Page 27
‘I don’t think I could compartmentalise my life that easily.’
‘Why not?’
‘Look at this weekend for starters. Yes, we’re out on a jolly, visiting some vineyards and so on, but I’ll still have to work when I get back, because I need to have Jeremiah’s presentation as slick as it possibly can be for Monday morning.’
‘And is that on your mind now?’
‘Not at the forefront. At least, not until I mentioned it just now, but it is there in the background all the time, yes.’
‘So this Jeremiah, he’s stealing your leisure time.’
‘I think that’s a bit harsh.’
‘That doesn’t stop it being true. All the while he’s in the back of your mind, along with this presentation, you’re not going to be able to let go and live completely in the moment. It’s pernicious. You tell yourself it doesn’t matter because it’s “only” the weekend but, before you know it, you’re taking your laptop on holiday, “just in case” people need to get hold of you.’
I sigh. ‘I have been known to do that.’
His eyes meet mine and, for the first time, I notice their colour. On initial glance, they appear blue but they’re actually grey with little flecks of blue around the iris. I’m so absorbed by them that I almost miss the fact that he’s speaking. ‘Actually, in the interests of full disclosure, I do take my laptop and I sometimes know about communications when I’m on holiday but, in my defence, it’s my own business so I can’t exactly delegate. I do try to limit the time I spend on it to an hour a day, maximum.’
‘You never told me it was your own business.’
He grins. ‘I never told you what was my own business?’
‘Argh. You’re infuriating.’
‘Weekend. I’ve already said more than I should.’
‘Fine. So if we can’t talk about what you do, and you don’t want me to talk about what I do because, as you put it, it’s letting Jeremiah steal my leisure time, what are we going to talk about?’
‘What do you normally talk about with your friends?’
‘I don’t know. Just stuff, I suppose.’
‘Such as?’
‘General updates – who’s doing what with who. We’re at that stage where it’s mainly friends getting engaged, married or having babies. We’ll talk a bit about our work, but not in detail. “Ten things I hate about my boss” – that kind of thing.’
‘If there are ten things you hate about your boss, I think you might want to consider changing jobs,’ he observes.
‘There aren’t,’ I reassure him. ‘I actually get on pretty well with him, on the whole.’
‘Hmm. I do have some friends getting married, but as you won’t know them, that’s going to be a pretty short conversation. What about your family?’
‘What about them?’
‘Do you have brothers or sisters? Parents still married? Any juicy family feuds?’
‘No family feuds that I’m aware of, although I nearly caused one with my hair and there could be another one brewing if my sister finds herself unable to use the hot tub on her honeymoon.’
He pauses for a moment. ‘Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask about your hair, but couldn’t find a way to do it tactfully. It’s very striking – am I allowed to say that?’
‘It was supposed to be a temporary, one-night-only dye but, as you can see…’ I run my fingers through my silver hair, holding it out so he can get the best view of the colour.
‘For what it’s worth, I think it really suits you,’ he says. ‘I mean, that’s probably a ridiculous thing to say given that I have no idea how it looked before but… May I ask what your natural colour is, or is that a bit like asking a woman her age?’
I laugh. ‘I think we’ve left the nineteenth century behind. I’m thirty and normally blonde. I will draw the line at telling you my weight, bra or dress size, though.’
He smiles back. ‘Those were exactly the topics I was planning to move on to. Oh well, you’ll just have to tell me how a hot tub could cause a family feud instead.’
