Page 89 of A Colourful Country Escape
‘You’re going to talk too, are you?’ Sky asked cautiously, swishing the pink alcohol around her glass.
Lexie shrugged. ‘Stranger things have happened.’ She tried not to think about how weird things had got with her and Ben in London, after quite a few. She reached across the table and grabbed her sister’s arm. ‘Don’t worry, you can speak freely now. You’re not being brainwashed anymore.’
They both giggled.
‘There’s no need to take the piss.’
‘There really is,’ said Lexie. ‘Fancy handing all your money over to con-artists so you could live in a yurt with a slutty bloke and a bunch of women wearing scratchy sackcloth. I’m pretty open-minded, but you’ve got to admit that was never you.’
Luckily, they were both still smiling.
‘OK, so maybe I didn’t exactly love Billy-Nob in the proper, full-on way. Actually, his beard was pretty gross.’
Lexie spurted out a mouthful of wine. ‘I knew it!’ This was definitely cheering her up.
‘I think I was more in love with the idea of it all. Free love and a worry-free life.’
‘Really, though? Because I would probably have accepted it if I’d felt you were embracing things. But all those secret sausage rolls and hidden mobile phones … ’
‘Yeah, well, maybe I didn’t dig it as much as my addiction to Greggs,’ Sky conceded. ‘And now I just feel relieved it’s over, to be honest. The commitment ceremony was such a fun idea, but being committed was actually pretty dull.’
Lexie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Only Sky could wave off all of that as though it was simply a bad day out.
‘So what about you?’ Sky’s eyebrows raised expectantly.
‘The opposite, I guess.’ There should be more lunchtime wine – it was helping her think. ‘I definitely wasn’t in love with the idea of Ben’s world. I didn’t even want to be in it at first.’
‘But love just rocks up where it wants to.’ Sky nodded as she repeated her thoughts on the matter from all those months ago.
‘Now who’s taking the piss.’
‘So you really loved Ben?’
Lexie let snippets of the last few months with Ben play over. The silly squabbles that she secretly enjoyed. His awkward one-word answers when she knew he had the potential to say so much more. The way he turned from doubting her to encouraging her, believing in her. And then there was all that magic when they got physically close. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. Like every inch of her had been alive. Oh God, she really missed him. Had she got this all wrong?
‘Earth to Lexie.’ Sky waved a hand in front of her. ‘Why is your face going all red? And are you crying? Jeez, are you OK?’
Lexie lifted her hand to her cheeks and noticed they were wet. Tears had begun flowing without her even realising; she must have been so full of them they were just seeping out. Lexie felt her sister slip into the seat next to her and put her arm around her. The unexpected affection made Lexie sag in defeat, and suddenly the world was swimming in front of her, tears splashing to the table.
‘There, there,’ Sky whispered, as she rocked her gently. ‘Tears to water your growth.’
‘Aunt Jasmine used to say that,’ Lexie heard herself sobbing. ‘I prefer it when you get things wrong.’
‘Well, she also used to say don’t waste your sausage. Now eat up.’ Sky dabbed Lexie’s face with a napkin and they both laughed.
‘Aunt Jasmine was vegan,’ said Lexie.
‘Was she? Oh, I don’t remember. I’ll never understand vegans.’
Lexie took a few moments to pull herself together and Sky resumed her position opposite her. The barman, who had been clattering awkwardly in the background, shouted over.
‘If the main course is that bad, I’m giving you pudding on the house.’
The farmer’s sleepy hound gave a woof of agreement. Lexie couldn’t argue with pudding. As she pushed the remnants of cold mash around her plate, trying not to think about what Ben might be having for his lunch and with whom, she could sense Sky was gearing up to say something.
‘I know you shot me down about this before … ’
‘Then maybe you should take the hint?’ said Lexie.
