Page 29 of Five Things I Love About You

‘Yes. An English teacher.’

‘That sounds fulfilling too.’

I grimace. ‘It can be. Shite pay too.’

‘Good holidays though.’

‘You’d think.’

‘Oh?’ He raises his eyebrows and I sigh, unsure whether I really want to go into it with someone I’ve only just met. But he’s looking at me expectantly, so I tell him.

‘When I got divorced twelve years ago I wanted to keep the house to give the kids some stability. I couldn’t really afford it but I scraped the money together somehow. But it means I’m still paying a huge mortgage and… well, I usually spend the school holidays doing extra tutoring to help pay for it.’ I shrug.

‘That sounds tough.’

I look at him to see if he’s being sarcastic but he seems sincere. ‘It is. I mean, I know it was my choice to keep the house, but it is hard.’ I sigh. ‘The trouble is, now the kids have left, I’ve begun to wonder whether I should just sell it and buy something smaller.’

‘So, you’re planning to go back soon, are you? To London, I mean?’

‘I’m here for at least three months because there’s someone else living in my house right now, but after that I have no idea.’

‘That’s good.’

I look at him sharply. ‘Is it?’

‘Well, yes, I…’ He seems flustered and doesn’t look at me. ‘I just meant… well, Gladys and I will happily show you the sights of Newcastle, if you’d like. While you are here, I mean.’

I glance at him. He’s a handsome man. Tall and slim, and he still has thick, dark hair with only the odd fleck of grey in it. Normally I’d be flattered by someone like him suggesting he wants to spend time with me. But these aren’t normal times. I’m here to track down the man I can’t stop thinking about, who literally interrupts my sleep and sweeps me off my feet, who I feel certain is the man I’m supposed to be with.

Matt isn’t Jay and I can’t afford any distractions, handsome or otherwise.

‘That’s very kind of you, but I’ve got to spend most of my time working and trying to find Jay,’ I say.

‘Oh yes of course,’ Matt says, his face flushing. Gladys stops for another sniff and this time Matt stops and finally looks at me. ‘I’d be happy to help you look for him, if you like?’

‘Really?’

He shrugs. ‘You never know, I might know him, or at least know someone who does. Newcastle isn’t as big as London.’

‘But…’ I trail off. ‘You remember I really don’t know much about him, don’t you?’

‘Yeah, but I like a challenge. Plus it would be nice to show you round, get to know you while we search.’ He flushes again and I smile.

‘Well, in that case I would love your help please. Thank you.’

He nods, and we start walking again. We chat about our kids, about our likes and dislikes, about our friends. I discover he likes books almost as much as me and his favourite book of all time isA Clockwork Orange.

‘I always hated it,’ I say, as he gasps in mock horror. ‘Over-stylised nonsense. But maybe that’s the English teacher in me.’

‘I’m not sure we can be friends after all,’ he says, tugging Gladys away from a dropped ice cream on the path. She looks disgruntled.

‘Well, what’s your favourite film of all time? Maybe I can make up for it with that?’

‘Ooh tricky one,’ he says. ‘It’s a toss-up betweenThe Godfather?—’

‘Oh no, cliché!’ I interrupt, but he holds his hands up in surrender.

‘Hear me out,’ he says, grinning. ‘The Godfatherbecause as a middle-aged man I sort of have to choose that. But I’ve also got a secret soft spot forSleepless in Seattle.’

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