that particular relationship who still believed that.’
‘Thank you, Dan.’
‘Well . . .’ Sam reaches across the table, and grabs my hand. ‘That was the thing. I got to know him first, and saw the things he did for other people like Mrs Barraclough, Billy, and – no offence – even you, and I realized what a lovely, decent guy he was, and – again, no offence, Dan – there aren’t that many of them around. And when I saw how much he wanted Jane back, how much he obviously cared about her . . .’ She smiles, and squeezes my fingers tightly. ‘I also knew she’d broken his heart, and saw how much that had hurt him, and so I knew he’d never do the same to me, because he’d never want to inflict that kind of pain on someone else. And then, as the new – or rather, the old Edward started to emerge . . . I mean, I fancied him, obviously. But the fact that he was prepared to work so hard, put himself through so much agony, and make so many changes, just to try and win her back, well, I thought to myself: he must really love her to do such a thing. And I remember thinking how lucky she was, and hoping that one day I’d meet someone who felt the same way about me. I just didn’t know at the time that I already had.’
I don’t know what to say. I’ve never really heard Sam talk like this before. And I’m not the only one; there’s a silence round the table, and I can tell that even number-one cynic Dan is touched, as he shakes his head in admiration.
‘Wow.’
Sam’s blushing now, and I’m pretty sure I must be too. ‘You asked.’
Suddenly, there’s a loud sob from Madeleine’s end of the table. ‘That’s beautiful.’
‘Which is why it’s a shame I can’t prove that to you by us having a proper big wedding with all the trimmings,’ I say, handing Madeleine a serviette at the same time.
Sam shakes her head. ‘You don’t need to prove it to me, Edward. Not like that, anyway.’
‘Well, maybe I want to,’ I say, sounding like a petulant teenager.
‘I thought we’d discussed this,’ says Sam. ‘Is it still that important to you?’
I gaze across the table at her for a moment, then stick my bottom lip out childishly. ‘No,’ I say, implying the exact opposite.
There’s an awkward silence, then Dan taps his fork against the rim of his glass. ‘We’re still here, by the way.’
‘Sorry. So, er, can I get anyone anything?’ I say, picking up the After Eight box and handing it round. Despite the number of wrappers still in there, it feels alarmingly light, and I’m hoping I haven’t eaten them all.
Madeleine dabs her eyes with the serviette, then looks at her watch. ‘No, thank you. Thanks for a lovely evening, but I ought to be going,’ she says, getting up from the table. ‘It’s a school night, and I’ve got a long walk home.’
Quick as a flash, Dan’s out of his chair. ‘I ought to get off too. Hey, Mad Elaine, we should swap details,’ he says, adding ‘in case we need to discuss wedding stuff,’ when he sees me glaring at him.
‘Sure,’ she says. ‘What’s the best way to get hold of you?’
Dan, to his credit, doesn’t give her his usual ‘with both hands’ answer. ‘Email’s probably best. Just use my name at hotmail dot com.’
‘Hot male?’ says Madeleine. ‘I could have probably guessed that last part.’
Dan looks at me awkwardly, as if to say it isn’t his fault, so I just roll my eyes. ‘I’ll give you a lift home if you like,’ he says, walking her to the door.
Madeleine hesitates for a moment, then smiles at him. ‘Okay, then. Ozzie will be wondering where I am.’
‘Who’s Ozzie?’ says Dan, his face falling suddenly. ‘Your boyfriend?’
Madeleine laughs. ‘No. My cat.’
‘Ah. A cat.’ says Dan, and I brace myself, thinking that she’s fallen at the final hurdle; Dan has a number of theories about women who own cats, and none of them are complimentary. Instead, he smiles broadly. ‘I mean, aah . A
‘Thank you, Dan.’
‘Well . . .’ Sam reaches across the table, and grabs my hand. ‘That was the thing. I got to know him first, and saw the things he did for other people like Mrs Barraclough, Billy, and – no offence – even you, and I realized what a lovely, decent guy he was, and – again, no offence, Dan – there aren’t that many of them around. And when I saw how much he wanted Jane back, how much he obviously cared about her . . .’ She smiles, and squeezes my fingers tightly. ‘I also knew she’d broken his heart, and saw how much that had hurt him, and so I knew he’d never do the same to me, because he’d never want to inflict that kind of pain on someone else. And then, as the new – or rather, the old Edward started to emerge . . . I mean, I fancied him, obviously. But the fact that he was prepared to work so hard, put himself through so much agony, and make so many changes, just to try and win her back, well, I thought to myself: he must really love her to do such a thing. And I remember thinking how lucky she was, and hoping that one day I’d meet someone who felt the same way about me. I just didn’t know at the time that I already had.’
I don’t know what to say. I’ve never really heard Sam talk like this before. And I’m not the only one; there’s a silence round the table, and I can tell that even number-one cynic Dan is touched, as he shakes his head in admiration.
‘Wow.’
Sam’s blushing now, and I’m pretty sure I must be too. ‘You asked.’
Suddenly, there’s a loud sob from Madeleine’s end of the table. ‘That’s beautiful.’
‘Which is why it’s a shame I can’t prove that to you by us having a proper big wedding with all the trimmings,’ I say, handing Madeleine a serviette at the same time.
Sam shakes her head. ‘You don’t need to prove it to me, Edward. Not like that, anyway.’
‘Well, maybe I want to,’ I say, sounding like a petulant teenager.
‘I thought we’d discussed this,’ says Sam. ‘Is it still that important to you?’
I gaze across the table at her for a moment, then stick my bottom lip out childishly. ‘No,’ I say, implying the exact opposite.
There’s an awkward silence, then Dan taps his fork against the rim of his glass. ‘We’re still here, by the way.’
‘Sorry. So, er, can I get anyone anything?’ I say, picking up the After Eight box and handing it round. Despite the number of wrappers still in there, it feels alarmingly light, and I’m hoping I haven’t eaten them all.
Madeleine dabs her eyes with the serviette, then looks at her watch. ‘No, thank you. Thanks for a lovely evening, but I ought to be going,’ she says, getting up from the table. ‘It’s a school night, and I’ve got a long walk home.’
Quick as a flash, Dan’s out of his chair. ‘I ought to get off too. Hey, Mad Elaine, we should swap details,’ he says, adding ‘in case we need to discuss wedding stuff,’ when he sees me glaring at him.
‘Sure,’ she says. ‘What’s the best way to get hold of you?’
Dan, to his credit, doesn’t give her his usual ‘with both hands’ answer. ‘Email’s probably best. Just use my name at hotmail dot com.’
‘Hot male?’ says Madeleine. ‘I could have probably guessed that last part.’
Dan looks at me awkwardly, as if to say it isn’t his fault, so I just roll my eyes. ‘I’ll give you a lift home if you like,’ he says, walking her to the door.
Madeleine hesitates for a moment, then smiles at him. ‘Okay, then. Ozzie will be wondering where I am.’
‘Who’s Ozzie?’ says Dan, his face falling suddenly. ‘Your boyfriend?’
Madeleine laughs. ‘No. My cat.’
‘Ah. A cat.’ says Dan, and I brace myself, thinking that she’s fallen at the final hurdle; Dan has a number of theories about women who own cats, and none of them are complimentary. Instead, he smiles broadly. ‘I mean, aah . A
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