Page 91 of Closer than Ever

“And now you have your very own workshop in the garden,” Hayley said, smiling at her.

“Like mother like daughter,” Anna’s mum said, looking proud.

Anna smiled. This was nice. Being here with Hayley and talking to her mum, Anna felt happy.

“What’s that?” Hayley pointed at the large chest filled with random sports things near the door to the garage.

“What?”

Hayley crossed the room and picked up Anna’s old skateboard, stacked up vertically next to the chest. “You had a skateboard, that’s so cool! You never said.”

“I haven’t been on it in like twenty years or something. I’m surprised it’s still here.” Anna turned to her mum and smiled at her, shaking her head. It was so sweet of her parents not to throw it out. It reminded Anna of endless hours playing on the driveway and in the street, skating around and falling off loads. She got okay at it, at one point, then stopped playing on it for some reason.

“You loved that thing. Of course we kept it.”

Hayley picked it up and came back to them, turning it around in her hands, inspecting it. “It’s vintage. Super cool! Look at all these stickers. Anna, I need to see you on this.”

“Oh no, no. I was rubbish then and I’ll be even worse now. You’ve seen me on roller-skates, I’m awful.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just for fun. And I’ll catch you if you fall, anyway,” Hayley said, putting the skateboard down and stepping on one end, lifting the other off the ground. “I mean, look at these killer wheels, they are begging to be spun again.” Hayley beamed at Anna.

Anna could not stop smiling. There was something about Hayley that made her feel like an excitable little kid again. “Okay. Maybe just for five minutes.”

“Awesome.” Hayley picked up Anna’s old skateboard and put it under her arm.

They opened the garage door and Hayley put the skateboard down. She gently rolled it towards Anna. They were like kids going out to play in the street. Anna put one foot on it, tentatively, then another. She fought to find her balance and managed to stand up. Hayley and her mum were looking on. Anna couldn’t stop smiling, but she didn’t care. She bent her knees and used her right foot to push away from the ground.

“You’re doing it!” Hayley said.

Anna laughed. “I am! This is great. It’s coming back to me.” She laughed again when she lifted one end of the skateboard up and turned around like she knew what she was doing and didn’t fall off. “Fuuuuuck.”

“You’re a natural, Anna. Tony Hawk would have been worried all those years ago.”

Anna laughed. “Damn right. Here, do you want a go?”

“Yeah!”

Her mum looked between them with an affectionate expression. “Okay, I’ll leave you both to it. Remember to bring your bags in and put them in your rooms. Martin will have dinner ready soon.”

Rooms. Plural. The idea of being apart from Hayley tonight didn’t appeal. She’d miss her so much.

Hayley frowned, and then replaced it with a smile.

“It’s fine. Hayley can sleep in my room. I’ll bring the mattress in from the other room.”

Her mum raised her eyebrows then nodded. “Oh. Okay. Yes, whatever you want.”

Upstairs, after an exhilarating time playing on the skateboard, of all things, Hayley helped her move the mattress. Once it was safely positioned on the floor and tucked in beside Anna’s single bed, they hovered in Anna’s old bedroom.

Hayley looked around. “I half expected to see posters from your teenage years and stuff. This room is not that. It’s very sophisticated.”

“I grew up in this room, but they made it into a guest bedroom a few years after I moved out. The only traces of my time here are that pile of books, the mirror and the chest of drawers.”

Hayley picked up one of the books. “The Well of Loneliness.” She smiled, turning it around in her hands. “I’ve read this, too.”

Anna smiled. How did she not know that about her? “You are full of surprises, you know that?”

“I’m very happy to keep surprising you. I think it’s wonderful.”

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