“Good morning,” he says politely, “what can I get you both? I assume Larry’s order will be the same as usual.”
He is so professional, so brisk yet well-mannered, that I am starting to wonder if it’s Jake at all, or if he’s been kidnapped by space aliens, and they’ve beamed down a body double.
As he heads away, I stare after him, confused. I shake my head, and realise that Mark is talking.
“What?” I say, turning back to face him. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said,” he replies, patiently, “are you and him, you know…together?”
“Me and Jake? Together?”
“Yes. Like, together in a way that involves nudity.”
“No!” I exclaim, horrified at the course this conversation is taking.
“Well, I can’t say that I’d blame you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man that good-looking in real life. How come you moved to the arse-end of the country and ended up finding a male supermodel?”
“I don’t know,” I snap back, “maybe it was just karma.”
He holds up his hands placatingly, and replies: “Sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out like that. I just, well… I don’t know quite how to behave, to be honest. This is kind of like the morning after the end, and I’m a bit freaked out, and when I got here last night, I’d convinced myself I’d be able to talk you into coming home. Instead I walked in and saw you dancing with a bloke who looks like he’s just stepped off a film set. I’m…wobbly, all right?”
I see the sincerity in his eyes, and nod. “All right. And maybe there was a bit of a spark there. Last night, with him, there was a moment…I don’t know what would have happened. I don’t know what any of it means. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life, and I was probably about to mess everything up anyway…”
“Ah,” he announces, as Miranda delivers our coffee, taking in the scene and quickly shuffling away again, “then maybe it’s a good job I came along when I did. Maybe I saved you.”
“Yep,” I reply, “that’s exactly it. Saved by the bellend.”
He snorts out a laugh, and I am surprised to find that I am capable of joining in. He reaches into his bag, and produces a sheaf of A4 papers.
“I had all these with me,” he says, waving them around. “All the legal stuff about the house. I had this plan, you see – I thought I’d take you out for dinner, and tell you I wanted you back, and then rip them all up in front of you in a grand gesture.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t do that, Mark. Then you’d have needed to print them all out again. Leave them with me, and I’ll get everything signed. Are you going back to London after breakfast? I actually do have a date this morning.”
“Oh, right – hot one?”
“If you find 87-year-old grandads hot, yes. But I do need to get moving.”
He smiles at me, and nods, and tells me not to worry, he’ll be out of my hair before long. There is still an air of sadness to him – maybe there always was, but I was too wrapped in my own to even notice. I realise that despite the complications, despite everything, I am glad that he did this. Glad that we got to see each other again.
“Thank you,” I say, laying one of my hands on his. “For trying. Just because we’re not together, that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
“Perhaps,” he says, after a moment of hesitation. “I’m not sure I’ll be much good at that, but I’ll give it a go. Hey, maybe Jake’s got an equally good-looking sister you can introduce me to, and we could be one of those weird modern families…”
“He has a brother. Happy to hook you up if you like.”
“Nah, I’ll swerve that one, thanks. What’s your plan, anyway? Where’s next on your grand tour?”
Ah, I think, now there’s a question. I have a lot of thinking to do. A lot of considering. A lot of soul-searching. Possibly, a lot of miles to put between me and Starshine Cove if I decide to chicken out. I could do that – I could be packed up and gone in minutes, hit the road with Larry and never look back. It would certainly be a lot easier than having to do all that thinking.
“They’ve offered me a job,” I murmur, leaning down to ruffle Larry’s mane.
“Who has? The Illuminati?”
“Kind of. The villagers. They want me to stay here, and be their GP.”
Mark turns this over, and I find myself keen to hear his views. He is, after all, someone I have shared my life with for a very long time.
“And how do you feel about it?” he asks.
