Chapter 56
Eve
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ I scan the audience, my voice level, ‘ this is how you start a Twitter frenzy.’
I click onto the next slide, and laughter ripples around the room.
‘Some of you might have seen this doing the rounds a few months back.’ I walk slowly across the stage, tapping my clicker against my hand. ‘Hands up, who did?’
A few hands shoot up in the audience.
‘Well, for those of you who didn’t, let me enlighten you.’
I click again, and a video begins playing. It’s me, on the stage at the Floristry expo, the moment my slides changed. I watch myself talking for the hundredth time, noting the precise moment my face falls as I realise what has happened.
I pause the clip.
‘Hashtag flower fail was trending for three hours on Twitter that day,’ I say, gazing back out to the auditorium. I hold my hands up. ‘I might have fucked up, but sales of orchids went through the roof.’
Laughter rings around the room.
‘My point is,’ I say, my eyes landing on him, sitting on the back row, a grin plastered across his face. ‘No publicity is bad publicity, and it’s what we choose to do with the shit life throws at us that really counts.’
* * *
‘ Incredible .’ Adam holds my face and plants a kiss on my lips. ‘Honestly, feel my hands — feel them! — I’m shaking.’
‘Stop it.’ I slap him lightly on the arm, my nerves higher now than they were before my talk. ‘Do you think it was alright, though?’
‘What do you think?’ He nods towards reception, where people are lining up to write their email addresses on my Introduction to Small Business Marketing sign-up forms.
‘Shit,’ I say.
Adam laughs and takes my hand. ‘Come on, we’ll be late.’
We wander out into the car park, where the trees are bare and the brown leaves are almost reduced to mush. Adam checks his phone.
‘Are you nervous?’ I ask.
‘A bit.’ He frowns. ‘He should be out by now.’
I reach up and kiss him, hard, on the lips. He looks into my eyes, and his shoulders drop, the tension seeming to leave him. ‘OK,’ he says, ‘let’s go.’
We mount Adam’s new two-seater electric bike and set off, weaving through town towards Didsbury. Adam’s pushbike was confined to the shed the second time we met in town for drinks, when he had to cycle home and I got a taxi. It sort of ruined the moment, having to wait for him in the living room for half an hour.
‘Here we are.’ We pull up outside a breeze-block building, its facade at odds with its beautiful gardens and bright windows.
As we get to the entrance, I stop. ‘What if he doesn’t like me?’
Adam turns to me. ‘Since when has Eve Slater ever doubted herself?’ I straighten my shoulders and he grins. ‘There’s my girl.’
We go past reception and down a brightly papered corridor. Three doors down, on the left, I spot a familiar name. Adam pushes open the door and steps inside.
‘Hugh,’ he says, walking over to a man sitting in the corner who looks eerily like him. ‘I have someone I want you to meet. This is Eve.’
I take a step forward. Hugh regards me steadily, one arm bouncing up and down on the arm of his chair. ‘Hi, Hugh.’ I sit on the end of the bed opposite him. ‘It’s really nice to meet you.’
As if from nowhere, Hugh’s face splits open and he grins, that same wide smile I love on Adam. I laugh. ‘Are you sure you two aren’t twins?’
Hugh shrieks delightedly, and Adam sits next to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. ‘He only ruins the eardrums of people he likes; consider yourself accepted.’
‘Well,’ I say, reaching into my bag, ‘as a rule, I only buy gifts for people I like, too.’
I pull out what I’ve bought, my stomach in knots, hoping against hope that I got it right. I hold the plush Olaf toy out to Hugh, and he takes it, his eyes widening.
Adam throws his head back and laughs. ‘Oh, god.’
Hugh inspects the toy for a moment, turning it this way and that, and then squeals and bashes it down onto his lap.
‘Oh no, does he not—’
‘He loves it.’ Adam is looking at me in that way again, like I’m fascinating and amusing, and I feel like my heart might explode out of my chest.
* * *
‘He’s done it!’ Adam screams as I run around the living room, plucking at pieces of stray fluff and cat hairs.
‘He’s... he’s done it?’ I say, excitement bubbling in my throat. ‘He’s done it?!’
‘Yes!’ He pockets his phone, picks me up and spins me around. When he puts me down, he kisses me for a long moment. ‘He’s out, the exams are done.’
‘Oh my god!’ I cheer. ‘That’s amazing!’
Adam runs his hand through his hair, the biggest grin spread across his face. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘Of course you can!’ I say, pulling a bottle of wine out of the fridge when I see that he’s too distracted to focus on the task at hand. ‘He’s brilliant, you’re brilliant, it was inevitable.’
