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‘I’m glad,’ he tells me, leaning against a doorframe.
‘He also divulged some interesting information to me…’
‘About?’ he enquires.
‘That night, when we all went out for the Mexican…’ I say, smiling broadly.
‘I knew he wouldn’t be able to keep that to himself. It was a drunken snog, that was all. I didn’t want to embarrass you.’
‘And there was me thinking our first kiss was a romantic moment in the middle of a crowded train station? When really…’
‘It was you snogging me while you were hanging off my bed…’ he laughs. ‘Though to be fair, a couple nights before the station, we’d done much more than that. I’d seen you putting your…’
I throw a ball of rolled socks at him so he won’t finish that sentence. ‘Forgive me for wanting to preserve some sense of romance about how we got together. If your family ask, we kissed at that station, not post tacos.’
He laughs again and it’s a sound which rings new to me. I like hearing it. ‘I was quite looking forward to telling my gran how you threw your bra at me the next morning and it landed on my head.’
‘Oh no, that’s a story to tell our kids,’ I joke before realising what I’ve said. I turn my head away and widen my eyes. There is no reply, just a stifled laugh. ‘That was too soon, I apologise.’
‘Never. One favour to ask though, don’t mention anything like that to my mother or she’ll lose her mind with joy.’
I turn around and he’s smiling at me, not looking particularly scared. I’ve known many a man where words like that would have him get his coat but he stays, for which I’m secretly very grateful.
‘Will she like me? Your mum? Am I looking at someone more Frank’s mum or Jasper’s mum?’ I ask him.
‘She’s a force of nature. She likes everyone,’ he tells me. ‘A very glass-half-full kind of woman even when things aren’t going well. The eternal optimist.’
‘Then I look forward to meeting her,’ I say, zipping up my bag and looking around to make sure I haven’t missed anything.
‘Look at you, bringing work back in your holidays,’ Leo says glancing over at the folder on my kitchen counter, instantly recognising the Wiseman Brothers logo.
I gulp knowing he’s seen it and walk over calmly towards it. ‘It’s some data to look at, it can wait till I get back,’ I say, grabbing the white glossy folder and holding it close to my chest.
‘Or bring it with, if it’s urgent?’ Leo tells me. ‘I’ve known you long enough to know you’re a bit of a workaholic.’
I look at the kindness in his eyes. Maybe I should tell him? We’re close now, perhaps he can be a soundboard to this but then what if I need to let him go? We can’t be seen to be ganging up on the others. I nod, stuffing the folder in the pocket of one of my bags.
As I turn around, Leo stands there to take my bag, putting a hand to my shoulder. I feel every interaction with him these days, the gentleness of his touch and contact. He catches my gaze and I smile at him. ‘And to think…last week we were both sat at our respective desks, sharing Pringles and rebooting hard drives,’ he reminisces.
‘I don’t share the Pringles, you guys steal them,’ I inform him.
‘This is true.’
‘Shall we?’
‘Spend Christmas together?’ I reply softly.
‘Yeah.’ He turns to leave and I go and reach for my handbag but suddenly feel a throbbing pain in my right hand that makes me flinch. I look down at my hand, at the plaster that was covering my thumb where Jasper (the fox cub) bit me. When it first happened, Sally and Carmel did clean it but I’m not sure it should feel like this. I peel back the plaster to see the skin has turned crimson red and isslightly inflamed.
‘All good?’ Leo asks, standing at my front door.
I turn. It’s just a thumb. Possibly rabies. ‘All good,’ I tell him as I follow him out of the door.
TWENTY-FIVE
‘Maggie? Maggie?’ I open my eyes to see that the car has stopped and adjust my vision to see that we’re in a motorway services’ car park. In the car, the soft melodies of Dean Martin play and I wipe at the corners of my mouth just in case I’ve been drooling. I lift my head up from against the car window, wondering why it’s so warm in here. I run a finger around my neckline and take off my beanie, aware that the hair situation underneath will mostly be frizz and tangles. I try to think what I last remembered. We got in Leo’s red Toyota Aygo, I joked it was a grandma car, he told me he only trusted Japanese engineering. We meandered our way out of London’s brightly lit streets until we hit the motorway to make our way north and all the while we listened to Christmas music on the radio, shared travel sweets, laughs and knowing looks, before I popped a couple of pills and told Leo I was going to have a nap.
‘Where are we?’ I mumble.
