Page 48 of Crazy in Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop
‘I think it’s time to cut the cake,’ Nina said as she saw Chloe approach the buffet area with a huge box. ‘We don’t want to miss that!’
Then Nina rushed past her mother and not even Alison could fault the way she persuaded the manager to turn off the smoke alarms long enough for them to light the candles on the cake and for Ellie to blow them out. Then Nina led the crowd in a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ and handed out pieces of cake to grubby-handed children and their very hungover mums.
Another ping from her bib pocket. Another text from Noah.I’m two minutes away. Meet you out front.
Oh God! If Nina hadn’t been distracted by her mother bitching in her ear, she would have told Noah to meet her around the corner because they still hadn’t had the conversation about Paul destroying Noah’s life.
What if Noah decided to come into the soft-play centre to find her? It didn’t even bear thinking about.
It took Nina one minute and forty-seven seconds to say a hurried goodbye to anyone within shouting distance, hug Ellie, grab her overnight bag and not react to her mother saying, ‘You’re leaving? Already? But you only just got here.’
There was a car pulling into an empty parking space a few metres away as Nina escaped from the soft-play purgatory. She tilted her head to make sure that yes, the driver had red hair and put up her hand to forestall Noah, but he was already getting out of the car.
‘STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’ she yelled at Noah who waved at her, a broad smile on his face like he was pleased to see her. ‘STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! DON’T MOVE!’
She was screeching like a hellbeast but it worked because although Noah frowned, he didn’t take another step forward so there was little chance of him having an awkward, hideous, world-shattering reunion with Paul who – to Nina’s horror – was outside too with Rosie, who was having a mid-level meltdown that Ellie was getting all the attention.
Noahwasnear enough to call out, ‘What’s the panic? I’ve come to take you away from all of this!’
Nina flapped her hands at him: she was pretty sure that Paul was obscured by a blackboard for the moment but surely that wouldn’t last. He was squatting down, Rosie balanced precariously on his knee, and he had eyes only for his eldest daughter, thank the Lord.
However, there was no way to avoid saying goodbye to them even with Noah within spitting distance. As Rosie hurled herself at Nina, Paul straightened up and Noah was still by the car and Paul had his back to him and Nina might just get away with this …
‘Paul,’ Nina hissed, yanking him towards the doors of the play centre. ‘You’re missing your youngest daughter’s birthday party and Mum isfuriouswith you.’
‘Oh Jesus!’
There was nothing more guaranteed to make Paul disappear. He was gone in the blink of an eye, dragging a protesting Rosie with him, and Nina was left to walk over to Noah who was holding the passenger door open for her.
‘Hey. Sorry about that,’ she said nervously, as she climbed into the car.
Noah walked over to the driver’s side and got in.
‘That’s OK. In a hurry to get away, were you?’ he asked as he started the car.
‘Yep. It turns out that soft-play centres are even worse than Ye Olde Laser Tag Experience.’
Noah laughed as he caught Nina’s eye. ‘Well, I’ll give you a moment to regroup then.’
She couldn’t quite believe that she’d got away with it. Noah hadn’t seen Paul, Paul hadn’t seen Noah. The Day of Reckoning was still yet to come, though any more close calls and Nina might have died from a heart attack before she had to confess everything.
They drove off in silence and it wasn’t until they were on the A3 that Nina broke the ice. ‘I didn’t know you had a car,’ she said because she didn’t know how to say any of the other things she needed to say.
‘I belong to a car hire club,’ Noah said as he changed lanes.
‘Oh, right.’ Again, Nina wished that she had got drunk last night so right now she’d be hungover and numb of all feeling. Or better yet, still drunk.
She stared out of the window, pulled a despairing face at the houses and gardens that passed by. Maybe The Day of Reckoning was today and it was time to come clean. Thisthingwith Noah; the two non-dates and now the rescuing her from the horrors of soft play was turning from athinginto a something but how could it be anything when Nina was hiding this secret from him? And yes, it might mean that Noah would want nothing more to do with her, but that was his call. His right to make that decision …
‘Are you ready for adult conversation yet?’ Noah asked.
‘I think so.’ Nina took a deep breath. ‘Look, I have to—’
‘It’s just, I wonder if you feel the same way about Worcester Park,’ Noah blurted out. ‘That being back home – not that it feels like home any more – makes me feel like I’m twelve again.’ When Nina glanced at him, his cheeks were red and blotchy. ‘As if everything I’ve accomplished since I left that school, all the things I’ve learned, the new experiences, friends, places, are all gone and I’m back to being a speccy, spotty, swotty nerd who couldn’t do anything right. This morning I popped in to see my parents and just walking down our street gave me this absolute sense memory. The same feeling of wanting to be sick that I got each morning when I was walking to school. Y’know, Sundays were the worst, knowing that the weekend was almost over and soon it would be Monday …’
‘But I thought you said you’d learned to compartmentalise,’ Nina said a little desperately because she couldn’t bear to listen to another word. She even reached over to put a hand on Noah’s arm to comfort him, but mostly to stop him.
She knew then that she could never tell him that it was her brother who’d made those Sunday nights, the anticipation of Monday morning, so hellish.
