Chapter 25
25
Owen had telephoned to say he’d received her emailed draft of ‘Amy’s Story’. Jess braced herself for a barrage of corrections, but to her surprise he said he thought it read well. ‘It was hard to read my own words and see them laid out like so, but you’ve written it well. It’s not too flowery like.’ He finished by telling her he was happy for it to be submitted to her editor as it was.
Jess stopped slouching and pulled herself upright. This was high praise coming from someone like him, who, she was quite sure, wouldn’t be shy in coming forward had he not liked it. It was only right, too, given how close to his heart the article was that he should want it word perfect.
‘I’m glad you’re pleased with it. It wasn’t an easy thing for me to write.’
‘Aye, I’m sure it wasn’t.’
‘Do you think Amy would be pleased with it?’ She held her breath because his answer mattered to her.
‘Aye.’
‘Good.’
An awkward silence stretched out between them which Jess finally broke. ‘How’s Wilbur doing?’
‘Not bad. He’s hanging in there. He’s a fighter, all right.’
‘Good. I’ve been worried about him.’
‘Well, you don’t need to worry; he’s in good hands. I know what I’m doing.’
Jess could tell by his tone he was amused, though she didn’t know why. He changed the subject before she had a chance to mull it over further.
‘The reason I rang you was because I found an old family album I’d forgotten about, and there are some pictures of our Amy in there that I thought might go with your piece.’
‘Oh, that would be great! I was going to phone you anyway and ask if we could use some pictures, but I didn’t know how you’d feel about it. Would you be able to scan them through to me?’
‘Well, the thing is I’m down in Malahide tomorrow for a meeting. There’s a new deli opening soon who’re interested in stocking some of my produce, and being a Saturday, I thought you might be able to, uh…’
His voice trailed off, and Jess, getting the gist of what he was – in an awkward, roundabout way – trying to say, offered, ‘You’d like me to meet you in Malahide?’
‘Yes. If you’re free, that is. I thought we could have some lunch, and you could take a look through the photos then.’
Why did he have to make it sound like he was asking her to join him while he had his teeth pulled out? Remembering her father’s words about him having good reason for being an awkward bugger, she decided she could afford to be gracious. ‘That would be lovely, Owen, thank you. If you hang on a minute, I’ll let you know what time the Dart gets in.’
She got up, retrieved the crumpled timetable from its home in the fruit bowl and told him she could be in Malahide for midday. He would meet her at the station.
Jess lay in bed that night thinking about him. She knew that beneath the taciturn exterior there lurked an insecure soul, and when he let his guard down, she liked him. The man really was an enigma, she concluded with a yawn before dropping off to slumber the deep, uninterrupted sleep of the hungover.