Page 56 of The World Outside My Window

‘Wow.’ Sonja pours strong coffee into mugs and passes them round, then leans forward with her elbows on the counter, facing them. Her face is a picture of concentration.

‘That’s very strange.’

Laura feels a flutter of something, maybe excitement, in her stomach. She waits, hardly daring to breathe while Sonja clicks her tongue over her teeth. Finally she speaks again.

‘Yes. It’s strange because I thought I saw him the other day.’

Laura snaps her head up. ‘What? When?’ She grips her hands tightly round her coffee cup to anchor herself.

‘I was in London, in Hyde Park, one day last week. Wednesday it might have been. Yes, I think it was. I was cutting through the park to go to a meeting, needed some fresh air. It was a bit, how do you say – drizzly – and I had my hood up so my hair didn’t go frizzy.’

Come on, come on!Laura thinks.I don’t care about your hair, tell me about Jim!

‘Anyway, I was walking past the Serpentine café and there was a man there, sitting at one of the tables with a drink. He was throwing scraps of sandwich to a duck.’

She pauses and it’s all Laura can do not to scream at her to carry on.

‘What happened then? Did you speak to him?’

‘Yes. I realised it was Jim so I called out to say hello. But when he saw me he just stood up and walked away. I assumed I must have got it wrong at the time, but of course I didn’t know he was missing then, so it didn’t seem too strange.’

A silence hangs in the air as her words settle.

Could it really have been Jim that Sonja saw – and if it was, what would that mean?

‘But you think now that it definitely was Jim?’ Debbie asks the question that Laura dare not.

Sonja considers it for a moment, then gives a small nod. ‘Perhaps. Although I could also have been mistaken. I was in a hurry, so I only saw him very briefly.’

Laura feels the hope draining out of her again. ‘So it was just the once you saw him, was it?’ she asks.

‘Yes. I haven’t seen him again, although I haven’t been that way since that day.’ She looks at Laura. ‘I am sorry, Laura. If I had known he was missing I would have come over to tell you about it sooner.’

Laura’s distress must show on her face because Sonja moves towards her and presses her palm on her arm. ‘I don’t mean to get your hopes up, I just thought it might help. But I think I might be wrong, no?’

Laura shakes her head. ‘No. No, I’m really grateful you told me.’ Her voice quivers. She looks at Debbie and the confused look on her face reflects her own.

They all turn at the sound of the door opening.

‘Oh. Hello.’ Simon looks awkward at the sight of so many people in his kitchen. He has a cigarette packet in his hand and a frown scratched into his forehead.

‘Simon, this is Jim’s wife, Laura, and her friend, Debbie.’

‘Oh, hello. I’m so sorry to hear about Jim.’ He looks from one woman to the other and then back again. ‘He’s not – nothing’s happened, has it?’

‘No. I was just telling Laura and Debbie about when I thought I saw Jim last week.’

Simon looks flustered. ‘I’m not sure that’s very helpful, Sonja. You said yourself you didn’t know if it was definitely him, and—’ He pauses. ‘It might be false hope, is all I’m saying.’

‘Better than no hope, no?’

‘Not necessarily.’

Silence hangs in the air for a moment and Laura and Debbie shuffle uncomfortably. Then Simon turns to Laura with his hand stuck out.

‘Anyway, it’s lovely to meet you.’

‘You too,’ she says, shaking his hand warmly.

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