Chapter 38 #2
His lips twist into a smile again. ‘I enable millions of pounds worth of work to go forward each year. The satisfaction is knowing all those worthwhile projects are happening when they might struggle otherwise.’ He grins at me.
‘When it came to it, this was the part I was best at. If I want to count little terns, I’ll always be welcome to help out at one of the projects. ’
‘It’s funny how things worked out, years down the line.’
He laughs. ‘Very few people end up doing what they aimed for as teenagers.’
He pulls out the next question. ‘What was your biggest surprise?’
Whoever snuck this in knew they were lobbing a hand grenade, but I’m making Lando answer first. ‘What was yours?’
His smile widens. ‘That’s easy. You turning up on my pontoon in your wedding dress, then promptly falling in the harbour.’
It’s a surprise to me that out of his whole life he’s chosen this, but it might be a sign he has a short memory.
Now he’s brought this up, I might as well straighten things out. ‘You didn’t have to jump in too; I’m a much stronger swimmer.’
He wiggles his eyebrows. ‘Maybe I was subliminally hoping you’d save me?’ He laughs. ‘If there’s a fantasy question coming, as a teenager mine was always me getting into difficulties in the shallows, and you coming to rescue me with your lifesaving skills.’
I despair that boys never grow up. ‘If you tell me that included mouth-to-mouth, I may have to push your face in the cream bowl.’
He looks wounded. ‘I’m laying myself bare here. Is it too much to hope you daydreamed about me?’
For a second I wonder if he can actually see inside my head. I clamp my teeth together and give a silent curse that he can still wind me up so easily.
‘I haven’t told you my surprise yet.’
His smile fades. ‘Of course, I’m sorry for butting in before you’d had your turn.’
I purse my lips. ‘If you keep winding me up, you’re never going to hear it.’
His voice is soft. ‘Nothing I’ve said today has been a wind-up, Maevey.’
I give the head shake that deserves. ‘All those years with you and Sav, I can spot them from Truro.’
His chest rises as he sighs. ‘I can’t speak for Sav, but as an adult I’ve found there are critical times where the truth works better than messing about.’ He pauses. ‘I’ve learned to be serious when I need to be.’
I can’t decide if he’s being pompous or open.
At least this sidetrack has given me time to think up an easier answer.
‘No prizes for guessing – my biggest surprise was landing my job at the wedding shop.’ I take in his sigh. ‘Why are you frowning?’
He pulls a face. ‘I honestly thought you’d say Nemmie.’
I take a breath. ‘It obviously was her, but as you’d gone for something current, I did too.’ I wait, and when he doesn’t push me, I carry on. ‘Would you like to know what happened?’
He leans back in his chair and looks at me. ‘If you feel ready to tell me, I’d like that.’
I pull a face. ‘If you’d like the truth, it’s best you hear it without the benefit of years of embellishments added around the bars of St Aidan.’
‘Exactly.’ He leans across the table and squeezes my hand, and when he lets it go, for a moment I wish he’d held on.
The breath I drag in is so deep my head spins.
‘It’s pretty straightforward. Seven months after you left, I collapsed after work one night with a really bad tummy ache.
My boss rushed me to Truro hospital, thinking I’d got appendicitis, but the abdominal scan showed a baby.
’ I can see his eyes widening, but now I’ve started I have to keep going.
‘I was thirty-two weeks pregnant without knowing anything about it and I’d gone into labour.
After that all hell broke loose. Somewhere down the line they decided Nemmie wasn’t getting enough oxygen, so they moved in and did an emergency C-section.
Then, after she was born, we were both ill.
She was taken to the special care unit, and I had sepsis and was hooked up to a drip.
But in the end, it all worked out, and here we are. ’
Lando blows out his cheeks. ‘And you had no inkling at all?’
I shake my head. ‘My periods weren’t ever that regular, and though I’d gained a couple of pounds, I put that down to coming home to Mum’s full fridge. It was lucky it happened when it did as I’d been to Barcelona on a hen party only two weekends earlier.’
‘Jeez, Maeve.’ Lando’s eyes go wide. ‘Do women often give birth without knowing they’re pregnant?’
I shrug. ‘There are around three hundred cases a year in this country, so it’s not that rare. They call them cryptic births.’
He’s looking at me intently. ‘So did people know locally?’
‘I didn’t broadcast it, because it was so bizarre I didn’t think anyone would believe me. But the truth has strange ways of getting out, and by the time Nemmie came home a few weeks later it was already old news.’
