Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
“ A lfie.” It was the first word out of my mouth, spoken on a gentle breath as I stirred awake.
“I’m here.” His arms tightened around me. My phone jingled on the bedside table, drawing me out of the bubble that Alfie had formed around us. We groaned in unison and I wrestled one arm free and felt around for my phone.
“It’s Keira,” I mumbled and answered the phone.
“Morning!” Her voice rang out down the line and I winced. She was far too cheerful in the morning.
“Hi,” I mumbled, my voice thick with sleep.
“Did I wake you? Sorry! Are you free for lunch today? I’ve got news!”
Lunch? What day is it? Monday…
“Mmm yeah, think so. What’s the news?”
“I’ll tell you later. Oh, by the way, what’s the plan for your birthday?”
I fumbled through my brain trying to work out the dates. It was my birthday in a few weeks. I was nearly twenty-four.
“No idea yet, why?”
“I was thinking girls’ night? Face masks? Wine? Sound good?”
“Perfect.”
“Awesome! See you at one!” We hung up and I snuggled back into Alfie’s arms, trying to return to the love bubble, but it was no good. I was well and truly awake now.
“When were you planning on telling me about your birthday?” Alfie mumbled, his hot breath tickling the back of my neck. He must have heard Keira talking. I swear that man had super hearing.
“You had Elliot hack my medical records. Do you really expect me to believe that you don’t know when my birthday is?” Alfie chuckled softly, the sound warming me.
“I didn’t say I didn’t know, I asked when you were planning to tell me.” His fingers trailed a lazy line up and down my arm, sending a shiver up my spine.
“It’s not for a few weeks. I’d forgotten about it. You don’t have to get me anything,”
He let out another small chuckle. “Shut up, O’Connell.”
He shifted, moving his body over mine. My legs parted easily, welcoming him in.
He kissed me deeply and I moaned into his mouth.
We were just settling into a rhythm when we were rudely interrupted again, by his phone this time.
He growled and buried his head in my neck.
The phone continued to chirp, the noise shrill and unwelcome.
“Looks like the world wants us to get up.”
“Fuck the world.” He reared up on his elbows and gazed down at me. A lock of hair fell into his eyes, his lips full of our kiss. “I’ll finish this later.”
“You’d better,” I retorted, winning myself a sleepy grin. He rolled off of me and answered his phone in a sharp, clipped voice that bore no resemblance to the Alfie he’d been just a moment ago. I sighed.
The day had begun.
“So, what’s the news?” I asked my best friend as soon as I sat down. Keira, who was dressed in a white cut off t-shirt and jeans, the front of which were entirely covered in sequins, was practically hopping in her seat, her face flushed and bright with excitement.
“I’ve been offered a job!”
“That’s great! Wait…what job? Don’t you already have a job?” Keira had worked at a local seamstress for the last few years honing her craft. She loved all fashion but her great love was costume design; theatre, extravagant ball gowns, dress up. If it was flamboyant, Keira loved it.
“Not here, Lo! In London! In the West End, can you believe it? The West-Fucking-End!” She clapped her hands gleefully. My mouth hung open in shock.
“Keira, that’s incredible.” I didn’t know what else to do so I pulled her into a tight hug. She was leaving. Keira was leaving. Tears threatened but I swallowed them down. I will not ruin this moment for her .
“So, when do you start? What’s the job exactly? Tell me everything.” I took a gulp of my Diet Coke, wishing there was a splash of vodka in it.
“I’ll be working under a seamstress for a theatre in Covent Garden.
The pay sucks, and it’s basically the same job I have now, but it’s the West End, Lo!
I’m going to be making actual costumes for an actual London theatre, and they need me pretty much immediately, so I have three weeks to pack and find a place to live. ”
“Wow.” Three weeks. My safety box was being well and truly shaken.
“I know! It’s insane, right? I called my mum this morning because of the house sale and everything.
The estate agent can handle the viewings, so I don’t need to be here for those.
I’m actually leaving the day after your birthday.
Talk about a close call!” She laughed, as if missing my birthday was a hanging offense.
“Wow, Keira. That’s amazing, really. I knew you could do it.” I pulled her in for another hug, my arms wrapping tightly around her warm, familiar body.
“I’m gonna miss you, you crazy girl,” I mumbled, unable to keep the emotion out of my voice.
“You don’t have to miss me, you know. Why don’t you come with me?” she held my hands tightly. I looked up at her like she was nuts. Which she was.
“What’re you talking about? I can’t do that.”
“Why the hell not? What’s keeping you here?”
“My job,” I said, but that excuse sounded weak even to myself.
“The job that’s getting you nowhere.”
“My family.” I couldn’t imagine leaving them. Even though I’d applied for a place at a college in London, being accepted seemed so pie in the sky that leaving them never seemed like a real possibility.
