Page 68 of The Winter We Met
Buddy seemed happy to stay on the sofa. We headed downstairs and walked out into the cold. I shivered. Normally Oliver would have linked arms with me. We turned left.
‘Fun evening?’ he asked.
I smiled at a young couple who passed by. They lived above us. They were laughing and glittery bauble-shaped earrings swung from the woman’s ears.
‘Interesting.’ I glanced sideways at him. ‘I’m not saying this to score points, it’s just so that you know…’ I took off my spare pair of gloves that I’d grabbed from my bedroom and reached for my phone. Sure enough, Junior Magic’s website was now visible. I showed it to Oliver and explained that its update was finally finished; that because the family used the logo JM on their products, the company’s name wasn’t widely visible on the internet. I took a deep breath. ‘As for your suspicions about Glenda… he’s not after her money.
‘How do you know that for sure?’
I explained about the pension, wishing I’d put on an extra jumper. Oliver looked away as I spoke. We turned left again at the end of the road and passed a row of terraced houses. It was dark apart from a few front rooms lit up by people watching television or gaming and several front porches bearing colourful Christmas fairy lights, along with illuminated decorations including a Santa sleigh on a roof and reindeer standing on a lawn.
‘Nik’s interest in her is innocent.’
‘But what about the financial stuff?’
I explained about the aunt’s estate. Oliver slipped in an icy puddle and I reached out and righted him.
‘I guess almost landing on my arse is karma for all the negative things I’ve thought,’ he said ruefully. ‘Nik’s just seemed… I don’t know, too good to be true. In my experience that’s a warning signal. So I guess that seals the deal for you and Nik, now that we all know for sure he’s as honourable as he seems on the surface. I… I hope it works out for you.’
‘How was your night meeting Krish? What was she like?’ I said hastily as we walked around another puddle.
‘Easy to talk to and she’s got a great sense of humour. She talked a lot about her work.’ Our pace slowed as Oliver described the business Krish ran and how coffee shop culture had really taken off in India, in recent years. It had inspired her family to give their UK shops an Indian twist, selling milky chai muffins, coconut barfi and a range of fried rice flour snacks. ‘I could relate. Back in Birmingham, for a while, I was in business myself. It was good chatting about my experience.’
My chest twinged. He’d never toldmeanything about that. ‘Doing what?’
‘In the drinks industry,’ he said vaguely. His expression closed down once more.
‘So when’s your next date?’
‘Saturday, although we’re going to Skype before then.’
We turned left again and I built up pace, keen to just go to bed and go to sleep. But Oliver held me back, as sleet started to fall again. We stood to the side for one moment as a man passed by with two energetic Alsatians, then started to walk.
‘Sorry. Really sorry, Jess,’ he blurted out. ‘About Nik and causing arguments between us. I should have trusted your opinion more. I was just… well, I know what it’s like when you’re bowled over by someone, it can make you blind. I’ll apologise to him next time we meet.’
My brow softened. ‘You don’t need to. He doesn’t know what you suspected.’
‘But I judged him wrongly.’
‘If it makes you feel any better, I’ve got things wrong about him too.’ I took a deep breath. ‘He’s not interested in me. Nik just wants to be friends.’
‘Really?’ Oliver stopped dead for a moment. ‘But I really thought he was acting romantically with you, although…’
‘What?’ I asked, as he caught up.
‘When you think about it, he’s full on friendly and caring with pretty much everybody… Alice, Pan, Alf, Fred – they’re all taken with him, even Glenda is smitten, and unhappy Betty. Lynn as well. He’s got that knack of making everyone feel special. When we were drinking in Misty’s he took such an interest in my job, asking all sorts of questions – even with my suspicions I couldn’t help warming to him. All that charisma, I found him… mesmerising.’
‘You hid that well,’ I said and smiled. ‘I did notice but I suppose… I convinced myself what he and I had was different.’
He turned to me, sleet landing on his nose, near his freckles.
‘Stinks, doesn’t it, having romantic hopes dashed?’ There was real soul in his voice. ‘If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.’
We turned left once more, completing the square.
‘But you’re still friends, right?’
‘Yes. He was great about it and has even invited me to Australia. The funny thing is… I don’t know – now the shock’s wearing off a little, I’m not quite as upset as I thought I’d be. Guess I put him on a pedestal, Mr Sunny Australian, waltzing into my life and waving a sparkly wand over a couple of months that have been challenging.’
