Page 4 of Our Song

Dave squeezes my hand.‘That’ll be us in a year or two.’

I quickly reach out my other hand and brush my fingers against a tree at the edge of the pavement.‘Touch wood.’

His total confidence unsettles me, just a bit.We walk in silence for a moment and then I say, ‘You haven’t forgotten I’ve got that doctor’s appointment next week?’

‘Course not.’Dave looks down at me and smiles.‘Don’t look so worried, love.It’ll be grand.’

‘But what if it isn’t?’I say.I wish I could be as breezy as he is.Whether it’s about health, or work, or the future in general, he always ignores the negative and focuses on the positive.‘What’ll we do if it isn’t?’

‘But it will be!’says Dave.‘Seriously, Laura.There’s no need to worry.It’ll be fine.We’ll be fine.’

And like a fool, I believe him.

Chapter One

2019

I’m clearing out my desk at Zenith when I find it.

Aoife, my friend and colleague – well, ex-colleague now – has just done a defiant sweep of the office kitchen for some cans of iced matcha tea and bars of allegedly healthy chocolate.That kitchen turned out to be the best thing about working here after the takeover.Maybe they thought if we had enough delicious treats we wouldn’t notice Zenith didn’t really care about running an ad agency at all.Which is presumably why, less than two years after I started there, Zenith are now ‘restructuring’ their communications department and letting almost all of us ad people go.

‘God, I hate packing,’ I mutter, recklessly chucking the award we won for the ethical-pensions ad into the box.

‘What was that?’Aoife is trying to squash a large orange cushion into her box.

‘Oh, nothing,’ I say, as I dispose of a potted succulent.‘How did I accumulate so much shite in less than two years?’

‘I think my notebooks have been breeding,’ says Aoife.‘I definitely didn’t buy this many.’She closes the lid of her box and sighs.‘There!The end of my Visions-slash-Zenith career.’

There’s a lump in my throat.‘I can’t believe we won’t be working together anymore.’

Aoife and I started at Visions around the same time.We made it to senior creative level together.We’re a great team.Wewerea great team.

‘Ah, don’t, you’ll set me off.’Aoife’s voice sounds choked up.‘We’ll work together again.This is just a minor setback.Come on, pack the last of your notebooks and let’s get out of here.’

I pick up the notebooks and that’s when I see the card that had been lying underneath them.

There’s a drawing of me on it, looking like something out ofMad Menin a chic sixties shift dress, my curly dark hair in an elegant updo, my fringe looking much neater than it does in real life.

And because I’m clearly a glutton for punishment, I put down the notebooks, open the card and read what’s inside.

My lovely Laura,

You don’t need me to wish you good luck in your new job because I know you’re going to shine there like the total rock star you are.I love you so much and I’m so proud of you and I can’t wait to marry you.

xxxxx Dave

It’s been eight months now since Dave decided that actually, he didn’t love methatmuch and he didn’t want to marry me after all.It’s been over seven months since I talked to him.And it’s quite a few months since I’ve cried over him.

But when I read this card I have to close my eyes very, very tightly for a long moment to stop tears falling.Then I open my eyes, rip the card into as many pieces as I can and dump them all in the bin.

‘What was that?’says Aoife.

‘Nothing,’ I say.‘I’m all done here.’

‘Right.’Aoife puts her overflowing box down on the desk and throws an arm around my shoulders.‘Let’s say goodbye and good riddance to this place and then take ourselves and these boxes down the pub.’

And it’s then, at my very lowest moment, as we shuffle past our former colleagues, all desperately trying to avoid our eyes, that I hear those familiar opening chords coming from the radio in the fancy kitchen, followed by that voice, a little more gravelly than it was the first time I heard it but still, always and immediately, recognisable.

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