Page 31 of One Hot Summer

“It’s fine, it was a long time ago,” I said, worried I was bringing the mood down on the evening. “I grew up in that house… well, until my parents split up anyway. So, when it became empty, it was up to me and my brother what we wanted to do with it. He didn’t really want it, I did, so I bought it.” It was great to get some distance from my mum, too. Living with her was becoming a challenge. Even with the rise of bills year after year, the cost of my sanity was more important than the cost of living.

“Sad circumstances, but a great position to be in,” Alistair bravely piped up. “You made a very sensible decision. We like to surround ourselves with intelligent people.” He smiled at me.

“Thank you.” I was beaming. I never got the same praise from my own mother. All she could say was, “You’d best change the hallway carpet, that’s where your Dad’s dog died in a pool of its own urine.”

Fifty minutes and four delicious plates of food later, we were all relaxed and enjoying each other’s company. I couldn’t believe I had been so nervous to meet them. Miranda and Alistair were great. They were so easy to talk to and seeing Zack with them had made me love him even more. He was so respectful and polite, especially with his mum. If a man can respect his own mother, he will always respect you. That’s what my grandma used to say. And she was right.

The conversation had moved on to holiday destinations. Zack mentioned that we had discussed booking a break for September. We still hadn’t found anywhere yet, there was so much choice. I liked the idea of a Greek island, but there were so many to choose from.

I felt my phone buzz in my bag. When I checked it, it was a message from Sarah, with that one famous word. It was time to rescue her once again.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, “I just need to make a call. Will you excuse me?”

As soon as I stood up, Zack and Alistair stood up in unison. It felt like I was an important lady at the dinner table in Downton Abbey. How very proper.

I smiled at the hostess, as I nipped out the glass door and to the bottom of the steps.

“Hello?” Sarah’s voice answered before I could speak.

“Hey, it’s me, there’s a huge comet flying towards earth about to land on your car. You might want to park somewhere else.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible!” Sarah’s A-level in drama was paying off. “I’m coming right now. Don’t move, I’ll be right there. I’m so sorry,” she was talking to her date now, “I have to leave. Let’s rearrange, okay? Goodbye.” I heard a lot of muffled noise before she came back on the phone. “I’m back, I’m outside now. Oh my God, that was creepy.”

“Worse than your sex blogger?” I kept my voice low so the patrons still entering the restaurant couldn’t hear me.

“Much worse.”

“He wasn’t a vegan, was he?”

“Shut up,” she said, laughing. “It started really well. I had high hopes for this one. He was a fitness instructor. Very hot body. Very nice to look at, but…”

“But what?” I glanced inside and saw Zack’s parents smiling as they spoke to him.

“He was fitness obsessed. When we were looking through the menu and he asked me what I fancied to eat, he’d tell me how many miles I’d need to run to burn it off. But it wasn’t even disguised as a fun fact. He was actually telling me I would need to burn it off, because it would be a shame to let myself go. After all, I am in my thirties, so my metabolism won’t be what it used to be. Those are the actual words he used. Can you believe it?”

“What an absolute dick!” I said it a little too loudly, aware that the restaurant doors were open so I could be overheard. That kind of language isn’t very Downton Abbey.

“Where are you? Can I come over?” she pleaded. “I feel like popping to the shop for a chocolate fudge cake and ice cream. I could send him a selfie of me eating it. Fancy sharing one?”

“I can’t. I’m out with Zack and his parents. I just nipped outside to rescue you.”

“Oh, I forgot! How’s it going?”

“Really well. I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you, but I love them.”

“Aww, that’s so good! Just a heads-up if you order any pudding, you’ll need to do a good four- to five-mile run if you do. In fact, best just avoid it altogether at our age.”

“Ha, ha, I won’t be following such a rule. Speak to you tomorrow.”

“Bye!”

I ran up the stairs and arrived back at the table.

“Is everything okay?” Miranda asked.

“Oh yes, my friend needed a quick word, but she’s fine. Thank you.”

“Zack,” Miranda said, putting her hand on her son’s. “Why don’t you see what Jenny thinks to our idea?”

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