Page 27 of A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances
Matt turned to me. ‘You wanted to be a doctor?’
‘For a while,’ I admitted, with what I hoped was an air of nonchalance.
‘That’s a bit of an understatement. That was basically you for your whole childhood,’ Lily said, pointing to Evie, who’d applied half a dozen Band-Aids to her legs and was now using her plastic stethoscope to listen to a giggling Arlo’s tummy.
‘Anyway,’ Lily continued, ‘while the rest of the world played “I Spy”, this is what the Evans family did on road trips.’ She laughed at the memory, and I forced a smile. I hadn’t thought about ‘Patient Presents’ in forever.
‘Our family just playedABBA Goldon repeat,’ Matt said. ‘Which probably explains why I loveMamma Mia!But also why no one trusts me with their heart.’
Lily snorted into her wine as I winced. I wanted to wrap my arms around Matt, but I knew that would make things worse.
I looked back at Dad and Alex, who were crouched over the drain and slowly pulling Frankenstein’s fishing rod out of the grate.
‘And... we’ve got it,’ Dad said, in a steady, emotionless voice, as if he’d found a hole in an artery. On the end of the hook was a glinting, albeit slightly muddy, ring.
‘Matt,’ I said, but he either didn’t hear me over Evie’s excited shrieks or was ignoring me again.
Alex held my wedding ring to-be aloft like it was a Grand Final trophy.
‘Thanks for saving the day guys!’ Matt said to Dad and Alex, managing to sound grateful. ‘Can I get either of you guys a celebratory nebbiolo? It’s a really great one from a small winery the company just bought.’
‘Am I still dreaming?’ Stella appeared at the front door, rubbing her eyes.
‘I really don’t know,’ I said, no longer feeling in control of the situation or my own mind.
Chapter 13
THEN
In the middle of the empty Exam Schools lobby, I held Alex for a few moments, then pulled away. I knew I needed to say,Congratulations, and then,I should probably go. He had just handed in his thesis, he probably wanted to sleep for a thousand years or celebrate with his college friends. And I was good at knowing when I’d had enough of a good thing: saying no to the drink that would tip me into being drunk, not watching one more episode so I’d get enough sleep, not ordering the side of chips that would make me feel too sluggish to study.
‘Do you want to celebrate?’ I blurted out instead. ‘When else is every pub in Oxford open at eight in the morning. It’s a sign! One glass of... something?’
‘Okay,’ he said easily.
We walked from the Exam Schools to the King’s Arms, then managed to snag a brown leather sofa almost hidden in a nook behind the main bar of the pub, which was in full party mode.
I fought my way through the very merry crowd and bought us drinks. I handed a pint of cider to Alex and raised my own.
‘To Alex Lawson, PhD.’ Our glasses clinked together.
‘Almost,’ he said. ‘I have to pass my viva first.’
‘Are you worried about that?’ I asked.
‘No,’ he said, and we both laughed. I don’t think I’d ever met someone so direct. It was refreshing. Sometimes it felt like my family only communicated in impenetrable riddles.
‘What are you studying?’ he asked.
‘I’m doing a double degree in law and commerce.’
‘I know absolutely nothing about either,’ he said, and I smiled. I liked that he didn’t have a shred of intellectual insecurity. ‘Tell me something you’ve learned.’
I paused for a second as I ran through some options. I knew my degrees weren’t the most exciting ones out there. But I wanted to rise to his challenge – to teach him something that would grab his mind.
I flicked through my mental Rolodex of options. Something from one of my economic classes, maybe the black swan theory. Or maybe one of the thought exercises from the philosophy course I’d taken over the last two terms – I’d love to hear Alex’s thoughts on the veil of ignorance. Then it came to me.
‘Okay, I’ll tell you about my favourite case,’ I said. ‘It’s one we studied in my contract law class.’
