Page 86 of Hot to Go

‘Suzie, I don’t know how to tell you how much we appreciated you coming on this trip. We are so incredibly grateful,’ Lee tells me, still clinging to his clipboard.

‘It was my pleasure,’ I tell him, putting a hand to his arm. ‘And it was very well organised. Go home and have a rest.’

‘And a stiff drink?’

I’m surprised his body can take on much more alcohol but he reaches round and hands me a bottle of wine in a gift bag. I return the gesture with a hug. We’re family now, bonded by this experience for life and I will be forever grateful that he took on all the shouting on this trip.

‘SUZIE QUATTRO!’ Mark says next, as he disembarks the coach with numerous used drinks bottles and food wrappers. ‘We will always have Seville,’ he says, in earshot of his wife. Jackie rolls her eyes. I scan down to their slightly larger than normal suitcase wondering what other paraphernalia they have in there, admiring how they treated this school trip as their own little sex weekend away.

‘How is Charlie?’ he asks me, in exaggerated tones.

Jackie nudges him. ‘Leave the poor girl alone.’

‘I’m just curious as a member of staff in a school with limited parking. If you twos are lift-sharing now then that helps me.’

‘Lift-sharing, is that what we’re calling it?’ I laugh. ‘I’ll see you after half term.’

He blows me a kiss and I watch as he puts his arm around his wife as they go in search of their car. Meanwhile, I get lost in the melee of assorted children reuniting with their parents and bags. Why has that boy got all his belongings in two plastic bags? A girl gives her dad a full flamenco guitar that he looks at curiously. Excited mums hug less than enthusiastic teenage sons. We ensure the boy who came with a full camping rucksack and sleeping bag and didn’t read the packing list takes home all his things.

‘SUZIE KATHARINE CALLAGHAN!’ I turn to see that the voice is Beth, standing there, waving at me. Her presence is a strange relief. It’s nice to have a welcome party of sorts amidst all these reunions. She comes to give me a huge hug and I fall into it.

‘You’re here?’ I ask her.

‘Oh, you stopped chatting on the group so I wanted to come here and be the first one to get the gossip, give you a lift back, make sure you were OK. Be the good cousin,’ she says, studying my face. ‘Hun, you’re glowing. I’m so jealous.’

‘That’s the sun.’

‘Yeah, yeah…’ she says. ‘Let’s go get some fish and chips and catch up.’ I nod because a little stop like that with conversation, normality and a bit of a debrief sounds perfect. She stops to say hello to a student who recognises her while I stand there watching the rest of the crowd disperse.

‘Your middle name is Katharine?’ someone familiar says behind me, carrying a similar gift bag of wine.

‘I didn’t want to say,’ I explain, with a grin. ‘My mum lovedThe English Patienttoo. It was the name of Kristin Scott-Thomas’ character.’

‘Niche reference,’ he says, repeating my words.

I guess I didn’t want to read too much into all those little things about coincidence and stars aligning and things that indicated that we were meant to be. Because I didn’t want to sound flighty, with my head in the clouds. But there’s a flash of intensity between us, a moment where I can hardly breathe to look at him, to know that we could have a future. I notice Beth looking at us from the corner of her eye.

‘Do you want to…’ he asks.

‘Yeah…’ I reply.

We can’t do anything, not in front of inquisitive student eyes but yeah, I want to.

‘CHARLIE!’ a voice sounds from the other end of the car park and a teenage girl comes running over from a car and gives him a hug. Her hair is curly and wild and she’s in a hoodie and UGGs. She’s followed by a more chilled teenage boy who punches his arm in greeting. I think I know who these people are but I let them have a chance to reunite and stand back as Beth re-finds me again, threading her arm through mine and also looking on.

‘What did you get me?’ the girl asks.

‘A shower cap,’ Charlie replies.

‘Seriously?’ she grumbles, looking genuinely repulsed. ‘Stingy git.’

There is a warmth and a humour there and I’ll admit it makes him more attractive to see that look in his eyes, a lookwhich tells me how much he loves them, how they are his home.

‘Why did you come here?’ Charlie asks them, grinning.

‘Because we missed you?’ the girl replies. ‘We got the bus. Also…’ she says, looking around before finding me. ‘Are you Suzie then?’ the girl asks me, boldly bouncing over.

I stand there for a minute feeling ambushed, Beth laughing that she was not the only one to come on down here and get a peek at the brewing romance. ‘I am…You must be Brooke.’ I see Charlie slightly mortified by her brazen approach, Sam hanging back looking at me from afar. ‘How do you know?’ I ask her.

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