Chapter Seven
Jonah is in the lead, but Thea isn’t very far behind, and she closes the gap with a strike, which her brother congratulates with a high-five.
‘How come you two are so good at this?’ I look up at the scoreboard as Thea sits on the bench next to me. The Jackson siblings are kicking our arses.
‘We hung out here a lot as kids.’ Thea reaches for her drink and takes a sip from its straw.
‘Mum cleans the house top to bottom every Saturday morning, so she’d chuck money at us and beg us to get out of her hair for a couple of hours.
So, we’d usually come here because it’s only a five-minute walk away from home. ’
‘Lucky.’ I grew up on the other side of town, where the only places to hang out were smashed-up bus shelters and a burnt-out playground. But then I didn’t have Farrah as a mother, so perhaps I’m the lucky one after all.
‘This game is bullshit.’ Freddie flumps down onto the bench with a deep scowl on his face.
While Jonah and Thea are way ahead of the rest of us on the scoreboard, Freddie is way behind and he is a very sore loser.
The game has been several kinds of excrement according to Freddie: bullshit, horseshit, dogshit and, more generally, a piece of shit.
He is not having fun, and he is not against bringing the rest of the group down with him.
‘We’ve only got a few more rounds to go.
’ Thea’s tone is soft and soothing, the kind she adopts when her toddler is mid-meltdown.
I half expect her to reach into her canvas bag for a pack of chocolate buttons to appease Freddie.
He grunts in response and shifts in his seat so he’s half-turned away from us.
Rhys steps into the seating area and fills my seat when I make my way to the lane. I spot my blue ball and hoist it up.
‘Interesting names.’ The bloke from the next lane nods at the scoreboard above my lane. ‘You’re the ball buster then?’
I slot my fingers into the holes of the ball and quirk an eyebrow. ‘I certainly am.’ I have to try so hard not to crack, because I am far from being a ball buster. We were going heavy on the irony when we picked that one.
‘I like a strong, independent woman.’ He grins at me before sauntering across to his lane. His swing is powerful and the ball flies down the lane, the pins plinking loudly as all ten tumble.
‘Impressive.’ I give a nod of approval as he passes the ball return, where I’m still holding my blue ball.
He nods, and instead of returning to the seating area, he hangs back, watching as I take my shot.
His gaze makes me feel awkward and clumsy, but I manage to get the ball down the lane, even if I only knock down four pins.
I shuffle back to the ball return, where he’s still standing on the other side, leaning against the dividing wall between our seating areas.
‘So, Ms Breaker of Balls, what’s your real name?’
‘Christina.’ The blue ball spits out of the machine but I don’t pick it up yet. ‘What’s yours?’
He points up at his scoreboard, where there are four regular, non-playful names. ‘Leonardo.’
‘Were you named after the artist or the turtle?’
Leonardo barks out a laugh. ‘Neither, actually.’ He winces. ‘Mum’s favourite film is Titanic, so it’s DiCaprio, I’m afraid.’
‘Hey, Christina.’ Freddie pokes his head around the divide from our seating area. ‘Are you playing or what?’
‘Yeah. Sorry.’ I shrug apologetically at Leonardo and grab my ball. He’s returned to the seating area with his friends by the time I’ve chucked the ball down the lane, which I’m grateful for as the ball sails straight past the remaining six pins into the gap I created on my previous turn.
‘Tell Thea she needs to join us for our romcomathon next Sunday.’ Jonah passes me on his way to take his turn on the lane. ‘She deserves a break after being on her own with the kids for three months.’
‘You definitely should.’ I indicate that Rhys should budge up so I can sit next to Thea on the bench.
‘It’ll be so much fun. Jonah’s got a party booked in twelve till two but then it’s face masks and stuff-yourself-with-junk while watching swoony films time.
You’re coming, aren’t you?’ I twist to face Rhys, who gives me a look that says he’d rather teabag a firepit than join us.
I turn back to Thea before he can voice his knockback.
‘I’m on call next weekend, but if you guys don’t mind me dashing out if I need to, then I’m in.’
‘We don’t mind at all.’ I nudge Thea with my arm. ‘And hopefully there won’t be any dental emergencies while we’re working our way through our Julia Roberts romcom collection.’
My next shot is terrible, but Leonardo gives me a thumbs up anyway.
I hadn’t realised he was watching me, but he’s sitting right at the end of his seating area where he can view both his lane and ours.
I appreciate the gesture and bob a little curtsey in return, which makes Leonardo grin back at me.
I feel taller, lighter, as I return to the bench and not even Freddie’s dour face can dampen my mood.
‘All I’m saying is that we could be doing shots in Cruz right now.’ Freddie slings one leg over the other, his foot tapping in the air.
‘But Jonah didn’t want to go into town.’ Again, Thea has adopted the tone she uses when trying to reason with her little ones. ‘And it is his birthday.’
‘Can we at least go out once this is finished?’ Freddie wafts his hand towards the lane.
