Page 9 of Close to You
David nods along, but I wonder if he’s thinking what I am: that it’s embarrassing to be almost thirty and have so little to show for it. Whenever meeting a new person, the first questions are always about name and occupation. It’s how we all judge one another. How we judge ourselves, I suppose.
‘I’ve been doing this for about four years,’ I add quickly. ‘I had to get a few qualifications and I was covering maternity at a gym in Kingbridge. It’s spiralled from there.’
I’m not sure why, but I care what David thinks. I want him to approve. Jane has been pushing me for a long time to get what she would see as a ‘proper’ job. I don’t think she’d still be with Ben if it wasn’t for the fact that he worked in a bank. Things like that matter to her.
‘It’s very impressive,’ he says. ‘I admire people who branch out to take control of their lives.’
He stares at me with such earnestness that I have to hoist the menu higher and hide behind it. I’m not used to this sort of praise.
The waiter relieves the embarrassment by appearing back at the side of the table and asking if we’re ready. We each order and then David asks if I’d mind him choosing wine for us to share. I say it’s fine and then he opts for something he says he’s certain I’ll like. I’m not sure how or why he’s come to this conclusion but am fine to go with it.
When the waiter heads off, he takes our menus with him, leaving me nothing to hide behind.
‘What about you?’ I ask, trying to get the conversation away from me. ‘What do you do?’
‘I trade collectibles.’
‘I’m not sure I know what that means.’
He presses back and puffs out his chest. There’s pride in talking about something he enjoys explaining. ‘It’s a family thing. My dad used to do it and I picked it up from him. I buy items like vinyl, books, comics, prints – that sort of thing – and then sell them to buyers around the continent, or in the US.’
Things are starting to click into place. I’d wondered why he was away for work since I met him at Jane’s party but didn’t want to ask.
‘That sounds fun,’ I say.
‘It can be.’
‘Do you travel a lot?’
‘Sometimes. It depends on circumstances. I can go months without having to leave home and then need to be on the road for weeks at a time. There are all sorts of conventions. If you know what you’re looking for, you can make a good living.’
My mind wanders, knowing that Jane won’t approve of David’s job.
‘How did you end up in Kingbridge?’ I ask.
‘I came for university. I’m from near Margate, but Dad died while I was on my course, so I never really left.’
‘Sorry to hear that.’
He waves it away in the way people do when they don’t want to talk about something.
I’m not ready to let him turn the conversation back to me, so quickly add: ‘You told me you knew Ben through football at uni – but you’re a bit, um…?’
David smiles and interrupts before I can finish the thought: ‘You can say older.’
‘Sorry…’
‘You’re right. I went to university a bit later in life than most. One of the ways I tried to fit in was to get involved with the football team. I used to be a bit nippy in my time. Not a bad winger. I once scored four in a cup final when I was still at school.’
‘You must’ve been good.’
He shrugs humbly, although, if he wasthatmodest, he wouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place.
‘I was scouted by the county,’ he says. ‘Had trials with Gillingham and Brighton, but things didn’t work out. Even with university, I was always putting off going into the same business as Dad. I think I was always destined to do this.’
The waiter returns with a bottle of wine and there’s the cartoon routine of him pouring a bit, David tasting and giving a barely-there nod, and then the waiter pouring it into both of our glasses. They exchange another word or ten in Italian and then we’re alone once more.
David raises his glass: ‘To entrepreneurs,’ he says. ‘We’re both doing our own thing.’
