Page 65 of You Were Always the One

‘That’s wonderful news,’ she says. ‘I’m so pleased for you.’ She stops. ‘Where’s Emma living?’

‘She’s moving in with her new man,’ I say.

‘Goodness,’ she says. ‘That all seems to have happened rather quickly. So where is this place you’ve found?’

‘Um, France,’ I say, slightly uncertainly.

‘France? I wasn’t expecting that.’ She pauses. ‘I can’t say I’m surprised. Good for you, darling. It’s always good to get away.’

‘Thank you.’ I hesitate. ‘I wanted to ask a favour. Do you have a little space in your barn where I could store a few things?’

She laughs. ‘So that’s why you called. Of course I do. And you know, don’t you, there’s always room for you here, too.’

‘Thank you, Mum.’ There’s a lump in my throat. As mums go, I struck solid gold with mine.

‘It’s none of my business, but does this have anything to do with Holly?’ she says.

‘I suppose partly,’ I say hesitantly. ‘I’ve sent her a message. But she hasn’t replied.’

‘Oh, Rigby.’ There’s disapproval in her voice. ‘I know I don’t know everything that’s going on in your life. But don’t you think you ought to call her?’

Which is all very well. But Holly’s made it clear that Miles comes first – maybe rightly so, given how sick he is. All I’ve done is give her space. And she knows she can call me if she wants to. Over the next couple of days, as my leaving date looms closer, I immerse myself in work. It’s never felt more important to make a success of this. In my Holly book, as I call it, I outline our twisting paths. The ups and downs that star-crossed lovers so often face, the different directions that pull them. The difficult choices until, in the end, it isn’t difficult at all. But life never goes according to plan, while every story has the ability to spring surprises.

NINETEEN YEARS AGO

A couple of weeks after I nearly lost Skye, we boarded a flight back to England where, until we found jobs and a place to live, we went to stay with my mother. For me, it felt like a culture shock, but knowing what it meant to Skye, it was one I was determined to embrace.

‘It’s wonderful having you both here.’ A fully-fledged homebird, my mother was in her element. ‘You must stay as long as you can.’

‘Thanks, Mum.’ I glanced at Skye. ‘We haven’t exactly decided where to live yet.’

‘Of course you haven’t. You need to find jobs.’ She fixed her eyes on me. ‘So, Monty. What are you going to do?’

I felt myself squirm slightly. Now, I loved my mum, but under her scrutiny, it was like being a teenager all over again. ‘I haven’t decided yet. But I’m working on it.’ I glanced at Skye. ‘Skye’s going to start nursing training.’

‘Oh.’ My mother smiled at her. ‘I can just see you doing that.’ She turned to me. ‘We just need to find something for you, then.’

I didn’t need my mother’s help. And here was the thing. I had my heart set on writing a book, the only problem being I didn’t know if it would make me any money.

One night in the pub, Skye and I got talking to this couple.

‘Have you thought about being cabin crew? The airline I work for is desperate,’ she said – her name was Emma. In another life, she might have been my type – if I wasn’t with Skye and Emma wasn’t with her boyfriend.

‘Me?’ You might as well have told me I’d fly to the moon. ‘Me serve drinks to passengers?’

‘There’s a little more to it than that.’ When she looked taken aback, I realised I’d put my foot in it. ‘Isn’t there, Archie?’ She turned to her boyfriend.

In all this, Skye seemed settled. Loving her training, she seemed to have found the sense of purpose she’d been missing.

‘I feel like I can really make a difference to people,’ she said. ‘I hadn’t realised how important that was before.’

‘That’s great,’ I said. ‘They’re lucky to have you.’ I was genuinely pleased for her. But at the same time, it made me all the more aware that I was missing something.

OCTOBER

22

RIGGS