Page 22 of The Wedding Pact
‘It’s a hard question to answer at the moment.’
‘Fair enough. Did you miss England when you were out there?’
‘Yes,’ he considered this while he sipped on his beer. ‘I missed it, but not because I felt like I was missing out. I loved living in Japan, but loving Japan didn’t stop me from loving the UK too, and the same is true vice versa.’
The pizzas arrived, Flynn’s a classic pepperoni, laden with mini bell peppers, a scattering of basil leaves and reams of stringy mozzarella. August had a Hawaiian, with fresh, grilled pineapple chunks scattered over big pieces of thick-cut bacon.
‘I get what you’re saying, that you like both countries and missing one doesn’t detract from valuing the other. But what caused you to swap Japan for England again?’
‘I guess it was time for a change,’ he said, eventually, and then looked her in the eye. ‘I can always go back, I guess.’
‘Of course,’ nodded August. ‘Just not for a while, okay?’
Flynn picked up another slice. ‘You moved here from London, right? Did you say last year?’
‘Six months ago,’ she confirmed.
‘What made you decide to make the move?’
August looked out of the window at Bath. ‘I just wanted to come home.’
‘This is where you grew up?’
‘Not really, but not far. It was more my grandma’s home, and my best friend Bel’s, but I only grew up maybe an hour or so away. For me it wasn’t that I wanted to comebackhome, but that this is the place I wanted tocallhome. Bath, for as long as I can remember, felt like it would be my home one day. I just knew it.’
‘What is it about Bath? You mentioned that you came back all the time for big life events. It can’t just be the house –your new flat– on Elizabeth Street?’
‘The whole place is perfect to me,’ replied August. ‘The architecture, the history, the way the past – both real, and fictional, thank you Jane Austen – feels like it’s soaked into the pavements of this city. It’s just inspiring, and feeling inspired makes me feel excited. And happy.’ She shrugged. ‘I wanted to be happy.’
‘That was a good answer, did you rehearse that?’ Flynn teased.
‘A little. You’d be amazed the number of people who seem surprised that I’d give up living in London to move to Bath.’
‘Really? How come?’
‘Because I’m an actress and I left a city with probably two hundred theatres to come to one with maybe a handful. But something you should know about me, Flynn, is that I like a challenge.’
‘I can tell,’ he laughed. ‘Remind me what kind of acting you do?’
‘Mainly voice work, which is just the most fun. I love it.’
‘It sounds really fun, and you have a nice voice.’ He cringed because that felt like an odd way to compliment someone, but she just smiled at him and continued.
‘I do a lot of audiobooks and educational material. “A lot” might be an overstatement though. And it’s been a while, to be honest, though I’m planning to change that. I also voiced a squirrel in a videogame once.’
‘That’s very cool!’
‘It was pretty awesome,’ August agreed with a sparkle of pride.
From there, and over the remaining slices of their respective pizzas, the conversation between Flynn and August flowed easily again, as easy as it had that morning. He told her about his life in England before he had returned to Japan with his parents, then about his job, and his anxieties about his starting work the next day.
Flynn had already been fully versed that morning about August’s long history with their new house, but chatting to her now over beers he understood what her grandmother meant to her, and began to see glimpses, like sunlight reflecting off glass, of who she wanted to become.
When they were both full, August yawned and said, ‘Do you mind if we call it a night? I’m worn out from all the talking we’ve done today. And that’s coming from a voice actress.’
‘Ha, not at all, that’s fine,’ Flynn said, yawning also. They stood up, leaving money for the bill. ‘Shall I walk you back home?’
August waved him away. ‘No, that’s fine, it’s not like we’re on a date. Go and get some sleep. And good luck tomorrow.’
