Brody picked up Carl’s empty glass. ‘I’ll get this round. It’s the least I can do, for bending your ear for the past half an hour.’
‘Do you mind making it a G&T this time?’ Carl asked.
The queue for the bar gave Brody time to reflect on the situation he’d got himself into. A couple of years ago he’d been beginning to wonder if he’d ever find ‘The One’. He’d wanted to meet someone to settle down with and have a family with one day, though his demanding job with its unsociable hours made that difficult.
He found that other vets understood, so he’d dated a couple of veterinary associates who lived locally, but then they’d moved to other practices or the relationships had simply petered out. Or perhaps it had been his fault and he hadn’t put in enough effort … He wondered if he’d been using his job as an excuse not to get too involved. Being too busy was easier to accept than the truth: that he was afraid of being hurt and ending up lonely.
Tegan seemed to have walked back into his life at exactly the right time and they’d soon started a relationship, much to the delight of their families. They’d known each other for most of their lives, although they’d lost touch a bit whenthey’d gone to different schools, and Tegan had done a marketing degree at UCL while Brody had done his vet’s training. Tegan had stayed in London for a couple of years before she’d moved back to Manchester. Naturally, on her visits to Bannerdale, their paths had crossed again and slowly their friendship had developed into something more romantic.
In Tegan, Brody found someone who was also ambitious and career-minded and who understood how important his work was to him. Tegan’s agency was landing some seriously prestigious clients, for its size, and was gaining an enviable reputation. She’d told Brody that she was feeling like a ‘big fish in a small pond’ and he supposed he should have recognised her signs of restlessness, but he fully supported her ambition when the opportunity to go to New York came up.
‘Here you go,’ he said, after finally getting served and placing a large gin and tonic in front of Carl.
‘Thank you.’ Carl sipped with an appreciative sigh and let Brody settle into his seat. ‘So, you were saying …’
‘I was with Sophie in the stable and—’
‘You were visited by angels?’ Carl offered.
‘Not exactly, though Gabe and the sheep were there. The thing was, we’d both had enough of the party. We got talking, and it turns out we’ve been through similar experiences and have even more in common than we first thought.’
‘I don’t know her that well, but whenever I’ve bumped into Sophie she always seems lovely. And I did think, when I saw you on the way to the lantern parade, that you lookedto be getting along well.’ Carl smirked as he took a larger sip of his gin.
‘Yes, I think that brought us closer, and then she came to the party. I found myself wanting to kiss her; it was all I was thinking about, and she must have felt the same, but I pulled back before things went any further. That was excruciating enough, but then Tegan arrived.’
‘What? In the stable?’ Carl let out a gasp.
‘No, thank goodness, but my mother almost walked in on us when she came to find me.’
‘But nothingactuallyhappened?’ Carl checked.
‘No, but even thoughnothinghappened, I suspect Mum would have to be blind not to have sensed there was a connection between Sophie and me. The thing is Sophie didn’t even know I was engaged. I guess when she first arrived she wasn’t close enough to be one of the people I shared that with—’ Brody broke off, realising what a mess he’d got into.
‘And then, by the time we were friends, I’d found out that Tegan had cheated on me, so I wanted to talk about it even less,’ he went on. ‘But now – because Sophie just heard “engaged” and doesn’t know the real story – she’s absolutely furious with me, and rightly so. I bumped into her this morning and she wouldn’t even look at me; she thinks I’m the spawn of the Devil and a right bastard.’
Carl pondered for a moment, then shrugged. ‘Well, you can’t really blame her, can you?’
‘No.’ Once again Brody was confronted by the memory of Sophie’s face: her disappointment, hurt and disgust.
‘Oh my,whata tangled web you weave.’
‘I honestly didn’t mean to.’
‘Look, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but … Have you ever thought that you’re tying yourself in knots trying to keep everyone else around you happy, at the expense of your own happiness?’
‘I can’t let people down,’ Brody replied softly.
‘Buddy, sometimes you have to let them down or go under yourself. I know you hate disappointing anyone, but I think maybe you’ve gone too far the other way, and now you’re over-compensating when it comes to family.’
Carl’s comment cut through him. Brody did feel guilty about putting his vocation as a vet first; and maybe, because of the similarities between what had happened to his dad and Tegan’s, he wanted to do everything he could to make sure things turned out differently this time.
‘Or perhaps – and forgive the cliché – maybe you simply haven’t found the right girl yet. And yes, I am including Tegan in that list … But what about Sophie? Do you think once you’re able to explain, she’ll understand?’
‘I’ve liked her since she first trod in donkey dung in my stable yard.’ Brody smiled. ‘She came round to introduce herself shortly after she moved in, and Gabriel had left a present in the yard. She was so eager to say hello that she stepped right in it.’ He winced, but felt happy inside. ‘I spent ages scrubbing her boot while she sat on a hay bale.’
‘Sounds like a match made in heaven.’ Carl chuckled.
‘It sounds silly, but I found myself looking forward to seeing Sophie or hoping to bump into her. When I saw hername on the appointment list at the surgery, I couldn’t wait for her to bring the cats in.’
