Page 10 of Broken Beyond Repair
“To support my mum while she was going throughcancer,” Sydney added in her defence.
Rosie glared at her. “And that stopped you from keeping in touch?”
No, it hadn’t. Sydney hardly needed reminding of how she’d handled things. They were young, and she hadn’t been ready to commit to anyone, not even Sam. When she’d learned of Sam’s gender dysphoria, it knocked her for six. She acted out in confusion, fear, even ignorance, shamefully. Had she run away just as an opportunity to escape presented itself?
Greg approached them then with Sam by his side.
“Hey, everyone.” Sam nodded at Rosie, James, and Will, before his gaze finally met a blushing Sydney. “Sydy, good to see you.”
That was a name she hadn’t heard in a long time, and it hadn’t been expressed in such a deep timbre before.
“Sam… wow, you look…” She stopped, knowing she was making a tit of herself. She tried to think back to the last time she’d seen him, then stopped herself and took him in as he stood before her. A thin face was covered with a stylish, short beard and complimented by a cute quiff. His upper body was challenging the seams of his shirt.
Sam offered her a rope. “Different?”
“Amazing,” she corrected him as she clambered to her feet and embraced him.
The unfamiliar scent radiating from him confused her senses for a moment. Why was she expecting it to be the same as it once was?
“That feels a bit different.” Sydney said, pulling back from the hug which felt so familiar yet unfamiliar. “So you finally did it.”
“Yep.” Sam beat his chest with a smile. “Sam became… Sam.”
His smile was catching, and her lips stretched wide with genuine happiness for her ex-lover. “Well, I’m really happy for you. Are you happy?”
“I am,” he replied, any awkwardness slipping from him as he nodded.
“Before I forget…” Greg passed Sydney a key.
Grateful for the interruption, Sydney took the key to Greg and Rosie’s cottage. “Are you sure?” she asked. “I can stay in Gertie and pop in to feed the cat.”
“Yes. There’s no point it being empty for a week whilst we’re on honeymoon. No parties, all right? And Napoleon is in charge.”
“Of course,” Sydney agreed; the idea of being bossed around by a cat called Napoleon was certainly something to be entertained.
“If you’re sticking around, it would be great to catch up,” Sam said to her.
Sydney nodded. “Are you still down at the harbour?”
“Yes. I never left.”
An awkward silence fell over the party of friends.
Never left,the silence implied.Not like she had.
“Come tomorrow… if you’re free,” he continued. “The weather looks great. I was going to take the boat out.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Why not? Have a lazy Sunday. Come and recover from the hangover I’m sure you’re heading towards.”
Sydney briefly mulled it over. They had a lot of catching up to do, and she couldn’t exactly say no. She owed Sam several apologies.
“Sure,” she settled on.
“Good. It will be great to see Gertie again. We had some good times in her.”
James laughed into his straw, causing his Pimm’s to bubble noisily in the glass. Everyone turned to stare at him.
