Page 92 of Is She Really Going Out with Him?
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” I ask. “I ordered you a BLT, I hope that’s okay?”
“Nothing. Thanks,” he says, but he’s still looking at me as though I’ve rescued a puppy from a storm drain rather than just ordered him a sandwich.
“What?” I ask, laughing now, but he just shakes his head, his cheek creasing into a dimpled smile.
Outside the abbey, we sit down on a bench so Will can eat his bagel while I take a look at the camera he’s hired.
“Is it the right kind of camera?” he asks as I open the case. It looks completely different from the models I’ve used in the past, but after a brief pause, I nod confidently.
“Sure,” I say.
“You know, this is a really great bagel,” he says with an unnervingly sincere expression.
Once I’ve worked out how to turn the camera on and found the screw for the tripod base plate, we head over to the abbey. I’ve been inside Bath Abbey many times over the years, but the building never ceases to amaze me. The huge, high, fan-vaulted ceilings and the enormous stained-glass window at the end of the nave, an intricate tapestry of color, towering up like arainbow skyscraper. It’s impossible not to feel awed by the grandeur of such beautiful, ambitious architecture.
The choir pews are abuzz with activity. Everyone is wearing matching Raise Your Voice yellow T-shirts. There is a small orchestra of musicians warming up, and as soon as he sees people singing, Will’s shoulders relax.
“Will you come and meet my family?” Will asks, his eyes lighting up, as he leads me through the bustle of people. We reach a man who must be his father, because he has Will’s tall stature and the same expressive face. His posture is more stooped, and his hair is entirely white, but he’s clearly a Havers. Simon, on the other hand, looks nothing like his brother. He’s got red hair and a smattering of freckles. He sits in a lightweight wheelchair, which he shifts around to face me.
“Dad, Simon, this is my friend and colleague Anna, she’s helping me out today,” Will says. I reach to shake their hands, feeling disproportionately pleased to be introduced as his friend. “Anna, my dad, Rory, and my annoying little brother, Simon.”
“I’m very sorry,” says Simon somberly, and I notice his voice has a slight slur. He takes my hand in both of his and squeezes it.
“What for?” I ask, confused.
“That you have to work with my brother,” Simon says, which makes me laugh.
“Thank you. It is challenging at times, but I do my best to endure.”
“Does he give everyone advice they didn’t ask for?” Simon asks.
“He does,” I say. “Hunting out my grammatical errors is his favorite pastime.”
Will shakes his head at us both, but the smile lines around his eyes crease. “You’re ganging up on me already?”
“It’s not Will’s fault,” says Rory, slapping Will on the back. “When you have four boys, they all take a role, a way of assertingtheir identity in the pack. George was the bookish one, Harry was sporty, Simon’s always been the joker, and Will—” He pauses.
“What was Will?” I ask, taking an unexpected pleasure in hearing about him from his family.
“Will is the sensitive one, takes everything to heart,” Rory says. “That’s why he likes things to be just so. Disorder upsets him. You know he irons his boxer shorts?”
“That’s more than enough,” Will says, shoulders hunched in discomfort. “Anna doesn’t want to hear this.”
“Oh, I do,” I say, grinning as I turn back to Simon. “Come on, dish the dirt.”
“He had a soft toy he took to bed until he was thirteen,” Simon tells me conspiratorially. “Dodge the dog.”
“That is not true. I was ten.” Will looks genuinely irritated now.
“Thirteen,” Rory mouths to me.
“And you wonder why I never bring any friends home?” Will says. Simon has a monogrammedSHembroidered on his yellow T-shirt, I notice, then I see Rory’s T-shirt has anRHon his.
“I like your shirt,” I tell Simon. He glows with pride and claps his hands.
“Simon likes to sew,” Will explains. “I bought him a monogram kit for Christmas. Now if you leave anything around the house, you’ll find it monogrammed the next morning.”So that’s why Will has so many things monogrammed!My heart leaps at this precious detail.
“Do you want anything monogrammed, Anna?” Simon asks, his voice hopeful.
