Page 57 of When We Were Friends
Paige lifted up one of her hands, placed it on one of his. ‘I’ll do everything I can to help.’
He kissed her fingers. ‘And I love you for it. But equally important to building a relationship withmy son…’ He let go of her and paced up and down. ‘A son. I have a son. It’s going to take some getting used to.’ He rubbed a hand over his head and stopped walking, faced her again. ‘Equally important is us building a family, having a child of our own as well, whatever it takes, Paige, remember? Don’t get scared that I’ll ever drop that goal.’
‘You mean it?’ She gulped.
‘You and me… that’s the most important thing in my life.’
They made bacon butties together, Felix putting on mustard, Paige ketchup, him choosing brown bread, Paige white. She didn’t work out with weights, gagged at protein shakes, Felix got bored in art galleries and had only a functional interest in clothes, but the bond between them had only got stronger over the years. They ate on the sofa, something they never normally did, but then a lot of things were going to be different from now on. Paige gazed through the windows, onto the balcony and out to Manchester’s skyline that, over time, had become taller and less green.
‘About what you said earlier… whatever it takes… I talked to Morgan, Emily and Paige about wanting kids, how… it hasn’t proved easy to get pregnant.’
Felix stopped eating.
‘I’m going to see the doctor. Maybe be referred. Have some tests. I’ve been hiding from the fact we may have a problem. One thing this last week has shown me is that the truth always comes out eventually. So I’d like to take control and find it out for myself – for ourselves. Olly… he’s proven the issue is with me.’
‘Or there may be no issue,’ Felix countered. ‘It might be Mother Nature taking her time. But count me in. I’m coming to any appointment. I’ve worked my butt off at work. They’ll give me the time off.’
A sense of hopefulness washed through her. She kissed him on the cheek. His aftershave smelt familiar, comforting.
‘I’ll make coffee,’ she said, ‘and then I want to hear about Dubai.’
‘But first, you tell me about your trip and Morgan, Emily and Tiff.’ He stopped for a moment. A pained expression crossed his face, one Paige had seen before; he wore it every time he thought back to Dailsworth High.
She went to get up but Felix’s phone pinged. He looked at his screen, cheeks flushing.
‘Olly Banks. Paige, he’s contacted me.’
She shuffled up next to him and together, they read the text.
32
EMILY
Emily sat down in the garden centre. Easter Saturday and she was lucky to find a free table in the café, others filled with retired couples or families with young children. It was one of her and Lewis’s favourite places to have coffee, so harmless, so tranquil, with its cheerful plants and gift section, the shelves of wholesome farm food. It provided such an uplifting, predictable atmosphere, the opposite to that in A&E or in an ambulance – and this one sold loaded meringue nests more suited to eagles than wrens in size. Emily’s shoulders relaxed, her breathing eased, as she studied the menu – until a hand brushed her arm.
‘Lewis.’ Despite the years they’d been together, she always pictured him, in her head, in his green uniform. Today, he wore jeans and a sweatshirt. ‘Thanks for coming. What can I get you?’
‘My usual, please. But let me get them.’
‘Don’t be daft.’ She joined the queue, taking her purse, leaving her handbag at the table, trusting Lewis to make sure no one took it. Trust with a man that had taken a long time to build.
Paige and Hugo. How could that be? Emily had seen Paige’s face at the prom when he’d revealed all her secrets, the set jaw determined not to allow her to cry. That bastard had made fools of them all, played with their emotions, conned them into… conning each other. Rob’s face popped into her mind and how warmly he’d spoken about the person Hugo – Felix – had become. Actually said he loved him.
Perhaps Felix was still a con artist.
She carried over the coffees – and two meringue nests.
‘I like your hair,’ he said.
‘Thanks. I managed to get an appointment this morning. It needed tidying up.’
‘And I haven’t seen that jumper for a few years. Yellow always has suited you.’
Emily had knitted it several years ago, before the world became less sunny. She dug her fork into her meringue next and in between mouthfuls, told Lewis about her trip.
He sipped his coffee. ‘I’m sorry it ended badly. Have you been in touch with any of them since you got back?’
‘I wanted to. And I almost rang Tiff a couple of times. But what’s the point?’
