‘Regi,’ he sounded out of breath even though he had only been standing outside, ‘how are you?’
I quickly looked down at my white Converse trainer boots, which looked more than ‘a little’ scuffed.
‘I’m good.’ I managed to look back up at him. ‘Do you, er, live around here?’ I tried not to sound suspicious at our meeting here.
‘Marlon Street, two roads down from here. You?’
‘Yeah, a few roads down, the other way.’ I feebly pointed to my right. I had no intention of telling him the name of my road.
‘I saw you walk in. Sorry, hope you don’t mind me bashing the window like that – hope I didn’t scare you.’ Will was rushing his words. He was wearing his trademark denim jacket with a hood. ‘How’s it going? Spot of shopping?’ He pointed to the shirt draped over my arm. ‘It’s nice. Suits you.’ He raised his eyebrows really quickly and flashed a smile.
I sniffed out a laugh. ‘I haven’t even tried it on.’
‘Well, I can tell. You’d suit anything.’ He smiled.
I heard the shop assistant clicking her pen on and off and occasionally typing something on the keyboard in front of her. I stole a glance at her, wondering what she was making of this awkward meeting.
‘So what brings you… here?’ I asked.
‘Just a few errands. How about you?’
‘I’m picking up a table from the shop next door. And obviously, a party outfit,’ I said, looking at the shirt. ‘Although now I’m not so sure…’ I trailed off.
‘Oh no, you should give it a go. Why not try it on? I have an eye for women’s fashion.’
I looked at him questioningly.
‘I mean, I have three sisters, so girls’ clothes, it’s kinda all I’ve ever known.’ He pointed to the shirt. ‘What have you got to lose?’
I looked at the price tag. ‘Thirty-nine quid?’
The shop assistant cleared her throat.
‘What’s the occasion again?’
‘My house mate is turning twenty-one.’
‘Oh yes, the student house party, that’s right. Twenty-one, my God. I can barely remember what I was doing then. Something highly illegal probably.’ He laughed, and I smiled at the infectiousness of it. I briefly cast my mind back to when I was twenty-one. I knew I was dealing with things that were way above what a girl my age should have been dealing with.
We stood looking at one another for a moment.
‘The changing rooms are just over there.’ The voice of the shop assistant reached us.
‘Okay, I’ll just…’ I walked past her and she gave me a knowing smile before I disappeared into the changing room. I pulled the curtain to and adjusted it so no cracks were showing. I pulled off the top I was wearing and carefully folded it and put it on the bench. I could hear Will approach the till and begin to make small talk with the shop assistant. He was asking her how long the shop had been there.
I pulled the shirt over my head and assessed myself in the mirror. It was a good fit. I tried to conjure up some excitement so that when I appeared on the other side of the curtain I might look a little happier than I actually felt.
I tentatively pulled back the curtain. Will jumped up from where he had been leaning against the till, his eyes open wide with intrigue.
He nodded approvingly.
‘Stunning. I reckon that’s the one.’
‘How about a woman’s prerogative to try on fifteen more tops and then buy the first one she tries on?’ I tried to disguise the smile that was creeping its way across my lips. It had been a long time since I had heard a compliment like that from a man.
‘I mean I can happily hang around all day if you need to try on more,’ Will said with a glint in his eye.
I narrowed my eyes at him as a small smile played across my own lips.
‘I like your style. Luckily for you, I don’t do shopping.’ I looked at the assistant who was looking on with interest. ‘I’ll take it.’
At the desk I handed over my card and the assistant put the shirt in a brown paper bag. Will was trying to feign interest in some of the clothes rails. I looked over to where he was standing and that was when I saw it. How I hadn’t seen it before was beyond me. The boldness of the design was so eye-catching, I knew it was forever embedded in my brain. But for some reason, today, my mind had chosen not to see it. I had, in fact, walked straight past it on my way to the changing room. But now, it was there, staring me in the face and dragging me back to that fateful day.
I felt my legs go first, I grabbed for the counter but missed and dropped my purse, coins and cards scattered everywhere. Everything seemed to slow down. Then, as my body absorbed the shock, I went into protective mode. Will was speaking, but I couldn’t hear him. He was next to me and he reached out his hand to grab me. That was the last thing I saw before I fell.
Will had gone home and fetched his car and driven me the two blocks home, even though I had told him over and over that I was fine to walk. As we drove, sadness consumed me. Will had seen a
