Lost in his own thoughts, Gabe suddenly jumped at the sound of a car beeping. Gripping his handlebars, he struggled to stop his bike from careering up the kerb and onto the pavement. Gabe was used to vehicles getting too close as they overtook, but with his mind elsewhere Gabe hadn’t noticed that day’s boy racer. “Idiot!” Gabe shouted as the car driver carried on up the road.
Righting his bike, Gabe was more frustrated with himself than anyone else. Ever since he’d first met Hannah, she seemed to have made herself at home in his head and had no intention of leaving. He’d tried to kick her out, of course, but she refused to hand over her key and kept moving back in.
Stopping at a zebra crossing to let someone by, Gabe again wished he hadn’t invited Hannah for coffee. Because instead of curbing his enthusiasm, Hannah’s response had given him yet another reason to find her fascinating. As well as finding Hannah clever, funny and stubborn, it seemed Gabe could adda walking contradictionto his list.
He pictured Hannah’s reaction. On the one hand, her eyes said she liked the idea of socialising with him. On the other, the words coming out of her mouth made it clear she didn’t. Gabe frowned. It was as if Hannah wasn’t sure what she wanted. He scoffed, forced to admit she wasn’t the only one.
Negotiating a corner, Gabe told himself the fact that she’d turned him down was for the best. After all, he had enough friends already and he most certainly wasn’t in the market for anything romantic. Proposing he and Hannah go for coffee might feel like a massive step, but in reality, it wasn’t a big deal. Gabe let out a laugh. “So what if she said no?” Anyone would think he’d asked for Hannah’s hand in marriage. Not to simply join him for a hot beverage, in a public place, something grown-ass adults did whether they were quixotically involved or not.
An image of the little white envelope popped into his head, but he didn’t have the mental space to think about that too, so he pushed it away.
Gabe’s pedalling slowed and bewildered, he recalled how Hannah hadn’t just mentioned a flower delivery, she seemed to think it had come from him. He supposed it no wonder she’d read more into his coffee suggestion than was intended, although Gabe had to admit he hadn’t exactly helped in that regard. Frustrated by his own stupidity, he reproached himself for not putting her straight on the matter.
Turning onto his road, the mystery flowers continued to play on Gabe’s mind as he headed to the back of his house. There had to be a reason Hannah would think they were a gift from him. His eyes narrowed as an explanation began to show itself. “No. You wouldn’t,” he said.
Dismounting his bike, he wheeled it into the rear garden and after storing it in the shed, made his way into the kitchen. Taking the seat opposite, he stared at his dad, who read a newspaper at the table.
While most of the population kept themselves up to date with events via their phones, Roger preferred the old-fashioned approach. He could spend hours sitting there with his paper, reading every printed word. Roger even did the crossword; exercise for the brain as he called it. “Everything okay?” he asked, letting his newspaper drop.
“Not really.”
Roger straightened up in his seat. “Why? What’s happened now?”
Gabe raised his eyebrows. “I was hoping you could tell me.”
“Animal, vegetable, or mineral?” Roger asked. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”
“Let’s just say I saw Hannah earlier.”
Roger picked his paper back up, raising it to the point that Gabe could no longer see his face. “I don’t see what that has to do with me,” he said from behind the page.
Gabe knew his dad was only pretending to read. That he was using the newspaper to hide behind. Gabe folded his arms and continuing to stare in his dad’s direction, was happy to wait all day for Roger to give in if that’s what it took.
At last, the paper fell for a second time. “I’m sorry, son,” Roger said. “But I haven’t seen you show an ounce of interest in anyone since… well, you know. Then this Hannah arrives on the scene and suddenly you’re all gaga.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know. Sitting there in some happy trance. The woman’s clearly got under your skin, so I thought why not give things a little nudge. It’s not like you were going to.”
“But you’ve got no right to interfere like that, Dad. It’s down to me to decide who I do and don’t get involved with, not you.”
Roger scoffed. “It was only a bunch of flowers. I didn’t declare your undying love, Gabe.”
Gabe thanked goodness for small mercies.
“I simply put your name and telephone number on one of those little card thingies, crossed my fingers and left it to the gods.”
“My telephone number?” Gabe closed his eyes for a second. His insides felt like they were shrinking with his dad’s every word. He thought it no wonder Hannah had turned him down for coffee. In not giving him a call, she’d already sent a clear message telling Gabe she wasn’t interested. “Dad, how could you embarrass me like that?”
“Since when did sending a beautiful woman flowers become embarrassing?”
“The second she thanked me for something I knew nothing about.”
“You didn’t tell her that, did you?”
“For some unknown reason, no, I didn’t.”
“Then what’s your problem?”
