‘Tea, coffee? A beer?’
‘I’ll have whatever you’re having.’
Before I could decide what that was, the door of Middle Cottage opened and Ebenezer shuffled out carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses on a tray.
‘Oh, wonderful. We were just wondering what to drink.’
‘I’ll leave these here,’ Ebenezer said, placing the tray on my table. He then twitched his face at me in a gesture so out of character that it took me a few seconds to realise that he’d actuallywinked.
‘There’s only two glasses.’
‘I’ve only got two glasses,’ he said.
‘No problem, I can fetch one.’
‘No, no need to bother with all that. You two enjoy your evening.’
‘Ebenezer, it’s less than ten steps away; it’s no trouble.’
‘I’m feeling very tired. I need to go to bed,’ he said, suddenly finding the ability to scurry inside before we could object any further.
‘I’m so sorry about that. As I said, he’s a bit strange.’
‘No apology necessary. This is a decent bottle,’ Sam said, picking it up to read the label, before holding it up to me. ‘Shall we?’
‘Um… were you looking for me, or…?’ I asked, sitting down next to him.
‘Oh, yes, I was out walking the girls, and realised that I was right by your back hedge, and I heard Joan, meaning you were probably up, so thought I’d call in and see how it went today.’
‘Oh, I see.’
Or rather, I saw that Sam had just made up a convoluted excuse to visit me on a Friday night. When I started pouring, I felt so jittery that I slopped wine all over the table.
‘I must have arrived just as you went inside. But like I said, your neighbour offered me a drink.’ He took a paper napkin from the pile I’d brought out at dinner and started mopping up the mess. ‘I hope I’m not disturbing your plans?’
‘My plan was to sit here and have a drink with a friend until the stars come out. Seeing as that friend has bailed on me, I can cope with that being you instead.’
‘Excellent.’
We sat there pretending to admire the lovely surroundings while in reality the peace of the evening had been engulfed by strange tension and unspoken subtext that I had no idea how to interpret. If Ebenezer had wanted to kindle some romance, he’d instead managed to snuff out any trace of embers.
After a while, Sam suddenly spoke. ‘So, um, how did it go at the hospital?’
‘Better than any of us hoped. Any of us apart from Joan, that is.’
The tension gradually dissipated as we spoke about everything that had happened. Sam asked what the plan was for when Leanne left hospital, and when my throat seized up before I could finish explaining that they might all go back to Chester, him reaching across the shadows and taking my hand seemed completely natural.
A few seconds later, the music started.
‘Is that a coincidence, or is he some sort of peeping Tom?’ Sam asked, dropping my hand as he glanced over his shoulder at Ebenezer’s now open kitchen window.
‘Maybe he had one quick peep, concluded that his plan must be working and moved to stage two.’
‘His plan?’ Sam looked back at me, teeth glinting in amusement.
‘He thinks that you might be interested in being more than friends,’ I mumbled. ‘I’ve told him that’s not the case.’
‘Ah. Okay.’ Sam’s voice was low. I huddled back in my chair, not sure whether to be hideously embarrassed, to shrug it off as a hilarious joke between friends or to hope that somehow, Ebenezer might end up being right.