He paces the room, his hands on his head. ‘Just got to wait for results day now.’
‘Are you worried?’
‘Nope.’ He comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. ‘I’m not worried at all.’ He sighs, ‘God, to think things could have been this good after everything that happened in Dublin.’
‘Dublin?’ I turn around and look at him. ‘When were you in Dublin?’
The doorbell rings before he can answer and he walks over, pulling open the door to let everybody tumble in: Piotr, Bil, Ferg and a blonde girl, followed by Will and Benny, and then Jess.
‘We found these four on the street outside,’ Jess says, shaking her coat out all over the hallway.
‘Couldn’t remember if it was forty-three or forty-five...’ Piotr says, and then holds his arms out to me and hugs me tight. ‘Good to see you again, Eve,’ he extracts himself. ‘Feel like I know you better than I know my own girlfriend, the amount he goes on about you.’
Adam looks at me and shrugs. ‘It’s probably true.’
‘He’s like a broken record.’ Bil says. ‘Ferg’s bought a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.’
‘Those are for my tomatoes,’ Ferg clarified. ‘Studies have shown that horticulturists who listen to music while tending to their—’
‘I’m Chloe,’ the blonde girl says, stepping in front of Ferg and rolling her eyes exasperatedly at me.
Ferg begins to protest but Piotr throws his arm round his shoulder and says, ‘We can discuss the tomatoes after dinner, Ferg. When everyone’s exhausted all other possible subjects of conversation,’ before leading him away.
‘Lovely to meet you,’ I laugh and give Chloe a hug. ‘I’ve heard lots of great things.’
‘All of them true, of course,’ she winks. ‘Sorry it’s taken this long to get us in a room together! I swear life just gets busier and faster every single day.’
‘God, tell me about it.’ I get the nice, unfamiliar rush of remembering that I have the next two days off — my first since starting my marketing consultancy. A few months ago, the thought of all that free time would have panicked me, but now I’m looking forward to putting my laptop in a drawer, turning off my alarms and seeing where the days take us.
Drinks are passed around, and soon we’re all settled in, sitting on the sofas, the floor, the footstools.
I’m sitting next to Will, and I turn to him while the boys are fawning over Old Sausage. ‘How are things?’
‘Good.’ He bounces Benny on his lap. ‘Nina’s out with friends tonight.’
‘Is she doing better?’
‘Every day.’ He smiles. ‘Baby steps.’
‘What’s for tea then?’ Bil asks. ‘Need a hand?’
‘It’s a surprise,’ Adam says, raising an eyebrow at me. ‘I’m under strict instructions not to interfere in the kitchen.’
‘Yes, you stay put,’ I instruct, sliding onto the floor next to him and looping my arm through his.
Bil mimes putting his fingers down his throat, and everyone laughs. He turns to me. ‘Only joking. You’ve done him the world of good.’
My eyes land on Chloe, who’s sitting on the sofa. She’s watching us, a small smile playing on her lips.
‘And word on the street is there’s a holiday on the cards?’ Jess strokes Old Sausage on her lap.
‘Yeah.’ Adam grins. ‘Costa del Sol.’
‘Twenty quid says Eve’s got a full itinerary planned,’ Will pipes up.
‘6.20 a.m. Watch sunrise over ancient ruins,’ Jess says. ‘7.13 a.m. Climb local mountain to see views—’
‘Alright,’ I laugh. ‘You can shut up now.’
‘Wouldn’t have her any other way.’ Adam grins at me. He doesn’t yet know about my Excel spreadsheet timetable, which documents every hour of our trip, including rest time. I’ve promised myself that by the end of the week, I’ll have reduced it by a third — leaving a bit more room for spontaneity. I’ve seen the weight lift from Adam’s shoulders the past few weeks, and I want to make sure this holiday is perfect for him, too.
I suddenly remember the food and scramble to my feet. I go into the kitchen and pull the oven door open, where a blackened beef wellington is smoking on its tray.
I walk back into the living room and hold my hands up. ‘Pizza or Chinese?’ I ask.
Laughter and arguments break out over food choices and the stench of the wellington, and as everyone scrabbles to check local takeaways on their phones, Adam sidles over to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder.
I lean my head against his chest, feeling his solid warmth, and listen to his heart beat steadily. I survey the room. Our people, our cat — but soon to be someone else’s home. Boxes are already being filled upstairs, ready for the big move two doors down.
I’m attached now , I think. There’s no hiding from this. No games, no defences, no running away.
This is home.
THE END