Page 50 of The Winter We Met
‘There’s nothing like a bit of drama at that age,’ said Nik.
Not for me – although I did remember fitful sobbing when someone told me Zac Efron had a girlfriend.
‘Some painted on their favourite pet. Couples dating shared a stone like the one you picked up. The Silver Swan’s landlord was one of that original group of teenagers and painted a football on his and wrote Manchester United Forever.’
Carefully Nik searched through the stones. ‘I’ve found a pet. A black and white Labrador, going by the picture. Patch. Much loved. RIP 2009.Some of these are beautiful. Have you ever left one?’
I gave him a sheepish look but trusted Nik with my secret that only Oliver knew about. I went over to the pile on the left. I dug underneath it at the back and eventually found a flat bright red stone. I passed it to him.
‘Jess loves Steve 2007.Tell me more,’ he said and handed it back. I returned it to its place, underneath the pile.
‘Must I?’
He took my arm and led me to the bench. Buddy jumped up next to me.
‘Over the years it became a tradition for youngsters to leave stones here on New Year’s Eve. Other people would leave them all year around, when a loved one died or for other reasons but teenagers stuck to that date. All my friends came up here. We were in Year 11. Gran let me go to a house party. She didn’t know the parents weren’t going to attend and we snuck out. Everyone else had a boyfriend or at least a crush. I wasn’t really into boys at that age so felt like the odd one out…’ I cleared my throat. ‘Steve was our cat. Gran had had him for years. He was named after her favourite actor, Steve McQueen. I told my friends he was a lad who lived in my road and went to boarding school out of the area. I felt bad for lying but in a way the stone told the truth because I did love our cat.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Sorry. Waffling. I bet you wish you hadn’t asked now.’
‘Not at all. Maybe you and I should leave one – we could paint an aeroplane on it.’
My stomach fluttered.
‘Can you remember your first love?’ I asked.
‘Isla. Feisty attitude. Taller than me when we first met. She loved surfing. I loved my books. I never understood why she liked me. We were so different. I was much quieter back then and us getting together surprised everyone.’
‘You? Quiet?’
‘Sure was. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t bother me now when I get teased for drinking sherry. I grew up being mocked for preferring books to football and visiting my grandpa instead of meeting in the park to smoke. It… it was hard, you know? Not fitting in – it feels like the end of the world at that age.’
I knew.
‘But eventually I gained a tight group of mates who weren’t as sporty, like me. We’d hit the beach together at weekends to fish in rock pools. That’s when I first met Isla. She strode over one day and offered to take me surfing.’ His smile broadened. ‘My mum couldn’t believe it when I got home. She’d been trying for years to convince me of the fun of her favourite pastime.’
‘You knew Isla from school?’
‘She was in the year below – said all the boys in her year were jerks. She loved talking about books and had seen me in the library. Isla really brought me out of myself. I couldn’t believe my luck, to be honest. I’d started to believe all the comments from other boys at school that I was weird…’ He chuckled. ‘Wound my grandpa around her little finger. He was as upset as me when we her dad got a new job and she moved to Perth. Even though Isla didn’t want to change me, without realising it she did. For some reason, being with her, I felt more as if I fitted in, even though I was the same person. Perhaps I simply gained some self-esteem.’
‘She was popular?’
‘Yes, but it wasn’t that. I think first loves are so special because it’s when you realise that actually, there is someone out there who thinks you are just perfect – that just being you is enough. Have you ever felt that too?’
I thought hard. ‘No. Not really. Not until… well, I met Oliver, I guess.’ Something inside me shifted uneasily as I thought about our recent arguing. ‘Not that we’ve ever dated,’ I added hastily.
‘He seems like a great guy.’ He looked pointedly at me. ‘How come you two never got together? Do you think it could happen?’
‘Noooo!’ I said with feeling. ‘We’re just friends by mutual agreement. It wouldn’t make sense. Why ruin a good thing? We get on so well as flatmates – ours is a practical relationship and always has been.’ Apart from that kiss that I remembered, like a guilty pleasure, whenever I had a run-in with an especially difficult customer or just a stressful week; it felt like a cosy hug. ‘I could never go out with someone who doesn’t like crisp sandwiches.’
Nik laughed and we both gazed out at the view that encompassed Amblemarsh. Our breath began to blow out white. Birdsong had practically disappeared apart from a blackbird’s alarm call. Foxes could be spotted here at night. I pointed out the area where Oliver and I lived and a church and mosque. You could just make out the local school and how the canal snaked through with grassy banks either side was the prettiest thing.
‘What a gorgeous sunset,’ Nik said, stretching out his legs.
Marvelling at the strips of tangerine across the sky, I agreed. My heart skipped a beat as he slipped an arm around my shoulder.
‘Thanks for making me feel so welcome,’ he said. ‘You’ve given me a sense of… home, on my travels.’ A curl had popped out from my bobble hat and gently, he brushed it away, taking my breath as well. ‘You’re a one-in-a-million-woman, Jess. Alice bringing you up – I know there’s a story behind that. It must have been tough. But you’ve come through the other side a positive and generous person. I can’t tell you how much I admire that.’
‘Itwasdifficult but living with Gran changed everything.’
Nik simply pulled me closer. I liked that. He reined in his curiosity.
