Page 41 of The Winter of Second Chances
‘It wasn’t you,’ said Paul. ‘I think you’re amazing, you’re sexy and funny...’
‘It wasn’t you either,’ said Annie. ‘Maybe some people just aren’t meant to have sex.’
‘Do you think we’re so similar that we cancelled each other out?’
‘It’s an interesting theory,’ Annie laughed. ‘I guess this makes us just good friends?’
Paul nodded, and shook her outstretched hand. ‘Just good friends.’
Annie’s legs felt decidedly stiff as she tramped down the hill and she smiled as she noted she had probably used muscles last night which hadn’t seen a workout in quite some time. Now the initial disappointment had worn off, she felt a certain peace about her lacklustre encounter with Paul. She’d had no expectations after all. She wasn’t looking to start a relationship. She wasn’t even looking for a fling. She had simply wanted a bit of fun, a bit of attention, to feel a warm body against hers and feel the flutter of flirtation. Well, mission accomplished. Annie reasoned that having bad sex with Paul was actually the best thing that could have happened. What if the sex had been amazing? Then they would have felt bound to have more and more sex and eventually they would have found themselves pursuing a relationship, which was exactly what Annie didn’t want.Yes, thought Annie,hurrah for humdrum humping.
High in the sky the seagulls were circling and, even after this short time, Annie knew there must be a fishing boat out on the sea. Sure enough, a glimpse through the trees showed Ely’s trawler bobbing gently just out past the buoys. It was funny, she thought, how quickly she was getting used to life on the coast; how familiar it all felt, almost as though she had lived a past life in Willow Bay and returned to pick up where she had left off, like one of Willow Bay’s ghosts.
The sea today was a mixture of deep green and lapis blue, like the body of a blue-bottle fly.
Annie let her gaze travel slowly and land on Saltwater Nook. She stopped dead. Max’s car was pulled up next to hers beside the rickety fence. Her cheerful mood deflated. She was too far along the promenade to turn back and, if she did, where would she go? She supposed she could walk back up to Paul’s house, she was sure he wouldn’t mind. But she didn’t really want to revisit the scene of crimes against coitus just yet.
Max got out of the car and gave her a cheery wave. Annie groaned.Goddammit, she thought as she waved a heavy arm in response,the man’s a bloody psychic vampire, coming round here and siphoning off my perfectly good Sunday mood.
‘Hi,’ said Max. He was smiling nervously.
This used to melt Annie’s heart. Now it made her want to slap his stupid lips off. He reached an arm out and moved forward tentatively as though to hug her. Annie stepped back and his face fell. She tried not to care.
‘Which of our children caved in and gave you my address?’ said Annie. ‘I know I haven’t told anybody but them where I’m staying.’
Max shifted his weight from one foot to the other and hugged his arms to himself.
‘Chilly this morning,’ he said. ‘I think the weather’s turning.’
‘Which one?’ asked Annie.
‘Don’t be mad,’ said Max.
No one in the history of ever had started a conversation with that phrase unless they’d done something that was guaranteed to make the other person mad. Annie said nothing. She stared at him and waited. Max looked at the floor and dragged one foot back and forth along the shingle, making a groove in the pebbles.
‘When the boys came to help you move in,’ said Max, still not looking at her, ‘I, um, checked the GPS on their phones.’
Dammit! He was stalking her via stalking their children.
‘Do you not see how devious that is?’ asked Annie. ‘Not to mention creepy.’
‘Some might call it caring,’ said Max. ‘I still care about your wellbeing. I wanted to make sure you were safe.’
‘And is your mind at rest now?’ asked Annie. ‘If you really cared about my wellbeing, you wouldn’t have made me penniless.’
Max shrugged his shoulders.
‘It seems like a nice area,’ he said, ignoring the barb about money. ‘A bit remote for my tastes.’
‘Luckily, your tastes are no longer my concern,’ said Annie.
‘You’re out early,’ said Max.
She was caught off guard. She hadn’t expected her walk of shame to be interrupted by her husband.
‘Oh, well, yes,’ she said. ‘It’s a nice morning for a walk.’
Max looked at her.
