Page 105 of Be More Octopus

He really hadn't wanted to speak to her again.

'I'll text you with my caller ID switched on so you can reply later. Assuming you haven't blocked my number.

'OK. And I never blocked your number.'

So he knew exactly how many times she'd phoned in those first couple of weeks, but he still hadn't responded. That was worse than blocking her. Bastard!

'I won't have time to call you until this evening,' he added. 'Bye.'

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

It was getting late. Em had received several texts from Lucy along the lines of 'Hasn't he phoned yet?' but nothing from Jack. Em had almost given up hope. How was her behaviour 'being more octopus'? She felt like a lovesick teenager. It was ridiculous. Then her phone rang.

'Hello.' Jack's voice but monotone. Not his usual greeting either. It wasn't a good start, though perhaps he didn't do the 'hello, you' thing on the phone. They hadn't had many phone conversations in the summer.

'Tell me about the exhibition.' No pleasantries, just straight to the point. It didn't sound as if he'd mellowed that much.

Em filled him in on the details. 'It will be good publicity for you. Hopefully, that will help when your new book comes out. And it would help my portrait business too. I know you don't want anything to do with me, but if you could do that, I would be very grateful.'

'Yes, ok. I can see it would be beneficial to both of us. I'll do it.'

'Thank you. I have one more favour to ask. Could we meet up before the opening? Only for a short while. I want to clear the air between us when we're not in public. I'm in London next Monday if you're free.' Em didn't need to drop the portrait off at the gallery for a few weeks, but she didn't want to wait until the last minute to catch up with Jack. It would be worth making a special trip.

'Sorry, I'm busy. You needn't worry. I'll be on my best behaviour at the opening. I've got to go now. See you on 4th December.' He hung up.

So that was it. Short but not sweet. Em made up her mind. She FaceTimed Lucy.

'I want to know everything he said.'

'That will take all of 30 seconds.' Em filled Lucy in on what few details there were.

'It's not looking promising.' Even Lucy wasn't trying to put a positive spin on it.

'You don't say! I've had enough. I'm ready to accept that that's it. There's no point moping about Jack any more. He's not the man I thought he was. I need to chalk it up as a holiday crush. I'll see him at the exhibition. We'll be civil to one another and then wave bye-bye. I felt so guilty when I talked to him, but I've done nothing wrong. He's as bad as Isabella. Why did I waste so much time and effort trying to win him over?'

'Do you mean that?'

'If I say it often enough, I will believe it eventually.

'He has been an unforgiving arsehole.'

'When there's nothing to forgive. I decided to give up my flat for one night, so my ex wasn't sleeping in a ditch. Jack misinterprets what he sees, automatically thinks the worst of me and then refuses to believe my explanation. I know he's been mistreated in the past, and I've cut him some slack because of that. But he owes me an apology for calling me a liar, if nothing else. Time to 'Be more octopus'. Professor Jack Carver can take a hike.'

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

Em woke up the following morning feeling determined to make some changes. She'd just been treading water, thinking Jack might come back into her life, which was pathetic. And, as she'd said to Lucy last night, she wasn't even sure she wanted that to happen now. A couple of weeks ago, when Em had been feeling particularly down, Lucy had recommended a life-planning questionnaire. But Em had been sceptical at the time.

'It's not one of these woo-woo things where you visualise what you want, and it magically happens, is it?'

'You cynic! Some people swear by the law of attraction. It's amazing what the Universe can deliver when you wish for it, often in unexpected ways,' Lucy said. 'But no, it's not one of those. You score where you are now in various aspects of your life, work out where you want to be, and then come up with some actions to get you there. Simple, but it works. How do you think I got my apartment? I can help you go through it if you want, but it's better to get a G&T and do it on your own, at least at first.'

Em scrolled through her WhatsApp conversation with Lucy and found the link. She tore a blank sheet of paper from her drawing pad and wrote 'Life Plan - October 2018' across the top of the page, then doodled a little octopus in the corner.

Em read the instructions.

Question 1. Score each of these seven aspects of your life on a scale of 1 to 10, where one is awful, and ten is perfect.

She looked through the headings.