‘Oh. Cool. I’ve been out with some mates,’ he said, waving vaguely to a row of pubs. ‘Well, it’s nice to see you,’ he said, making a move to carry on.
Abby smiled, amused by his apparent hurry. ‘You too.’
She waved as he made to walk off, but then he suddenly turned back. ‘Got to say, it’s pretty forgiving of you.’
The smile hadn’t left her face. ‘What?’
‘Or is it open-minded?’
‘Sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Ellie. Your sister. Dating Jon.’
Abby felt as if she was falling. She was aware she was staring at Rory, her smile now rigid on her face.
‘You knew, right? Oh shit.’
She snapped out of it. ‘Course I knew,’ she lied. ‘Yeah. Look, I’m going to be late. Train to catch.’ She turned away. ‘Nice to see you,’ she called out before hurrying on, tears filling her eyes.
SEVENTY-FOUR
Ellie almost wavered as she walked down the stairs to the small bar, where legs of cured ham hung in the windows. It wasn’t as if she knew Fredrik well – this meeting had been agreed in a moment of madness, an escapist interlude from the last few days where her perspective on life had been picked up and thrown in the air. In fact,what the hellseemed a perfectly good motto by which to live right now, and thinking this strengthened her again as she walked in the door.
She saw him immediately and her stomach flipped, not with apprehension but with excitement. He looked over and she was gratified to see his eyes light up, and knew she’d done the right thing. He was over to her instantly, buying her a drink, and they found a table tucked away at the back of the room.
‘Thanks for agreeing to meet,’ said Fredrik. His tan had darkened and when he smiled the cracks along the sides of his eyes seemed even whiter.
‘It’s a nice break from the road trip,’ said Ellie.
‘How was France?’
‘Good,’ she replied, knowing she couldn’t tell him anything.
‘And now you’re in Spain!’
‘We just kept on going,’ said Ellie.
He nodded. There was a pause in the conversation where Ellie thought he was making a conscious effort to relax.
‘You look great,’ said Fredrik. ‘That dress suits you.’
Ellie glanced down. ‘It was from my sister. A gift.’
‘Nice gift.’ He spread his hands out. ‘Where is she?’
‘Who?’
‘Abby.’
Ellie tilted her head. ‘Abby?’
‘Yes, that’s right, isn’t it?’
‘Sure. I just don’t remember telling you her name.’
He smiled. ‘You did. When we met at the fountain.’
Ellie thought back. She couldn’t recall doing so, but it didn’t matter. She shrugged. ‘Honest answer is I don’t know. We had a bit of a falling-out.’
