make major strides toward getting Luke an awesome present, I went back to Hamleys and found a fabulous fluffy unicorn that Clemmie will adore. I’m so ahead of the game!
I’m supposed to be picking Minnie up from Suze’s house, but I decide to pop home first and hide the unicorn. It’s pretty enormous, but I can just about manhandle it—
“Becky.”
As I hear a familiar raspy voice, I jump and turn round. Craig is loping toward me out of the station, dressed in the same battered leather jacket as before and black jeans covered in some sort of graffiti.
“Oh, hi!” I exclaim, shifting the unicorn to see him properly. “Craig! How are you?”
“We must have been on the same train and didn’t know it.” He smiles at me. “Here, give me something to carry.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Awkwardly, I hand over the unicorn. He peers curiously at it, then falls into step with me as we head along the main street.
Craig walks with a different rhythm from Luke—in fact, everything he does has a different rhythm. He’s far more measured. And he won’t be rushed. I’m remembering that now. (I used to find it really annoying.)
He lights a cigarette, then looks at me. “You want one?”
“No, thanks,” I say. I watch as he inhales and blows out a cloud of smoke, then add, “How are you finding Letherby?”
“It’s just what I need,” he says musingly. “A bit of quiet, you know? Somewhere totally sleepy, middle of nowhere, nothing going on. Perfect.”
I feel a bit defensive on Letherby’s behalf. There’s not exactly nothing going on here. There’s the village shop and Suze’s shop, and there’s the Lamb and Flag, which does a really good Sunday lunch. But I don’t point that out; instead, I say, “That’s probably what you need.”
“Telling me.” He nods heavily. “I’ve just been on tour for two months solid. Before that I was in Kiev for six months. I mean, you know the scene in Kiev.” He glances at me. “The partying’s insane.”
Kiev? I don’t know anything about Kiev except I’ve eaten chicken Kiev. But I’m not admitting that.
“Oh, Kiev!” I nod, trying to sound world-weary and experienced. “God, yes. That scene. Extreme. It’s like…crazy!”
“It’s the new Berlin.” Craig blows out another puff of smoke.
“Yes,” I agree fervently. “That’s what I always say too. It’s the new Berlin.”
“Now, Tbilisi,” continues Craig thoughtfully. “That has a great scene.”
“Tbilisi!” I nod enthusiastically. “Awesome. It’s the new Kiev,” I risk.
Where’s Tbilisi, again?
“So you’ve been?” Craig looks at me with interest. “When did you go there?”
“Go there?” I echo, playing for time, and crinkle up my eyes as though trying to remember. “Hmm. Was it Tbilisi…or Tenerife? Anyway, are you still in touch with the others from the band?” I add, hastily changing the subject.
“Jeez, no.” Craig looks surprised at the idea. “I lost touch with those losers. But, hey, Becky.” He focuses on me as though for the first time. “A bunch of us are going to Warsaw for the weekend, check out a new club. The guys from Blink Rage, a few others…You want to come?”
I stare at him, gripped. He’s inviting me to go partying in Warsaw with Blink Rage? For a moment I’m there, wearing electric-blue eye shadow and amazing shoes (which I would need to buy), jumping around to some banging song in a nightclub, and people are calling me “the Girl with the Great Eye Shadow,” except in Polish….
And then I blink and remember that Minnie’s got ballet on Saturday. And I’ve promised Suze to look after her three children all day Sunday while she and Tarkie go to some family friend’s memorial service. And we’re having a supermarket delivery.
“It sounds amazing,” I say regretfully. “But I have commitments. Another time, maybe?”
“Sure,” says Craig, in that easy way of his. We walk on a little longer, then he says casually, “I always used to think about you, Becky. Used to wonder what you were up to now.”
“Me too,” I say at once. This isn’t strictly true, but I can hardly say, “Actually, I forgot all about you.” We walk a few more steps, then I add carelessly, “So, am I what you expected?”
“Hmm.” Craig considers for a moment, then looks up. “Honestly? I thought you’d be more edgy.”
I stare at him, stricken, More edgy?
“I’m edgy!” I say, trying to laugh lightly. “God! I’m so edgy.”
“Really?” says Craig quizzically. “Because what I’m seeing is a sleepy village, husband, kid, tweed…” He looks down at the unicorn. “And