He’s blinking and shaking his head. ‘It must have been such a shock.’
I laugh, because even now there are no words to describe it. ‘Next level. We were lucky to have Mum because it was years before I stopped feeling I’d been hit by a thunderbolt.’ I shuffle in my seat. ‘So we’ve both done two surprises now! What’s next?’
His fingers are around mine. ‘Thank you, I appreciate you sharing.’
I frown. ‘I’m pleased I’ve finally told you.’
He blows out a long breath. ‘I wish I’d been here and not on the other side of the bloody world.’
I squeeze his fingers back. ‘Remember what we said about “what ifs”?’
He gives a shudder. ‘It still wrecks me every time I think about it.’ He lifts his hand away and tilts the plant pot towards me. ‘Almost done. Let’s hope this is an easy one.’
I open the last folded square and my heart goes into free fall. ‘Do you believe in love at first sight?’ My voice goes high. ‘Where have they got these questions from?’
Lando hesitates, then he gives me a strange look. ‘Definitely “yes” to that. How about you?’
I look at him like he’s from another planet. ‘I know more about bingo than love.’
His eyes narrow. ‘You must have been in love? Or had a crush?’
I wrinkle my nose and lie my socks off. ‘Not that I ever noticed.’
His voice is soft. ‘Have you considered you might have been in love, but also in denial?’ His eyes dance with amusement.
There’s such a storm of flutters in my chest, I’m finding it hard to breathe. ‘What the actual eff, Lando! When it comes to talking bollocks, you totally take the biscuit!’
I call to the terrace below, ‘The date is over, guys, come and show the first contestant down the steps before I push him.’
Lando laughs. ‘Did I touch a nerve there, Maevey Waves?’
I’m so annoyed I’m snorting. ‘None to touch, Lando.’
Then I see Nemmie and Zara spring from the top of the steps where they’ve been sitting, and I realise they’ve probably heard every word we’ve said.
Lando grins at them. ‘Those scones were amazing. I hope it’s okay I ate my body weight in them?’
Nemmie laughs. ‘We wouldn’t have let you down the steps for any less.’
I pull the girls into a hug. ‘I loved the feathers and the fizz, but who decided to interrogate us?’
Nemmie’s smile widens. ‘We all helped with the questions. Your replies were great, but you never really answered the Smartie one, Lando.’
Zara giggles. ‘We’ll ask that again next time.’
I hold up my hand. ‘Honestly, once is more than enough.’ If my heart ever gallops that fast again, I may not survive. As it is I’m feeling weak and dizzy, and it’s not down to too many scones.
Nemmie jumps up and down. ‘Nooooo! From how much you talked, you can’t let him go. He got high scores in all areas!’
I let out a moan. ‘Please tell me you weren’t giving out points?’
Nemmie waves some papers at me. ‘We were very scientific. Every time he said something good, we put a tick. And when you both laughed.’
Zara joins in. ‘Mum said to give ticks for being kind as well as funny. He got a lot of those.’
Dale comes storming up the steps. ‘It’s sad he won’t be coming to live next door after all.’
Nemmie turns on him. ‘How do you know that?’
His chest swells. ‘I came past just now and saw a “sold” sign propped in the front window.’
I’m putting this into context. ‘It could have gone up earlier. No one’s been past since Friday.’ I turn to Lando. ‘Bad luck if you or Sav wanted the cottage, but whoever has bought it has saved you a lot of time and money.’
And they’ve saved me a lot of heartache.
They’ve also unknowingly proved my age-old belief that if you face up to your problems and refuse to let them scare the bejesus out of you, they’ll very likely go away on their own.
Lando pulls a face. ‘Nothing is set in stone. That’s the advantage of being a free spirit and entirely without ties – I can come and go wherever the wind blows me.’ Then he rubs his hands. ‘Thanks for a great afternoon, but Martha needs a walk so I’d better be heading off.’
Which, when I think about it later, is not only a complete load of cobblers, but it’s also very unlike Lando.
And I’ve got no idea why, but as we all troop down the steps and wave Lando and Martha off at the garden gate I feel a pang of disappointment.
That the dates are over. That he’s not coming to live next door after all.
And I’m fully aware that after months of struggle and worry, none of this makes any sense.
I just hope he remembers that if he’s relying on us babysitting Martha, it’s not going to be easy if he’s miles along the coast.