“You can visit, and what about Alfie? Do you think he’s going to be staying in our tiny town forever? He has an office in London, right? Wouldn’t it make sense for you to move there to be closer to his business?”
“We haven’t really talked about it.”
“Whatever. Lo, I love you, but if you want things in life you’re going to have to be brave and jump.
Alfie isn’t in Kent. Your future, your career, all your dreams aren’t in Kent.
Your past is, and you can come back to visit it, but you can’t live in it.
It’s bad for you. Have you heard anything about college yet? ”
“Not yet, but forget that. We need to celebrate you! Night out this Saturday? Drinks on me?” I knew that the easiest way to distract Keira was with alcohol and boy potential. Her face lit up immediately.
“You’re the best friend a girl could have, you know that right?” She grinned at me and I grinned right back. I couldn’t be prouder of Keira, but somewhere underneath I was equal parts heartbroken, jealous, and terrified of how quickly my world was changing.
After work, I hurried across town. Ryan had a football match tonight against the team from the next town over and I’d promised him I’d be there. Surprisingly, Alfie hadn’t minded.
“Ryan, let him go!” Natalie was red in the face by the time I got there. I looked onto the pitch to see my nephew pinning another boy to the floor. I hurried over.
“What’s going on?”
“He’s confusing football with rugby. Any time one of the other boys is getting the ball he body slams them. Ryan, let him up, right now!”
“I can’t, Mummy! He’s the enemy!”
“He’s not the enemy, he's the opposition, and this isn’t a battlefield, it’s a football pitch. Stop trying to kill the other players.” The referee blew his whistle and after a lot of commotion the other side was awarded a free kick.
“I can’t believe they’re still letting him play.”
“They’re short a player. They don’t really have a choice.” With a grim expression she watched her eight year old sprint up and down the pitch, chanting warrior cries at the other players. Ryan’s sporting abilities were mostly focused on intimidation and threat rather than skill and agility.
“Oh, I’ve got news!” I filled her in on Keira’s new job and watched as her brows shot up in surprise.
“Wow, great for her. You’ll miss her, I bet.” She eyed me thoughtfully.
“Sure, but I’m happy for her.” Our team scored, and I cheered with the other parents, laughing out loud at the sound of Ryan’s victory cry.
“So, how’s Alfie?”
“He’s fine, he has a meeting tonight.”
“Right. So, what’s the plan with you two?”
“What plan? Plan how?”
“Plan as in future, as in I’m assuming his business will be finished any day now. What’s the plan when he leaves?”
What was it with everyone wanting to discuss Alfie today?
“We don’t really have one.”
“Well you’d better get one. A man like that, you’ll have a lot of competition.”
“I’m not a competitor, Natalie.” The idea of fighting over Alfie with a bunch of other women like a gaggle of squabbling hens put a bad taste in my mouth.
“You think you’re already holding the trophy?”
“I think this isn’t a game. He’ll either choose me over other women or he won’t.”
I felt Natalie’s watchful gaze, one eye on me, the other on her son.
“That’s true. Still, I think you and he need to have a talk about what you’re going to do because honestly, I’ve seen you two together and long distance isn’t going to work.
Maybe you should think about going with him when he—Ryan!
” she yelled, her eyes blazing at her son, who currently had the other team’s goalie in a headlock.
She marched off to deal with her child and I stood there, chewing on my lip, gnawing on her words.
Leave with him? I couldn’t just leave with him…could I? No, of course not. Besides, he hadn’t even asked me.
I tried to imagine ingratiating myself into Alfie’s life and the thought stiffened my spine.
I had too many dreams to simply be someone’s travel companion.
I wanted to be a world renowned garden designer.
I wanted to win awards. Have my own studio maybe.
Compete in the Chelsea Flower Show like my mum had always dreamed of.
But what if those dreams were foolish? What if I was just reaching for something I would never be good enough for? The London College had already rejected me several times. Maybe being with Alfie was what I was supposed to do with my life.
Natalie returned to my side a few minutes later, and Ryan looked somewhat subdued but I doubted that would last long.
I shrugged off my deep thoughts and half an hour later, the game was won and Ryan was the proud recipient of a medal and an evil look from just about every parent from the opposite team.
We walked through the park with the other families, making our way to our cars, enjoying the peaceful evening. I was happy here, watching Ryan pretend to be an aeroplane, listening to Natalie talk about her day at work. I couldn’t leave them behind, I just couldn’t.
“Oh, holy Jesus, is that your fella over there?” Natalie had stopped dead in her tracks. I followed her gaze and found Alfie Tell, leaning casually against his Aston Martin and drawing a hell of a crowd.
“What’s he doing here?”
I smiled, my heart about to burst with emotion. “Keeping a promise.”
He could be anywhere in the world right now, enjoying the highest luxury, being entertained by the most beautiful women. Instead, he was here, in my small town, keeping a promise he’d made to an eight-year-old.
“Ryan!” I called. “Your noble steed is here.”