Page 53 of It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
‘Not far – I’ve got this converted barn out in Langwood.’
‘Ooh, fancy!’
It really was. It was the kind of area where the houses had names rather than numbers.
‘Ha ha, yeah, it’s pretty nice. I was lucky to buy it when I did – prices have gone nuts in the last few years.’
‘Tell me about it – the London housing market is wild.’
‘Do you rent?’
‘No, I was also lucky to buy just as the property market crashed, so we lived there together.’
‘Ah, so you were with someone back then?’
‘Huh? Oh, no. Elle was my lodger up until she got engaged. After we graduated, we moved to London and rented a place for a while. But then my grampy died and left me some money, which gave me the chance to buy at the right time.’
I took a long gulp of water and made a start on the Nutrigrain bar. Hang on a second. A Nutrigrain bar? I definitely didn’t have anything in the house that involved ‘nutrients’ – genuine or otherwise – the last time I checked.
‘Where the hell is this bar from, by the way?’
‘Don’t laugh but I always keep a stash of them in my boot. For emergencies.’
‘What kind of emergencies?’
‘Let me see: broken-down car in a blizzard, zombie apocalypse warrants swift getaway, pissed intriguing woman from my past in need of efficient sustenance to absorb alcohol…’
‘Intriguing? That’s not an adjective I’d associate with myself.’
‘Really? Which adjectives should I use, then?’
‘Ooh, “unremarkable”, “awkward” and “organised” feel about right. Or if you fancy a few more syllables, why not go with “conscientious”?’
‘You’re pretty hard on yourself, aren’t you?’
‘Oi! I’m very proud of my conscientiousness, thank you very much.’
‘Conscientiousness is underrated, it’s true. I admire it. I wish I’d had more of it myself when I was at school.’
‘I think you probably had enough going on.’
‘Yeah, I know. But I do wonder how things could’ve worked out differently for me if I’d been able to see out my A levels. I mean, I’ve done well enough for myself here—’
‘You really have, Tom – CEO? I’m impressed.’
There was no denying it now, he was definitely blushing. ‘Ah, who told you? My mum?’
‘Nope. I may have briefly glanced at your online credentials.’ I attempted to cover my face with my hands again but he grabbed them before they reached their destination.
‘Ha! Sneaky. Especially when Google drew a blank when I tried to do the same in return.’
He’d googled me! And… he was still holding my hands. I withdrew them, slowly, increasingly conscious of their stickiness.
‘But yeah, I often wonder what else I might have achieved if things had been different for me,’ he said. ‘Like, if my dad hadn’t left when he did or I hadn’t got married so young.’
‘Do you miss your ex?’ Jesus, I felt like Lauren Laverne onDesert Island Discswith all this probing. Hopefully I wouldn’t make him cry.
‘I miss the companionship, sure – like I said, I’m not great at living alone. But we just met each other at the wrong time. I kind of wish I’d met her now, you know? But she’s having a baby next year. So good for her, I guess.’
