She tucks her hair behind her ear, she tilts her head to the side, she is like slow motion to me; she is music to my ears and balm to my soul.
‘You’ve taught me to slow down my mind a lot,’ I tell her, ‘and give my head some peace.’
She laughs at that.
‘It’s always good to give your head some peace,’ she tells me. ‘And your heart … don’t underestimate yourself either, David. You give a lot out. You’re a wonderful listener.’
‘Me?’
‘For sure,’ she says. ‘I’ve spilled out a lot of stuff to you and you’ve been great with your listening ear and patient ways.’
‘Thanks. That’s nice to hear,’ I reply. No matter how down I feel, Kate always seems to know how to raise me up and here she is doing it now once more.
I know that many would probably say that our bond, our connection, our link to each other is all representation of what happened that day we met in the doorway. It’s association, it’s a memory of hope, it’s a safety net and the knowledge of what could have been, but I think we both know now that it’s grown to become so much more. We’ve joked about our attraction at first sight, and of how it still lingers now, but it’s not a laughing matter at all. Our backgrounds are so different, yet we have so, so much in common too.
‘So, tell me more about the charity work you did in China?’ she asks, tucking her hair behind her ear. ‘You mentioned it a few times on the phone. You seem pretty passionate about it?’
I glance away, feeling my cheeks burn.
‘You’re being modest,’ she says. ‘You don’t have to be so modest. Tell me.’
‘I got into it by accident, really,’ I say, trying to play it down a little. ‘It was through school and Lesley was travelling a lot at the time so I just thought I’d throw my name in the hat when they asked for volunteers to go there to help after the earthquake. I loved the challenge. By doing so I discovered a side of me I didn’t even know existed.’
Kate is all ears.
‘I hear you,’ she says with a smile. ‘I grew up watching my mum campaign locally for equality and women’s rights and I think it rubbed off on me, so I know what you mean. It’s so important to keep pushing the boundaries and challenging ourselves in life. I think so, anyhow.’
‘Me too,’ I agree. ‘I’d love to do more voluntary work eventually.’
‘Ha, check us out. We’ll be competing for the Nobel Peace Prize soon,’ Kate jokes, clasping her hands beneath her chin. ‘You’re a bit of a force, David. You come across as quiet sometimes but I can see a fiery, competitive streak in you somewhere. It’s seeping through. I can see it.’
She laughs and I fear, as I think she does too, that my competitive streak isn’t the only thing revealing itself this evening. There’s a heavy feeling in the air yet our conversation flows, and I know that the elephant in the room is getting bigger.
I’m attracted to her and I shouldn’t be. We are playing with fire and if we keep this up, we’re all going to get burnt.
‘Oh, this looks delicious,’ Kate tells the waiter with a charming smile when our dessert arrives, and when he nods at her in return, I see with my own eyes how she has a magic that very few other people have.
She was right. This is too much.
Kate has the ability to make everyone she meets feel special and I doubt it’s only me she can cast her spell on. I imagine there are many people she touches in her job and in her daily life. She is one in a million, and I will always be grateful for this second chance of getting to know her.
We eat our last course with a sense of trepidation and sadness for what was a wonderful, funny, reflective and poignant evening together coming to an end. When it’s time to find taxis to take us once more in our very different directions, we both find it so hard to say goodbye.
I stare at the ground, dreading the moment we’ll part to go our separate ways.
‘I hope you have a wonderful time with your mum,’ she says to me when we stand outside under her yellow umbrella as two taxis pull into line in front of us.
I take a deep breath.
‘Yes, I’m looking forward to surprising her,’ I say to Kate, whose face is full of genuine concern. ‘This evening was so perfect in every way. You’ve made this trip even better than I thought it could be.’
I can feel her breath on my face as we stand so close beneath this shield from the rain.
‘I really, really enjoyed seeing you again after all this time,’ I whisper.
‘So did I,’ she says to me, licking her lips and looking up into my eyes as our bodies move closer. We breathe in sync, in and out as the rain lashes down around us. ‘So, until next time – you look after yourself, David Campbell. Promise?’
‘I will, I promise,’ I say to her in return. Our breath mixes now in the cold, damp air. Our faces are so close. ‘And you look after yourself too, and as always, if you ever need me, you know where I am.’
