Page 99 of Midnight in Paris

‘For what?’

‘Just still being there, while I disappeared. Not minding. Not everyone’s like that, you know. Some of the people I… dropped, when things were bad, they’ve kind of moved on. I’ll send them the odd message, email. And they’re friendly enough, but it’s like they’ve filled all the spaces in their lives and haven’t got room for me any more.’

‘That sucks.’

‘Yeah.’ She stirred her drink. ‘Sometimes I think people are afraid of me.’

‘What?’ he spluttered, almost spilling his drink. ‘Because of the bicep?’ he joked.

‘Because of Tom. Because being around me reminds them that life is short, fragile. And I don’t think people want to think about that most of the time.’

He raised a shoulder, a brief shrug of solidarity. ‘I get that, a bit. Like the guys from uni – they mention Tom sometimes of course, they raise a pint to him when we meet up. But then it’s all chat about jobs and football and house prices. Nobody wants to bring down the mood.’

‘Tom would have hated to bring the mood down,’ she said, thinking about how much he’d always tried to make people laugh, spread some sort of joy.

‘I know.’

‘Well, maybe we’ll talk about him,’ she said. ‘Remember the fun parts as well as all the shit that followed.’

‘Sounds like a plan.’

‘Rowing and reminiscing it is,’ she said.

‘And coffee?’

‘Definitely coffee.’

They clinked their cups together to seal the deal, and Sophie thought back to what Sam had told her when she’d turned up on the doorstep with a hangover and life advice. It had been hard forcing herself to go out. But each time she forced herself into life, things felt a little better.

Despite still feeling exhausted, shaken from the events of the past two days, Sophie realised, sitting there in the silent room, that she was smiling.

54

JUNE 2024

She’d known it would happen eventually.

She and Will were pushing a cart through Sainsbury’s, wondering whether to risk a barbecue in early June, when she saw them, poring over the wine section. She froze, making Will almost bump into her from behind.

‘Whoops. Sorry!’ he said at their near collision. Then, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s them,’ she whispered, her voice so low he could barely hear.

‘Them being…’

‘Look!’ she nodded towards them. Will followed her eye.

‘Oh.’

It was Tom’s dad who looked up first, noticed them.

‘Will!’ he said, striding forward with his hand outstretched. He noticed Sophie behind the trolley. ‘And Sophie! Well, how nice.’

‘Hi,’ they both said in unison, sounding like a couple of scary twins from a creepy movie.

‘Julie, look who it is!’ Tom’s father said, his tone less subtle than he probably imagined. ‘It’s Will… and Sophie!’

Julie turned and forced a smile across her face. ‘Well, look at you both!’ she said. ‘Shopping together.’

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