20. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
I held the phone away from my ear as Cass shrieked down the line.
‘I know,’ I said. ‘I’m just as surprised as you.’
‘I knew that place would be good for you,’ said Cass. ‘I felt it in my bones. But to have got a job, a six-month plan, and a school place for Bertie, all within a few days. That’s blown my mind.’
‘Mine too.’
‘What’s the school like?’
‘About as different from Bertie’s last one as it’s possible to be. They have a big focus on creative activities and sport. And I’ve not even told you about the brass band yet.’
‘Hang on,’ said Cass, ‘I’ve just got home. Hold on a sec while I open the door.’
‘No, don’t worry, I’ll call you back this evening. I need to get going or I’ll be late for swimming. And I’ve got my first meeting about the lake project straight after, so I need to go too.’
‘Swimming? Wow, you must call me later, there’s so much to catch up on.’
‘Will do. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’
‘Was that Aunt Cass?’ asked Bertie.
‘Yes, she was on her way home from work. We should invite them to come and see us here soon. Would you like that?’
‘Yes, I can show Jake and Emmy all the animals. They’ll be so jealous. The animals are way cooler than a black bedroom.’
‘You’re right, they are. Now, come on, let’s get you downstairs for breakfast. Pat will arrive soon for more chess.’
‘I like playing chess with Pat, but I wish I could start school today.’
‘I know, but it makes sense to start on Monday. It will give you a proper chance to settle in.’
Bertie sighed. ‘I suppose. And Stephan said he’ll take me fishing this afternoon. He said it will get him out of Maggie’s hair, but I don’t understand why he’d be in her hair in the first place.’
‘It’s an expression, like getting under someone’s feet.’
Bertie shrugged in an all adults are weird kind of way.
With Bertie settled with his breakfast, Harry drove us to the lake. As Seb had predicted, this time there was no standing on ceremony, no picnic and blankets stashed away in the rowing boat. Now Harry was convinced I could survive the threat of cold-shock she became less encouraging-primary-school-teacher and more sergeant-major.
No sooner had I got my wetsuit on than we were in, sending ripples across the previously calm water. I squealed just as much as the first time, but now I knew the sensations to expect, the lack of breath and pins and needles didn’t panic me. I waited for them to pass and began testing out a few different strokes. I wasn’t prepared to dunk my head, and could only manage minimal leg movements thanks to the wetsuit, but I swam a good fifty metres before the cold became painful and we both got out.
I’d hoped to stay in longer to put off the meeting with Seb, but we were showered, dressed and accepting a cup of coffee in Seb’s kitchen before I had a chance to gather my thoughts, or composure.
‘Right,’ said Harry, downing the dregs of her coffee. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
‘Are you sure you don’t want to stay?’ Seb asked, probably to avoid being alone with me.
‘No, it’s best I hand things over to you two from the get-go. Otherwise, I’ll be tempted to micro-manage and I’ve already got enough on my plate. I’ll see you later.’
‘Bye.’
Seb turned back to the kettle and re-filled it. I pulled a notepad and pen from my bag. ‘We’ll need more coffee if I’m going to give you a crash course on the project.’
I sighed. Whilst on the surface, offering me more coffee was friendly, the way Seb banged about in the kitchen suggested he’d rather be anywhere but with me.
‘Look, I know you don’t want me working with you on this, but Harry’s asked me to help and…’
‘It’s not that.’
‘OK.’
I waited for Seb to elaborate, but he carried on fussing with mugs, milk, and coffee grounds.
‘Seb, would you rather we do this another day?’
I jumped as he flung a spoon into the sink. He leaned over it, pressing down and taking deep breaths.
‘I think it’s best if I go,’ I said.
‘No. We need to talk.’
Unsure what was going on, I sat rigid in my seat, waiting for whatever he clearly needed to get off his chest. Seb laid the pot of coffee and two mugs down on the table and pulled out a chair. He sat down, his head in his hands, his fingers tugging at his long mane.
‘What’s this about?’
‘You asked if I had a brother called Baz.’
‘And you said no.’
‘I lied. Well, not about the brother part. Baz was me, I was Baz.’ He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. ‘My friends called me Bas, short for Sebastian, then somewhere along the way, it became Baz. You were right about us having met before. I shouldn’t have lied.’ He looked up at me, his face taut, jaw clenched.
‘Why did you?’
‘Things happened that weekend that I’d rather forget.’
‘Thanks.’
‘No, not with you. Our time together was amazing. I… we…’ he turned his head away as his cheeks turned pink. ‘We were supposed to meet up on that last day.’
‘I know. I waited for you for two hours. I missed watching my favourite band, convincing myself you’d be along any moment. Do you have any idea how humiliating it was having to go back to my friends alone, after all I’d said about you?’ Now it was my turn to blush.
‘I’d fully intended to meet you. I was on my way when I got a phone call from home.’
‘What kind of phone call?’
‘The kind you never want to get. My dad had been in a motorbike accident.’
‘Oh my God. Did he… is he?’
‘He survived, but only just. It was touch and go, and he was in a coma for weeks. I could hardly tell my mum I’d be there in a few hours once I’d hooked up with a girl I’d just met. All I could think about was Dad. I dropped everything, left my tent, all my stuff behind. I had to get to the hospital. I had to be with him.’
‘And you couldn’t have messaged?’
‘I’ll be honest. I didn’t think about it until later that day. Then I didn’t know what to say. We didn’t think Dad would make it, and everything was such a mess. Then the longer I left it, the harder it became to contact you. I convinced myself I’d imagined the connection between us, that it was the festival atmosphere that had gone to my head.’
So, he’d felt it too. It hadn’t just been me. But had it just been youthful excitement, too many hormones? That weekend had played out like a romance novel, eyes meeting across a crowded tent, each other’s first kiss, the promise of so much more… I shook the thoughts out of my head. We’d been sixteen. Now we were adults, completely different people.
‘I’m sorry that happened to you, and I totally understand. But I wish you’d got in touch to let me know. I spent months thinking I’d done something wrong.’
Seb reached across the table and took my hand in a gesture that shocked us both. He snatched his hand back, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
‘It was the beginning of a very dark time in my life. The accident left Dad paralysed, and it knocked the whole family for six. Anyway, you don’t want to hear about my depressing past. We’ve got more important matters to discuss.’
Seb smiled at me, a smile that took me back to a muddy field laced with fairy lights, and a night of literally dancing till we dropped. His appearance may have changed drastically since then, but his smile was the same. His eyes met mine, sending a jolt of electricity through me. I should have looked away, but his eyes were like two magnets, holding me in place, trying to convey a message I couldn’t quite grasp.
Seb coughed and broke the spell. My eyes fell to the notebook in front of me and I fiddled with my pen, clicking the lid on and off.
‘Right, where were we?’ said Seb, clearing his throat. ‘Let’s start with the vision for the lake project and why I’m going to need all the help I can get to make it work. Welcome to the team, Liv.’