Page 115 of Little Miss Fortune

‘Of course.’

He sits, studying the river, ignoring my gaping mouth. ‘I had the weirdest day today.’

A comically loud gulp rolls out of me. ‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. First Rufus said something about my running that I thought, Huh, odd. Then there was an art display in the park that weirdly reminded me of someone else I know. But then the weirdest thing happened.’

My phone’s screen lights up in my hands. I try to ignore it, but it’s twenty missed calls from Sashka and Leon, forty-two messages and three e-mails. Our film won the festival.

‘Did you see it?’ I ask wishfully.

‘See what?’

‘The film. The one I made for the festival?’

‘You made a film for a festival?’ He gawks at me with awe.

‘Yeah, the one that won?’ I point to my phone with a proud smile that I can no longer control.

‘That’s amazing, Fuko! I knew you had it in you,’ he cheers with genuine surprise.

‘You didn’t see it?’

‘No, but now I have to.’

‘Then,’ I say, ‘why are you here?’

‘I had a chat with a woman today. She had a baby with the most unbelievable name.’

Huh? Fawzia’s friend? We didn’t give her any lines. We just told her to take her time to stall him.

‘And that baby’s name was?’

‘She called him Spike.’ Toby bites down on his lower lip to stop himself from laughing.

‘No!’ I shout in disbelief.

‘Yes!’ He laughs back.

‘That’s not a name, that’s a move in volleyball. And we know what he is going to be like when he is older.’

‘Marry a director and then make a movie about their divorce.’

‘Or get turned into a vampire and bleach his hair.’

‘Poor Spike, his life is written for him.’

We sit in each other’s warmth in complete silence for a minute. Not a single muscle on my body moves, in fear of scaring him away. One wrong gesture and he will slap his thighs to announce his departure.

‘I need to tell you something, Fuko.’ He looks down at his feet.

‘I’m listening.’

‘I have been hiding something from you, which is also why I was such a dick.’

‘A huge one.’

‘A massive dick. I hope we both can agree—bigger than your ex’s.’