality, until…” she tailed off and Matt didn’t have the courage to ask her to elaborate.
They cuddled up close, sharing the can of Iron Bru they’d bought and enjoying the peace of being in each other’s company with no expectations other than to have a good day.
“More shopping?” Matt asked when the cold stone had almost frozen him in place.
“Maybe we could just go back and warm up, watch a film?” Robyn asked, with a twinkle in her eye.
It was definitely a plan Matt could get on board with.