Chapter 41
Gemma was about to microwave her dinner when there was a knock at the door. It was seven-thirty on a Tuesday night in September. She wondered if it was Brian Anderson from two doors down who’d letter-dropped about a car burglary and how he wanted to set up a ‘neighbourhood vigilante group’.
But it wasn’t Brian. It was Nick. He had a feather behind his ear and was clutching multi-coloured floral wellington boots to his chest. They were pretty but they weren’t Gwendoline’s.
‘The plain pink ones had sold out,’ he said. ‘And I never gave this to you. The goose feather I found mudlarking.’ He pulled the feather from his ear and handed it to her.
She crossed her arms. She was still aggrieved and fuming.
‘Okay, well, anyway, I’ve come to apologise,’ he said retracting the feather.
‘You’re right, I should have been more careful when I checked the tides and I shouldn’t have talked about my book.
I didn’t mean to be insensitive about your wellies or belittle how scary it was. Trust me, I was spooked, too.’
Gemma nodded. She couldn’t find it in herself to look him in the eye, even though, deep down, she appreciated his apology.
‘I hope you can forgive me.’
Gemma chewed her bottom lip. ‘You know, it’s not like I want to be mad at you,’ she admitted.
‘I don’t want you to be, either.’
There was a moment’s pause where neither of them spoke. Gemma considered how much longer she could stay cross with him, because it was proving difficult the longer he stood there.
‘All right, show me this feather, then,’ she said.
He gave it to her. She spun it between her fingers and watched how the porch light made the fawn-coloured feathers shimmer. ‘Actually, I think it’s from a mallard duck,’ she said.
‘If you say so. I’m no bird expert.’
‘Me neither, to be fair.’ She slid it behind her ear.
‘These are a peace offering.’ He placed the boots at her feet. ‘Although I see you’ve brought some new ones already.’ He nodded to the black boots sitting in the hallway.
‘They were cheap and now having worn them, I know why,’ Gemma said.
‘Well, these weren’t cheap, and I hope you’ll get a chance to find out why.’ Nick grinned.
He made her smile as he always did. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘You didn’t have to.’
‘I know.’
She chewed a fingernail and kept looking at the boots. Even though she hadn’t quite stopped being peeved with him, she was touched by his kindness. Those gentle eyes of his didn’t stop looking at her, all of which was beginning to melt her steeliness and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.
‘I’ll be off, then,’ he said, as though he’d waited long enough for her to respond.
‘No!’ She blurted. ‘I mean, wait …’
He paused, halfway between staying and going, wondering, she supposed, exactly what she was going to say.
‘I’m sorry, too,’ she said quietly. ‘It was unfair to make you shoulder the responsibility and the blame. I was the more experienced larker and I should have double-checked the tides and conditions.’
‘It’s okay, I like that you trusted me. I should also apologise for shouting,’ he said. ‘I’m not normally a shouty person.’
‘Me neither.’
‘That now makes two things we’ve got in common.’
Gemma had to think for a moment what the first thing was. She smiled.
‘Are we good now?’ he asked.
‘We’re good,’ she agreed.
‘Does that mean I can get to try out your electrolysis kit?’ Nick asked.
‘Is that what this is all about?’
He made a maybe-maybe-not gesture.
‘You’re pushing your luck,’ she said deadpan.
Then he laughed and said, ‘Of course not.’
And Gemma laughed and said, ‘Of course you can.’
‘Great!’ he said.
‘I suppose we could do it now, if you like?’ she suggested. The relief of shedding her anger made her suddenly act spontaneously.
‘But I haven’t got the padlock.’
‘At the weekend then?’
‘That’d be great.’
‘I suppose, now that you’re here, would you like to come in for a drink?’ The spontaneity was refusing to budge.
‘Thanks, but I won’t. I walked here as I’m trying to fit more exercise into my life and if I had a drink then I’d probably end up catching the bus home.’
‘That’s very disciplined of you.’
‘It’s a rare occurrence so I’d better make the most of it.’ He laughed.
They said their goodbyes and ‘See you on the weekend’ as if nothing had happened, which was a far better note on which to end than their last contentious exchange.
September Discoveries:
Even though, sadly, September had been littered with losses – the half French franc, the iron nails, Gwendoline’s wellington boots – I did make some significant finds.
Such as, a gorgeous aquamarine ring which I now wear all the time; a newfound deep respect for the Thames; and how empowering it was throwing my engagement ring into the river.
What’s more, how I hated the thought of nearly losing Nick as a friend.