Page 114 of The Happy Hour
‘They’re secretly witches,’ Jess blurted out. ‘I’m sure of it. And this – this is them, getting inside your head. They want to spread, take over the world, and—’
‘Who wants to take over the world? Hey, guys. Enzo, Carolina. How are you?’
‘We are very well, Ash, thank you.’
Jess pushed through her friends and flung herself at him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressed his lips against her neck. ‘You’re here,’ she said.
‘Of course I’m here,’ he laughed. He was slightly breathless, as if he’d had to run from the jetty. ‘You knew I was coming, we messaged on the boat and – oh fuck. Are they thehares?’
‘What do you two have against the hares?’ Susie asked. ‘I think they’re sweet.’
‘Right, out of the kitchen, all of you!’ Felicity clapped. ‘We have ten minutes until Wendy gets here, and I have some bits to finish. Go, find drinks in the living room.’
‘What can I do?’ Jess asked.
‘Take your man into the garden for a few minutes,’ Felicity said. ‘You’ve been here since the crack of dawn.’
‘But I—’
‘Come on, Jess.’ Ash took her hand and dragged her out into the garden, where the water feature was burbling happily and a long-tailed tit peeped noisily from the laburnum tree. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. ‘I missed you.’
‘I missed you, too. You’re staying tonight though, right?’
‘Yeah, the flat’s packed up, ready for the movers tomorrow, so I haven’t got anything to do until the morning.’
Jess bounced up and down. ‘And my room’s packed, apart from the bed and the yeti cushions.’
‘Oh, of course.’ Ash gazed down at her. ‘We need a final night in your room, to say goodbye to it properly.’
‘Then, our own place,’ Jess whispered, and still, she couldn’t quite believe it. Almost a year together, and being with Ash had never felt like wasted time, because with each new dawn and sunset, kiss and dinner and movie on the sofa, even with each new fight, she fell more in love with him. She had proved she was strong enough to help him through the messed-up grief of losing his dad, and he had shown her how good it was to be loved completely, to be taken care of and stood up for, without being scared that it would all disappear.
And now they were moving in together, into a ground-floor flat fifteen minutes’ walk from the market, that had more space than Jess had ever expected to get, but needed a whole lot of work before it could be considered even remotely homely. She couldn’t wait to get started, and knew her discount at No Vase Like Home would help when they were ready for the finishing touches, along with the extra money she’d saved from being one of Wendy’s most valued suppliers. Her new line of Subtle Superpower art prints was proving particularly popular, and she signed each one with the monikerJess&Ash Designs, seeing as he came up with at least half of them.
Ash, too, was excited about the move, sending her endless links for paint colours, and photos of ambitious layouts that involved knocking down interior walls and were probably against the flat’s leasehold terms. He was still working for the bank, but had two interviews closer to Greenwich. The role at the museum service, overseeing company practicesand managing staff wellbeing, looked particularly promising,
and Jess wondered if – hopefullywhenhe was successful – he would resurrect the grey trilby and run film and ghost tours as a side hustle.
‘I thought, after the party, we could go to our bench,’ he said now.
‘In the park?’ They had revisited it more times than she could count since getting back together, so she no longer thought of it as the place where she’d lost Ash. Instead, they found a little bit more of each other every time they went – and they often bumped into Diamanté the demon dog, too.
He nodded. ‘If you’d like to?’
‘Want me all to yourself, do you?’ she teased.
‘Always. But we have to celebrate Wendy’s birthday first. Obviously. I mean, that’s why we’re here.’ He laughed, glancing away from her to the back of Felicity’s garden.
‘Hey.’ Jess touched his chin, forcing him to look at her again. ‘You OK?’
Ash hesitated, his grey eyes widening. ‘Of course! Why would you ask that? I’m fine. Great.’
Jess laughed. ‘OK, now you’re being really weird. What’s going on?’
He squeezed her waist. ‘Can a guy not have an hour with his girlfriend, just before they move into a new place together, one of them potentially starts a new job and everything gets crazy? I just want...’ He huffed. ‘I want to have this time with you, OK?’
‘OK.’ Jess smiled at him, her insides dancing like butterflies waiting to get at a buddleia. The Sunday before, they’d gone for dinner at her mum and dad’s house, and Ash and Graeme had disappeared into his studio for ages. She wouldn’t have thought much of it, except that when they’d emerged, Ash had smelled of the expensive whisky Graeme kept for special occasions, and her dad’s eyes had been red around the edges. It was why Jess had worn her favourite dress today, postbox red with white hearts printed on it and a low-cut neckline, a floaty skirt that fell just below the knee. Not just to celebrate Wendy’s birthday, but because of what might come after.
And, if it didn’t, that was OK too, because she had planned her own elaborate, romantic setup that, even if Ash got there first, she would still put into motion. It involved the Queen’s House and a very friendly security guard, and being allowed to stay for an hour after the other visitors had gone home for the night (as long as they promised not to do anything that would upset the memory of the much revered Henrietta Maria). But, as she kissed her boyfriend in Felicity’s back garden, and the party started inside before Wendy had even arrived, one of House of Cards’ old songs thumping through the speakers, Jess thought Ash’s plan might be the better one: more traditionally romantic.
