Page 21 of Wish You Were Here
‘I was a hugeNeighboursfan at university. I used to watch both episodes if I could, but not so much anymore, especially after it left the BBC,’ I say, and then there is a pause and we both look at each other and smile. I think we both realise how strange this is. As I’m looking at her, I think to myself that she is actually even more beautiful in real life than the photos I have seen online. The way she smiles is so adorable because she has small dimples in her cheeks, her eyes light up and there is justsomething magical about her that sends shivers of excitement and attraction shooting through my body.
‘This is so weird, isn’t it?’ she says.
‘It is, but also not weird at all, if that makes sense.’
‘I know what you mean. It’s like you’re basically some rando stranger, but I also feel like I’ve known you my whole life.’
‘A rando stranger? That makes me sound like a weirdo on the bus. The sort of bloke who sits next to you despite there being loads of empty seats, and talks to you the whole time about how he could have made it as a footballer, had trials at West Ham, but broke his ankle in a freak bathtub accident and now he’s working at Lidl.’
Saskia laughs. ‘That sounds exactly like the sort of thing a rando stranger would say in London.’
‘Then lucky it feels like you’ve known me forever.’
‘Lucky.’
Saskia is wearing a yellow top, and has her hair loose, which she has tucked behind her ears, and after a moment she offers to give me a quick tour of her home. I sit back as she wanders around her house, pointing out interesting things and telling me facts about the house she grew up in. She asks if it’s weird that she’s still living at home at twenty-nine, and I tell her it isn’t, but it’s obviously something that niggles her. I’m just interested in seeing her house in Sydney and how different it is from houses in London.
The house is lovely with some interesting decor, and when she shows me outside, despite it almost being sunset, it’s still warm and bright. I definitely feel a little jealous. It’s incredible how loud the birds are in Sydney, and I hear them whistling and chirping in her garden, which isn’t big, but it’s a beautiful space with a small pond and a cool hammock slung between two trees. After her tour, she asks for a tour of my flat, which only takes about five minutes, and mainly because she says helloto Flatmate Simon. I have to leave when she asks him for any embarrassing stories about me, and I know he has many, and so I quickly take my phone back. Eventually, I am back in my bedroom, sitting on my bed and looking at Saskia.
‘I have a confession to make,’ I say.
‘Oh God, what is it? You’re a convicted stalker, aren’t you? A sex offender? You have an Aussie fetish, and this whole thing wasn’t a mistake at all, was it? You’ve been grooming me!’
I laugh. ‘No, nothing like that. Definitely not a sex offender, stalker, and before our little email thing started, I hadn’t once thought about dating someone from Australia.’
‘What is it then? A weird third nipple?’
‘That’s a very niche answer. Do you have a third nipple you want to get off your chest, pun intended, obviously?’
‘Hilarious, and definitely not. Plus, I’m pretty sure if I had a secret third nipple, I wouldn’t have brought it up on our first date.’
‘Date? This is a date?’
‘You know what I mean,’ she says, and I notice her cheeks turning a subtle shade of pink.
‘I do.’
‘So, what is it then, Beno? Spill the beans. What’s the big confession?’
‘Truth is, Saskia, is that I really like you. From the first email, I felt a connection with you, but obviously being so far apart I know that nothing can happen, so it’s sort of weird. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to tell you that, like this, and now you’re probably wishing you hadn’t FaceTimed me at all, which is totally fine because—’
‘No, it’s fine. I get it. I feel exactly the same.’
‘You do?’
‘Yeah, it’s weird, eh? You’re in London, I’m in Sydney, we’ve never even met, but just emailing each other, I feel like I knowyou. Like you’re an actual real person in my life, and now it’s hard to imagine a life without you.’
‘It’s crazy, isn’t it?’
‘Defo.’
‘So, the question is, what do we do about?’ I say, not really knowing where this conversation is going, but I can’t help myself. It feels like we’re on a slide together and we’re going faster and faster, and as much as we know we need to slow down and get off, we can’t.
‘I have a confession too,’ says Saskia. ‘I’m currently off men and relationships. I was on this slippery slope of having awful one-night stands with total losers, and I’m tired of being with the wrong person all the time. So, I made the decision to stop dating and to focus on my career.’
‘Good for you.’
‘Yeah? You don’t think it’s a bit desperate?’
