Page 40

Adam

I buy ice creams in Plymouth city centre even though it’s chilly and drizzling. We both need a sugar hit after our near-death experience. We sit outside the shops, eating giant whipped cones with chocolate Flakes.

‘Mummy told jokes whenever we ate Mr Whippies.’ Wren stares at me expectantly from further along the bench.

‘Erm.’ I rack my brains, which are completely frazzled.

‘What do you call a dinosaur with an ice cream?’ she asks.

‘Hmmm. I don’t know.’

‘A sundae-saurus!’

‘Very good! Wait... I’ve got one. What did one scoop of ice cream say to another?’

Wren’s nose crinkles, and I realise mine does the same when I’m thinking.

‘What?’

‘You’re cool!’

‘That’s lame.’ She shakes her head with a laugh.

I break off the end of my cone, dip it in the mixture, and pass it to her. ‘You’ve got me licked on the joke front! Here’s a teeny-weeny ice cream a-pop-ology.’

She explodes into giggles and moves her rucksack, shuffling closer. I bump her arm gently. She does the same to me, but much harder, and I pretend to fall off my seat.

Ice creams finished, we buy everything I forgot to pack (I think), along with a wetsuit and trainers for Wren. Now we’re making our way to a Mexican restaurant I found online. My heart leaps as Sophie WhatsApps. I stop outside a jewellery shop and call up her message.

Am running 20 mins late, sorry. See you soon! x

No problem! x

Wren peers into the window, attracted by the pile of polished semi-precious stones below a case of glittering engagement rings. My gaze rests on them before travelling down to the trays of silver and gold necklaces which feature knot designs.

I ponder our journey. Two cars had collided and ended up, mangled, on the hard shoulder – there may have been fatalities. If that lorry hadn’t swerved in time, we wouldn’t be here. Ditto when I was crossing the road outside Wren’s school.

I’ve found Sophie after all this time, reconnecting quicker than I ever dreamed possible. Wren and I are growing closer. Life is good. I should seize the day, as Ollie suggested.

‘Let’s go in,’ I tell Wren. ‘We have time.’

‘Sophie!’

Wren waves and stands, almost knocking over her chair. My heart pounds loudly as Sophie waves back across the restaurant. She’s a splash of colour as usual: a teal blouse and jacket that makes her pale face and reddish-blonde hair stand out.

‘It’s great to see you both,’ she says, smiling.

‘Ditto!’

I catch the scent of lilies and vanilla as she kisses the side of my face, and briefly feel her hand on the small of my back. I wish I could freeze-frame this moment and make it last longer.

‘Sorry I’m late.’ She breathes out slowly. ‘I hope you’re having fun in Devon?’

‘We almost died on the motorway, and then we had ice cream,’ Wren replies. ‘Oh, and Adam told very bad jokes.’

‘Oh no!’ Sophie sinks into the seat opposite me. ‘Are you okay? Accidentwise, rather than surviving Adam’s tragic puns.’

Her foot accidentally brushes against mine beneath the table, but I don’t move it away. I’m enjoying feeling her this close, teasing me like old times.

‘It was a near miss, but we’re fine.’

Wren holds up the semi-precious stones she bought with her pocket money at the jeweller’s. They were just for decoration, but the assistant let her have two for ￡7 after I described our motorway ordeal. She hands the purple stone to Sophie.

‘This is for you. I’m keeping the pink one.’

‘It’s lovely, thank you.’

Wren smiles warmly at her before looking around for the bathroom. I point to the blue door at the back, thrilled that she’s bonded so quickly, and deeply, with Sophie.

‘Shall I come with you? Or do you want Sophie?’

She shakes her head. ‘You can talk about maths together, but don’t tell her anything interesting while I’m gone!’

‘Hmmm. We’ll only discuss boring equations and formulae, I promise.’

Sophie watches her scoot off. ‘You two seem to be getting on well.’

‘I don’t get on her nerves nearly as much! Only 75 per cent of the time. But seriously... things are much better, thanks to you. Can you work your magic on my mum too?’

‘I could pray every night for a miracle if that helps?’ she says, eyes twinkling.

I laugh. ‘Sooo . . .’

It’s tempting to make another joke, but I want to get on to the subject of ‘us’ before Wren returns. Reaching over the table, I try to touch her hand as she picks up her glass. Wincing, I rub my neck instead.

