Page 65 of Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon
The lying. They’ll focus on that first. After telling her since childhood that she never needs to lie to them, they’ll sit her down and ask her to explain why she felt the need to do it. Why she couldn’t tell them about him. Did she not love them? Did she not think they loved her? It will be a laying-on of guilt the likes of which she’s never seen, and it’s almost enough to make her want to stand up, tell Miriam that Brett is joking and this is the first date they’ve been on, and walk out.
Except she doesn’t want that. Not at all. Because he called himself her boyfriend and somewhere under these layers of fear about what’s going to happen when she arrives home, there’s elation – total, amazing happiness – that he would feel that way.That he’d want to attach himself to her and tell someone about it.
He likes her. He really likes her. The incredible fact of that may be enough to get her through what’s to come.
‘Boyfriend?’ Miriam says, turning to Josie. There’s no rolling of thers this time.
Josie looks at Brett, whose smile is wide and reassuring. His eyes are kind, and she imagines he’s encouraging her to take on the mantle he’s set down.
‘Yes,’ she says, holding his gaze, feeling herself smiling, not having made a decision to do so but it just happens, doesn’t it, when the boy you think is really great tells someone else he’s your boyfriend when you weren’t even sure yet if that were true.
‘Your mother hasn’t said anything.’ Miriam looks from one to the other.
‘You’re a friend of Josie’s mother?’ Brett asks.
Josie loves him a little for deflecting the enquiry away from her.
‘Oldfriend. My name is Miriam.’ She sends Josie a pointed stare, although Josie doesn’t actually know what the point being made is.
‘I haven’t met Josie’s mum yet. Or her dad.’ He looks at Josie again.It’s going to be all right.That’s what the look says. Or what Josie wants it to say. ‘We haven’t been going out long,’ Brett continues.
Miriam looks quite satisfied about something. ‘How delightful,’ she says. ‘Well, I’d best be going.’
‘You’re not having lunch here?’ Brett says.
For a second Josie wonders, with dread, if he’s about to invite Miriam to join them.
‘Here?’ Miriam glances around. ‘No.I saw Josephine through the window. That’s the only reason I came in.’
Brett looks unfazed by Miriam’s mild insult and Josie wants to hug him for it. She smiles as nicely as she can while hoping Miriam will leave immediately.
‘No doubt I shall see you again, Brett.’ Miriam’s smile is faker than her blonde hair colour. ‘Josephine, darling, IknowI shall see you again. Toodle-oo.’ And with a wave of her long-nailed fingers, she’s gone.
Brett swiftly sits down. ‘Quite a character,’ he says.
Josie murmurs her agreement but feels the tension rising in her as she contemplates what’s going to happen once she’s home. She blinks back the tears that have unexpectedly formed.
‘Hey.’ Brett frowns, then reaches across the table and takes her hand. ‘What’s going on?’
‘My parents don’t know I’ve been seeing you,’ she confesses, because she needs him as her co-conspirator now. ‘She’ll tell them. And then …’ The tears packed into her throat make her voice raspy. ‘They won’t like it.’
‘How do you know?’ He squeezes her hand. ‘I’m very likeable.’
She laughs involuntarily, then squeezes back. ‘I know you are,’ she says. ‘But they want me to stay locked up at home for the rest of my life.’
‘That’snot going to happen.’ He takes her other hand. ‘We have too much to do. Places to see.’
We?We.We.What a magic word. Maybe he will be able to stand up to them with her. Maybe everythingwillbe all right. It has to be sometime.
‘Do we?’ She smiles at him, even though she still feels unsettled.
‘We do.’
He leans across the table and kisses her quickly, which makes her feel a whole lot better. Then they set about the business of ordering their lunch.
While they eat he keeps telling her funny stories, and she knows he’s probably trying to distract her, and she thinks it’s one of the kindest things anyone has done for her, because she’s worrying – oh, how she’s worrying – that Miriam will have scurried off to the nearest phone box to call Erin and tell her all about seeing Josie and a boy together.
‘Hey,’ he says as they’re leaving, and he takes her hand in his and kisses her temple. ‘It’s not that bad.’
