Page 3 of Out of Control

“I brought roses because this is a celebration.” He picked up his conversational thread when she’d served the vegetables. It was then that she noticed he’d brought a whole bottle of wine this time.

“Thank you.” Fiona looked up from the creamy mushrooms and smiled. She assumed he was referring to her retirement.

“Depending on what you think, this could be a brand-new start for both of us.”

“Both of us?”

“The stars have aligned. Or rather, the pipes have corroded.”

Fiona put down her knife and fork and looked at him. “What?”

“I got woken early this morning by the ceiling coming down in the kitchen and part of the lounge.”

“Oh no!”

“Oh yes. Apparently, the pipe to the hot water tank has given way. I don’t know all the details, I had to go to work before the letting agency got a plumber there.”

“Have they fixed it?”

He shook his head. “The house is uninhabitable. I need somewhere to live.” He put his cutlery down for a moment. “My brother’s agreed to put me up tonight but he’s not keen on an open-ended arrangement. And then I thought, after twelve months together, this is the perfect time for us to move our relationship on to the next stage. What do you think?”

Heat engulfed her.He wanted to live here!Seeing him once a week suited her just fine.“Doesn’t the landlord have to rehouse you?”

His knife and fork were on their way to retrieve his final few mouthfuls of mushrooms. “No.”

Fiona suddenly felt suffocated. She stood up and, without waiting for him to finish, took both plates into the kitchen. She needed space to think.

“Hey!” he shouted after her.

She grabbed a spatula and scraped the remnants of their meals into the organic waste caddy. When she looked up, he was there, handing her a refilled glass of wine.

“Sorry. I’ve surprised you, landing like this. But I didn’t want to call earlier and interrupt your last day at work.”

Fiona’s brain wouldn’t calm down and find the words to speak coherently. “I . . .”

“I know we agreed to take things slowly, but that was months ago. The ink on my divorce papers wasn’t dry and you wanted to get used to having a man in your life again. That’s all in the past now, and we get on great, don’t we?”

Joe was right, they did get on great — for one evening a week, not 24/7. “Are you sure there isn’t alternative accommodation insurance or something?”

“The landlord didn’t have insurance and the repairs could take months. I’ll pay my way; I’m not looking for a free ride.”

“What about a hotel until you can find somewhere else to rent? What we have together is special and I don’t want to spoil it by rushing to live together.” She was trying to let him down gently and preserve the relationship they already had at the same time.

“This isn’t rushing, Fiona.” He took her hands in his. “And Rose’s tenure in the family home ends next year when Adele turns twenty-one, so then I’ll have capital to use towards us buying somewhere together.”

Buying together was definitely not going to happen, but turning Joe away now could mean losing him completely. And she didn’t want that either. “OK.” She spoke slowly; only a few hours earlier she’d recognised life might have to become more free-flowing to fill the black hole left where her career had been. “Let’s see how it goes.”

She wouldn’t be able to please herself; she’d have to bend and compromise to accommodate his wishes. She’d heard her colleagues whinge about their partners and she didn’t want that to happen to her and Joe. But as long as she recognised all of that as a possibility, she could make sure it didn’t happen.

“Thank you.” He pulled her gently towards him and kissed her. “We can properly share our lives now, meet each other’s family and friends . . .”

Fiona didn’t want Joe overlapping into all parts of her life. It was easier and safer to keep things separate, but she couldn’t say that yet.

“My stuff’s in the car. You put the coffee on while I fetch it. And I’ve got a present for us.”

Fiona covered the fruit salad she’d made for dessert; her appetite had gone.

Joe came back into the hallway with two huge suitcases and a long, chilly draught of late November air.

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