‘We have to do the cake first.’ Thea reaches across him to pat the canvas bag she brought along.
‘But then you’re free to do whatever Jonah wants to do.
I, personally, am getting off home, because I don’t think my patients want me breathing alcohol fumes in their faces while I’m doing their root canals in the morning, and then we’ve got dinner with my parents, remember?
Dinner with my mother is taxing enough without a hangover making it a million times worse. ’
‘I’m on the open, so no night out in town for me.’ I’ve opened the bar with a raging hangover many times and it isn’t pleasant.
‘And I just don’t want to go.’ Rhys shrugs but there is no contrition on his face.
Freddie arches an eyebrow. ‘Got a problem with the gay village?’
‘It isn’t the gay village I have an issue with.’ He gives Freddie a pointed look before turning and raising his hand for a high-five as Jonah approaches. ‘Back in the lead, I see.’
‘Not for long.’ Thea jumps out of her seat, smirking at her brother as she passes him. Jonah bangs his fists together, Friends-style, and Thea returns the gesture as she walks backwards towards the lane.
‘So, angel.’ Freddie pats the space on the bench next to him, which Jonah drops into. ‘How do you feel about heading into town after this? Jack and Lex are in Cruz. We could meet up with them and really celebrate your birthday.’ He strokes Jonah’s arm while nuzzling his neck.
‘Sure. Sounds fun. If that’s what everyone else wants to do?’ Jonah looks at me and Rhys, eyebrows raised in question.
‘They’re being boring and going home.’ Freddie gives a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘But that doesn’t mean we have to. I’ll text Jack. How long do you think we’ll be?’
Thea dances her way into the seating area, having scored a strike and bounced back into the lead. Freddie sighs as he pushes himself up out of his seat.
‘Right. Let’s get this over with so we can get out of here.’
Up next, I bound towards the lane and pluck the blue ball from the rack, but my mood dips when I look across at Leonardo’s group and see an empty seating area.
I look up at their scoreboard and see that it has been reset, their names erased, ready for a new group to be added.
My shoulders have slumped as I shuffle towards the lane, and the ball trundles towards the pins without much force.
Bizarrely, it’s my best shot of the game, and I knock down eight pins.
I definitely would have earned a thumbs up from Leonardo for that one.
Jonah romps to victory, and Thea hugs her brother, jokingly claiming she only let him win because it’s his birthday, and then we decamp to the bar area for drinks and the birthday cake Thea has brought with her. I head to the bar while Thea arranges candles on the cake.
‘I was hoping I’d see you here.’ Leonardo leans his elbow on the bar next to me while I’m waiting for my order and butterflies take flight in my stomach. ‘Can I get you a drink?’
‘I’m actually getting a round in.’ I nod my head across the bar, where my friends are sitting. ‘But if you give me a few minutes, I’ll come and join you.’
‘Great. I’ll wait here for you.’
I tap my card and grab the tray of drinks, being extra careful as I wend my way past the tables to where my friends have settled.
Thea lights the candles once I’ve set the tray down and I have a flashback of my date with Morgan as we sing ‘Happy Birthday’.
Jonah blows out the candles and we make a toast.
‘Something weird is happening, guys.’ I lean in as Thea struggles to cut the cake with a cardboard knife. ‘You remember that wish I made?’
Rhys snorts. ‘The one you thought had come true?’
I choose to ignore Rhys’s derision. ‘I’ve never had a movie meet-cute before, but since making that wish, I’ve had three.’
Jonah frowns. ‘Three?’
‘You know that guy over there?’ I glance over at Leonardo, who’s still leaning against the bar.
‘He was using the lane next to ours and we reached for the same ball. Reaching for the same item is one of the most clichéd meet-cutes of all time.’ I look at Jonah, to make sure he’s fully understood, which he must because we’ve spent the past nine months of living together working our way through all the romcoms. ‘And now he’s asked to buy me a drink. ’
‘And you think that’s because of your wish and not because he fancies you?’ Rhys pulls back his chin and snorts again.
‘But it can’t be a coincidence, can it? Three meet-cutes, right after I made that wish?’
‘But the first two didn’t work out, did they?’ Jonah’s tone is gentle, and he places a hand on my arm.
‘No, but I wished I could meet-cute and find The One.’ My stomach fizzes with anticipation as my mind whirs. ‘What if my wish is coming true but the dates didn’t work out because I didn’t meet-cute The One yet?’
Jonah tilts his head to one side, a frown forming on his face. ‘So, you have to keep meet-cute-ing guys until you find your one true love?’
I shrug, looking down at the table. Because it does sound crazy. But then having three meet-cutes within days of each other is batshit too.
Thea licks a bit of frosting from her thumb. ‘Then what are you doing here?’ She waves the cardboard knife in the direction of the bar. ‘Go. Get the drink. Get the boy. Maybe he’s The One and you’ll live happily ever after.’