‘You all right?’ Tony stood by the back door of the house, silhouetted against the light from the kitchen behind him.
‘Yeah, course,’ I said. ‘You joining me?’
He pulled the door shut, then came over and leant on the wall next to me. ‘Getting cold at night now, innit?’
‘Yeah.’
We were both quiet for a minute.
‘Have you seen Zack’s social media appeal?’ he asked.
‘No! What’s that all about?’
‘He’s launching a crowd-funding campaign, to finish the film.’
‘Really?’ I said, pleased. ‘That’s brilliant! I hope they raise the money.’
‘Me too,’ said Tony. ‘I can’t bear to think of Shirley’s big-screen debut going to waste.’
‘I wish I’d seen it,’ I admitted. ‘I feel bad about not watching the filming.’ He shrugged.
‘You were catching a murderer, to be fair.’ He shook his head and laughed. ‘I have to say, you did miss a right treat.’
‘Was she good?’
‘You know your mum. She were magnificent. A proper Elizabeth Taylor. You should get her to do her line for you. Did she tell you what it was?’
‘No. Go on!’
‘She had to look at Zack, all haughty like, and say,’ – he put on a high-pitched, aristocratic voice that would have made Lady Bracknell sound like an extra from Mile End Days – ’‘Young man, you happear to have something protruding from your britches.’’
I stared at him for a moment, and then we both burst out laughing. Then he turned to me.
‘You and me, we’re good, yeah?’
‘Of course we are,’ I said. We really were. ‘Good as gold. I meant what I said before, Tony.’
‘Friends for life?’
‘Friends for life.’
We stood in silence again, but it was a rather more relaxed, companionable one.
‘I was thinking,’ I said, ‘if we’re still single in twenty years’ time—’
He laughed. ‘You won’t be single in twenty years’ time.’
‘Well, no, nor will you. But if we are…’
‘Let’s not plan that far ahead,’ said Tony, with a grin. ‘Let’s just see what happens, yeah?’
‘Er…’ I turned as I heard another voice behind me. Now Nathan stood in the doorway, looking awkward, holding two mugs of tea. Tony smiled.
‘Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, you’ve got a visitor.’ He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, then said softly, ‘Don’t miss this moment.’
I looked into his eyes; he genuinely seemed to be okay. I was relieved. He winked at me and said, ‘I’ll leave you to it, then.’ He crossed the garden and stopped for a second in front of Nathan. Neither of them spoke, but something seemed to pass between them. Or was I imagining it? It had been a tiring and emotional few days, after all. Then Tony went into the house and shut the door behind him.
Nathan cleared his throat. ‘Your mum made us some tea,’ he said, holding up the mugs. I sat on the wall, trying not to notice how cold it was under my bottom. He smiled and joined me.
‘Sorry, was I interrupting something with you and Tony?’ he asked, handing me my tea. I shook my head.
‘Nope, nothing at all,’ I said. We sat quietly for a moment, inhaling the steam off our tea. He looked up at the sky.
‘The stars are bright tonight,’ he said.
‘Not a cloud in the sky,’ I said. ‘That’s why it’s so chilly.’
‘Yeah…’
We sipped at our tea. I began to wonder why he was there, even though I was glad he was. I didn’t have to wonder for long.
‘So, I have some news about that job…’ he said, and my heart sank.
‘When are you leaving?’ I asked. I really didn’t want him to go. He opened his mouth to speak but I suddenly thought, No, don’t let him go without at least telling him how you feel. Don’t miss this moment!
‘I—’ he started.
‘Don’t go,’ I said. He shut his mouth abruptly, then opened it again.
‘What?’
‘Don’t go. We need you here. I mean, I need you here. I want you as my partner in crime. I want—’ I was already struggling for words, but then in the field behind me one of those blasted sheep farted (seriously, what had they been eating?) and totally threw me. Way to ruin the atmosphere. Literally. ‘That was the sheep, not me.’
He laughed. ‘I know.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I came to tell you I’m not going.’
I stared at him in amazement. ‘What? But it’s a great job, and it’s near your parents…’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Are you trying to talk me into taking it now?’
‘No! No, of course not. I just…’
He put his mug down, then gently plucked mine from my hands and set it on the ground. ‘Jodie, I’m not going anywhere. I told my old super that I’m not interested in moving back there anymore.’ He smiled and took my hands. ‘I put in for a transfer straight after Andrea changed her mind about moving down here, in the hope that if I went back then we could patch things up. Even after I realised that I didn’t want her any more, I still felt like an outsider here, like a … what’s that word you lot use?’
‘Emmet.’
‘Ha! Yes, I felt like an emmet, for a long time. And then I met you.’ He gazed deep into my eyes, and I thought, YES! THIS is how I should have felt when Tony kissed me! Tingly! This was exactly what had been missing. Nathan smiled, and, just as I had been on the day we’d first met when he’d questioned me at Tony’s disastrous wedding-that-never-was, I was struck by how absolutely bloomin’ gorgeous he was. ‘And now, you know what? Liverpool’s not home any more. I can’t go back, Jodie, because you make me feel like I’m already where I belong,’ he said simply.
And then finally – finally – he pulled me into his arms. And with the gentle night breeze toying with our hair, the stars above bathing us in their celestial glow, and the sadly unmistakable scent of flatulent sheep assaulting our nostrils, we finally, finally,
