Page 117 of The Winter of Second Chances
A couple of hours later and the revellers had drifted home, the band had packed up and the makeshift bar was dismantled. The little beach fires had been doused and the wet wood piled into the back of Paul’s pick-up. The beach was cold and dark and still, and it was hard to believe that there had ever been a party; if it wasn’t for the presence of Max and the boys, Annie might have thought she’d imagined it all. John had made himself scarce ever since Max’s arrival. He’d popped in briefly to say goodbye and tell her what time he was dropping Alfred off the next day.
‘Come and see me after,’ said Annie. ‘Tell me how it went.’
‘I will. I promise you, if there’s any sign that he’s not okay, I won’t leave him.’
‘I know you won’t. You don’t have to go just because Max is here.’
‘He seems to want to talk to you. Let’s leave our book tonight,The Woman in Blackcan wait. Truth be told, it’s scaring the shit out of me anyway. I’ll let you sort out whatever you need to with Max.’
Oh God!His understanding was making Annie like him even more.Stupid Max and his relentless wooing.
‘It’s all hot air, you know,’ she said. ‘He’s not a man of great substance. Puddles have greater depth than he does.’
John smiled.
‘We’ll talk tomorrow when I haven’t got your husband’s beady eyes trained on me.’
John bent and kissed her cheek, lingering longer than necessary. Annie breathed in the scent of him, felt the warmth of him on her skin and wished she could pull him to her and stay like that, just the two of them, wrapped in one another’s arms. He pulled away, his eyes held hers for a long moment, and then he left.
Max took the mop out of Annie’s hands.
‘I’ll do that,’ he said. ‘You crack on with cashing up.’
‘You haven’t mopped a floor since 2002,’ said Annie.
‘I’m a changed man. You’ll find out if you give me half a chance.’
Annie shook her head and began counting receipts. Alex, Greg and Peter were upstairs; she could hear the rumble of their laughter through the floorboards.
‘Do you like him?’ Max asked.
‘Who?’
‘That John.’
‘Yes. I do likethat John. Very much.’
They worked for a while longer in a silence which felt laden with unspoken truths.
‘This place is great, Annie.’
‘Thanks,’ she said idly, totalling up the day’s takings.
‘You wouldn’t have to give it up if we gave us another try. It could be the perfect set-up.’
Annie looked up.
‘What are you talking about, Max?’
‘This could be like a sister cafe to the restaurant. We could call it The Pomegranate By The Sea. You could stay down here while we rebuild our marriage; we could start dating, go back to the beginning. It would be exciting, romantic, me dropping you off at your door after a nice meal. You’d get the breathing space you need, and we’d be building the business at the same time.’
‘I don’t need breathing space, Max. I—’
‘Don’t answer now. Sleep on it. You can’t tell me the boys wouldn’t love to see us at least try.’
Max’s phone buzzed on the counter and Annie automatically picked it up to pass it to him. And then she saw the message.
Ellie’s mob:Hey Maxi, I’m sad I won’t get to see you tonightI’m keeping it warm for you baby