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Sophie asks. ‘It sounds like you had a nightmare journey.’

‘Yeah, I’m tired from the drive. I’m looking forward to chilling out tonight.’

Why did I say that? I sound middle-aged. I want to see her , not spend the evening bickering with Mum, which is probably what will happen.

‘Being back home does have its advantages though,’ I add quickly. ‘I’ll have a babysitter on tap... if you want to go out at any point. Or not. Just so you know.’

She raises an eyebrow, a smile hovering on her lips. ‘Are you asking me out on a date, Adam Bailey?’

‘Would you say yes if I did, Sophie Leroux?’

‘I heard rumours there may actually be decent places to eat now, not only greasy burgers and chips from snack booths by the beach.’

‘ Whaaat? Who said anything about going to a restaurant with non-plastic cutlery? I’m feeling nostalgic.’

Sophie laughs, tossing her hair over her shoulder. ‘I’ll go anywhere you want.’ She reaches out and takes my hand. I can’t stop smiling and glance at the bathroom door to check for Wren.

‘In that case, will you come with me to the reunion party next Saturday?’ I ask, my heart beating faster.

The smile disappears from her face, and she snatches her hand back. Aagh. I should have found a better way to bring this up instead of blundering right in.

‘I know you weren’t keen initially,’ I explain. ‘But I thought this could be a good way for us both to come to terms with what happened and find closure... Plus it might be fun to dress up and dance, like old times!’

‘You seriously want to go?’ The colour has drained from her cheeks and her voice comes out as a whisper.

‘Erm... sorry. I have been feeling nostalgic lately... I wouldn’t mind catching up with old classmates.’ I take a breath. ‘Including Tom. He says he’s going.’

She grips the side of the table, her knuckles whitening. ‘You’ve kept in touch with him?’

‘No, we drifted apart at uni. But he contacted me out of the blue recently and asked to meet there.’ I fiddle with a napkin, tearing it into pieces. ‘To be honest, I’ve already RSVP’d... I’d love you to come but will 100 per cent understand if it’s too big an ask.’

Sophie slumps back in her seat. ‘You’re definitely going? With Tom?’

‘As long as Mum will babysit... I thought it was a chance to say goodbye to the past... Make a fresh start.’

I want to add together but Sophie is staring at me as if I’ve informed her that dead people are standing outside the window, waving at us.

Wren slides back into her seat. ‘What did I miss? Have you talked about anything exciting?’

‘Erm, just the latest breakthroughs in maths and science,’ I tell her.

She squints hard, scouring my face. ‘Liar, liar, pants on fire! You have red blotches on your neck.’

‘Fine. We were discussing the school party. I’ve decided to go. I’ve asked Sophie if she wants to come.’

‘Ooh, it’ll be fun, like Walter’s.’

Sophie shakes her head. Her face is as white as the menu she picks up. She hangs on to the laminated plastic as if it’s a lifebuoy.

‘I’ll go if Sophie doesn’t want to,’ Wren chips in. ‘We could pretend we don’t know the rule about no children?’

‘Nice try! You’d get us both kicked out. Anyway, you can have chocolate ice cream if Grandma’s in a good mood.’

‘I’ll need to think about it,’ Sophie says finally.

‘Absolutely! The offer’s there if you want a slightly awkward escort who might struggle to fix his bow tie... But there’s zero pressure, I promise. I’m totally happy going alone.’

She shivers, even though we’re sitting away from the door. ‘I’ll come – if you’re absolutely set on this.’

Wren doesn’t notice her apprehension and reaches across the table. ‘High-five!’

Sophie’s hand quivers as she gently strikes Wren’s.

‘Are you sure?’ I say, my eyes widening with surprise. ‘I don’t want to force this on you... It’s not a problem if I don’t have a plus-one.’

‘No, as you say, it could be good.’ Her voice cracks with emotion. ‘For us both.’

‘Thank you!’ I beam at her. ‘This means a lot.’

She’s prepared to put her reservations aside... Surely that means, deep down, she still cares about me? I’m brimming with hope this week could be the turning point for us. We might have a future together.

I can’t wait for next Saturday!

Hopefully, I can reassure Sophie and help put the painful memories from our past behind us.

I won’t let anything go wrong.