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‘Are you OK?’ Sasha asked.
‘Yes, yes I’m fine. What time’s he coming in?’ Freya asked, composing herself.
‘He said he wanted to take you out to lunch, about one,’ Sasha added.
‘Oh, well, did he leave a number? Maybe I’ll call him. I’m probably going to be tied up this lunchtime,’ Freya said, using her mouse to click open her diary on the computer screen. She knew she had nothing else on but she felt uneasy about it.
‘Yes, he did. Here,’ Sasha said and she jotted the number down on a Post-It note and passed it to Freya.
‘Thanks. So, how are you doing for work today?’ Freya asked her, trying to turn her attention to something other than Jonathan Sanders.
‘I have an appointment. I’m having lunch with Heather Malcolm about doing some football team photos for the university. You said if she called back, I could deal with it,’ Sasha reminded.
‘I remember. Well, if you carry on being so capable, there’ll be no need for me to come here every day,’ Freya remarked.
‘Sorry, I just…’ Sasha started.
‘Sasha, I was kidding. It’s fine, you’re doing really well. I tell you what, tomorrow, how about you and I shut ourselves in a room and go through some techniques I think will be really useful for you?’ Freya suggested.
‘That sounds great. I’d like that.’
‘Good, well, one pastry down. What’s next?’ Freya asked, brushing the crumbs from her fingers.
Sasha went through the rest of the appointments for the week but Freya was unable to absorb it. The lunchtime appointment with Jonathan Sanders was disturbing her. It couldn’t be the same person. It was quite a common name, and America was a big place. It was unlikely it was the same man. But Sasha said he was English. It could be exactly who she thought. She needed to discuss it with someone. She needed her best friend.
2
‘Hello,’ Emma’s voice answered after several rings.
‘Hello, Mrs P. How is that goddaughter of mine?’ Freya questioned. She smiled at the sound of her best friend’s voice.
‘Oh hi, Freya. She’s fine, asleep at the moment. I was just trying to catch up on some myself,’ Emma replied. Her friend sounded jaded.
‘Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t think. Time difference. Typical me, I’ll let you go,’ Freya said.
‘No, no don’t go. I haven’t spoken to you for over a week. How is everything in the US?’ Emma asked.
‘The US is fine, Nick is fine, I’m fine… but Sasha’s just informed me I have a lunchtime appointment with Jonathan Sanders,’ Freya told her.
‘Jonathan Sanders? Your Jonny?’ Emma exclaimed.
‘I don’t know, but those were my first thoughts too,’ Freya answered with a sigh.
‘What d’you mean, you don’t know? You must know. I mean, it’s an appointment; you usually know who you’re meeting. Or do they do blind appointments over there to make work more fun?’ Emma questioned.
‘Sasha spoke to him and made the arrangement. She said he was English but she said he was well-spoken. Jonny was from Hackney. He was anything but well-spoken,’ Freya reminded her.
‘Well, a few years have gone by. He’ll be about the same age as you now. Things change; you can vouch for that. He might have done well for himself,’ Emma suggested.
‘But in what field? I mean, how many fields require him to need a photographer?’ Freya wanted to know.
‘Perhaps he doesn’t want to meet you in a business capacity. Maybe he just wants to catch up with you. I mean, you said a lunch meeting; perhaps it’s just lunch.’
‘But why? Why would he want lunch with me now? After all this time,’ Freya questioned.
‘I don’t know, perhaps he saw you in a magazine or a newspaper and it brought back memories and he thought it might be nice to get in touch,’ Emma suggested.
‘I wonder what he’s expecting me to say. I mean, he dumped me, for money. That’s like a red rag to a bull,’ she responded, chewing a pen as she thought about it.
