Page 71 of Love, Accidentally

She grins. ‘All the more reason to spend time with Will away from his dad’s house. Parks, soft-play centres, all those sorts of places.’

‘Definitely not the soft-play centre. I don’t think we can show our faces in there again after last time.’

‘I don’t know. It sounds like you might have been good for them.’

I know she’s just after another day of free childcare, but I am considering Tash’s idea as I make my way back down to A&E. Maybe she’s right and all Will needs is time. If that’s the case, Isaac does give us the perfect opportunity to spend another whole day in each other’s company. And, as she pointed out, we’ll be away from Jonathan’s ham-fisted attempts to matchmake us. It’ll also be an easy thing to sell to Will, I reckon. There will be absolutely zero opportunity for romance, but maybe this is all about carefully laying foundations rather than rushing to the next level before Will is ready. This might be a longer game than I’m used to, but the one thing I’m absolutely sure of is that he is worth the wait.

29

I’m frustrated. I’m trying very hard not to be but, despite the fact that Will and I have spent quite a lot of time together over the last few weeks, we haven’t progressed beyond hugging hello and goodbye. My hope for a spot of romantic hand-holding when we took Isaac out for the day was dashed by his demands to walk between us and be swung, and the opportunity hasn’t really come up again since. Although Jonathan continues to be very welcoming towards me, his attempts to discreetly give us space when I visit them have been so blatant that they’re actually off-putting. The obvious thing to do would have been to bring Will over to my flat, but we’ve just been ‘blessed’ by another visit from Lena, and she’s the last person I want him to meet at the moment. If Jonathan didn’t quite manage to scare Will off, Lena certainly would. Thankfully, after traumatising the washing machine again, she’s disappeared off again to be absolutely indispensable in some war zone or other, and my mind has been feverishly trying to work out an excuse to invite him over at a time when I know Mike and Sarah won’t be there.

Today is going to be another wasted opportunity. After a lot of indecision and, according to Will, endless lengthy conversations about weather, wind speed and visibility with boring Bernard, Jonathan has decided that he’s ready to give Audrey her inaugural flight. On the plus side, Will is on his way over to my flat for the first time, but sadly it’s only to collect me to take me to the location of the mysterious flying club so we can cheer from the sidelines. Tash tried very hard to persuade us to take Isaac, but we eventually managed to convince her that standing in a muddy field for hours would really not be his cup of tea.

‘Looking good, Tilly,’ Sarah says with a smile as I come out of my bedroom. Will has warned me that it can get quite cold, so I’ve gone for a chunky roll-neck sweater over my jeans. I’ve got thick socks on, and my walking boots are ready by the front door. I’ve also been learning a few more make-up tricks from her, going for a subtle smoky-eye effect today, which I thought went well with the slightly seventies vibe of the sweater.

‘Thanks,’ I reply. ‘It’s supposed to be sexy but warm.’

‘I reckon you’ve nailed the brief. What time is he collecting you?’

‘Eight thirty. It will take us a while to get there, apparently, and Will doesn’t want to be late.’

‘And you’re inviting him up while you get your shoes on, like we discussed?’ Mike says from the sofa. Ever since I told them that Will was coming over, they’ve been obsessed with meeting him, and my original plan to be ready so I could just run down to the front door when he arrived was swiftly overruled.

‘Only if you put a dressing gown on,’ I tell him firmly. ‘I might be able to cope with you sprawling about the place in your boxer shorts, but I’ve had years to get used to it. I don’t want his first impression of my home to be you with your testicles hanging out.’

‘My balls aren’t hanging out!’ he says indignantly.

‘Not at the moment,’ Sarah agrees. ‘But they do have a habit of popping out to say hello when you’re not looking. Do as the lady says and put a dressing gown on, will you?’

‘I just hope this all proves to be worth it and he starts spending time here,’ Mike mutters as he heaves himself off the sofa, giving Sarah and me an eyeful of scrotum as he does. ‘I could do with some male support.’

‘You poor thing,’ Sarah coos sarcastically at his back, before turning to me once he’s out of earshot. ‘I’ve got him some of those trunk-style pants for Christmas. They look like boxer shorts, but will hopefully keep him better contained. There’s nothing like unexpected glimpses of male genitalia to put you off your breakfast, and I’m quite fond of his genitals, on the whole. How you put up with it is anyone’s guess.’

‘Like I said, I’ve had years of it.’

‘He was a lot more careful when Lena was here, did you notice?’

I laugh. ‘He flashed her once, early on, and she threatened to cut them off and feed them to him if she ever saw them again. I think it probably focused his mind.’

‘Why didn’t you try that?’

‘Oh, I did, but I lack Lena’s psycho streak, so he understandably didn’t take me seriously.’

‘He’s late,’ Mike announces as he re-enters the room, wrapping a towelling dressing gown round himself. ‘Not a very good first impression when meeting your flatmate Mum and Dad, is it?’

‘If you start that, I’ll meet him downstairs like I originally planned. I’m only bringing him up here to shut you up. You won’t be interviewing him, asking his intentions or anything else. Any funny business and you’ll be sleeping with the fishes,capisce?’

‘Fine. If you’re going to come over all mafioso about it,’ Mike huffs.

‘I think, technically, that would be mafiusa,’ Sarah corrects him. ‘Mafioso is for men.’

‘Is that really a word? I thought the Mafia was a male stronghold, and the women just pitched up at the funerals looking incredibly glamorous in black dresses and sunglasses.’

‘No, there are lots of female Mafia bosses, actually. Maria Licciardi is one of the best known, but there are several others.’

Before Mike or I have a chance to quiz Sarah on her slightly disturbing knowledge of the Mafia, the buzzer rings.

‘Right. Best behaviour or the Mafia will be the least of your worries. Got it?’ I hiss before picking up the receiver and asking Will to come up. I may be frustrated with our lack of physical progress, but that doesn’t stop my heart from beating a little quicker when I open the door and see him. Unlike me, he’s gone full-on outdoorsy with a bobble hat (always questionable on a man in my opinion), a thick coat that reaches almost to his knees, and stout boots. He’s barely through the front door before Mike is advancing on him.

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