Page 96 of The Wedding Pact
Chapter 70
August
‘Morning, Abe,’ August said, approaching the wall in front of the house.
He looked up and beamed. ‘Good morning. I’m back!’
‘I can see that. I haven’t seen you since the Christmas party. How have you been?’
‘Good. And you? Happy New Year.’
‘Happy New Year to you.’ August sat next to him on the wall, keeping a little gap between them this time, unsure what Abe thought of her even though she had her suspicions. ‘How’s Mrs H?’
‘Eh … ’ he trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. ‘She’s okay. She was telling me about your visit to her a few weeks ago?’
‘It was nice,’ August replied. ‘She had Advocaat, which I hadn’t had since my gran was alive.’
‘She loves Advocaat; her mum – my gran – always had it around too. She mentioned your gran actually, weren’t the two of them friends?’
‘Yes,’ August cried. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t realise the whole time I lived here that actually Mrs Haverley, your mum, was the “Windy Day” my grandma brought me in here to visit when I was little. I don’t think they were super close – your mum was a bit younger than my gran, but they were definitely friends.’
‘That’s funny. Did my mum remember you coming over when you were little?’
‘She says she did, but I’m not so sure, and I wouldn’t blame her, it was a long time ago.’
‘It’s nice that you had that connection,’ Abe commented, and drifted into his thoughts for a second before saying, ‘Mum’s got more closed off over the years and sometimes it’s good to remember who you were in the past—’ He stopped, and cleared his throat, as if he was getting a bit deep. ‘So anyway, thank you. Where’s Flynn?’
He caught her eye again at the mention of Flynn, and August had to look away. ‘He’s away at the moment, in Japan.’
‘Japan! Business or pleasure?’
‘A bit of both,’ she said, fixing her gaze forward, not comfortable lying to Abe after the truthful moment he’d just shared with her.
The two of them made their way back inside, and on the stairs Abe said, ‘I’ll be back next weekend. If you need anything while your, um, Flynn’s away just let me know.’
‘See you next weekend,’ she whispered after him, looking forward to it already.
Chapter 71
Flynn
Flynn had spent the best part of a week in Japan, relaxing with his family, catching up on sleep, visiting with old friends, before he took the trip into the centre of Tokyo to see one of the main people he needed to reconnect with.
A Sunday morning in Tokyo can feel as busy as a Saturday morning in other parts of the world, and Flynn loved it. He stood on the pavement facing the tower block where he lived for a year, the bright white January sky glinting off the panes of glass. As he stood still, around him, people went about their days, enjoying their leisure time, wrapped in layers to protect them from the bitter weather.
It was nice to be home.
But this particular building wasn’t his home anymore, and with a glance at his watch, he moved on, saying a final, silent goodbye to the window that once had been his, all those storeys up.
He wondered if Yui still lived there. He’d soon find out.
Flynn had thought about visiting Yui at home, assuming that was still her home, but had changed his mind shortly before getting in touch with her. It wasn’t about the flat they’d lived in, it was about them, it had always been about them, and he didn’t want to muddy his thoughts by feeling nostalgia for a home that was no longer his.
Instead he’d kept it simple, and told her he was in Tokyo to visit his family, that he’d really like to talk to her, and could they meet up for a walk in Koishikawa Korakuen gardens, one of their favourite places to take an al fresco coffee. He’d waited a full day and night for her to respond, and when she did, it was in agreement.
Entering the park, Flynn felt like he had the koi from the pond leaping about in his stomach. For most of their relationship he’d seen Yui every single day, and that had been stripped away to him not seeing her now for over six months. Not speaking with her. Not looking at pictures of her. Would it be like reuniting with an old friend, or a stranger?
He sat on a bench and pulled out his phone while he waited for Yui to arrive, scrolling back through his photos, letting his eyes fill with images of Bath, and he settled on one of August sitting on the wall outside their house, drinking her morning cup of tea, that he’d taken from their living room window. He wondered what she was doing at that moment.
