list, including Bertie’s and Mavis’s well before the cut-off time the night before it’s delivered. Then I bag everyone’s separately after it’s delivered and lower stuff down to Sophia or Erica on their balcony to distribute.
The guys who deliver stand well back so I don’t feel awkward social distancing. Even better, it means I can order ingredients for cocktails when they’re available and surprise Sophia as well as being able to order her some shopping, which I leave outside my door for her to collect. I don’t know how but we still haven’t managed to see each other, but with one thing and another, we always miss that opportunity. Perhaps it’s not meant to be. Maybe someone somewhere is trying to tell us that this relationship only works when we aren’t together. Perhaps that’s what makes it so exciting. I brush that awkward thought away like a sticky piece of spider’s web you get stuck in your hair when walking through woods in autumn. I really don’t want to think about it right now.
I pick up the phone and dial Sam.
‘Hey, Sam, how’s it going?’
‘Someone is sounding on top of the heap today,’ he observes with a smile in his voice. ‘I’ve got Mum and Dad here on Zoom – hey, guys, here’s Jack.’
‘Hello, son,’ says Dad.
‘I can’t see him,’ says Mum. ‘Where is he? Is he next to Sam?’
‘No, dear, he’s on the phone, not on our computer screen.’
‘Are you all okay?’ I ask. These days you can never be sure with anyone; even if they’re feeling physically okay there’s a high chance they might be struggling mentally during this lockdown – because quite honestly, who isn’t?
‘We’re all fine thanks. Been doing the garden. Watching some television. Your mum’s got quite into her iPad now she knows how to use it,’ my dad says proudly.
‘It’s wonderful,’ she chips in. ‘I love it. You can type stuff in and it will tell you all about anything you want.’
I love Mum. She’s about twenty years behind everyone else but is super thrilled about everything and her enthusiasm is infectious.
‘Oh, I can hear Carrie,’ Sam says. ‘She must have woken up. Who wants to say hello?’
‘Oh definitely,’ says Mum.
‘If we must,’ says Dad at the same time.
‘Ken, that’s hardly very nice,’ she reproaches him. ‘This is your granddaughter you’re talking about.’
‘You know Dad’s joking,’ Sam intervenes. ‘I bet he’s the first trying to teach her about football.’
‘Probably true,’ I add.
Twenty minutes later when everyone has finished admiring the baby, I decide to announce my news.
‘Anyway, I have something to tell you. Do you remember that college course, the one on Sports Therapy?’
‘The one you were going to do years ago, but decided to run away to the beautiful Grecian Isles instead?’ Dad replies.
‘Yes that’s the one.’ I grit my teeth so I don’t make a hasty response I might regret. It’s all in the past and I know I did the wrong thing; I don’t need Dad to remind me of it.
‘I have an interview this week at the Chiropractic College.’
I am bombarded with noise. ‘Well done, Jack!’ Mum bellows. ‘I knew you’d come back to it.’
‘Eventually,’ adds Dad. He just can’t help himself.
‘Good work, mate! I knew you could do it. Hey, Tina, Sam’s got an interview for the Sports Therapy Course! She says well done, that’s amazing,’ Sam relays.
I eventually manage to get off the phone after all my family’s congratulations – which might be somewhat premature, as I might not get through the interview. But it’s a start. This return of optimism won’t be quashed now that I’ve taken steps in the right direction; I could even apply for a different college or something. Starting is always the hardest part; whoever said that is right.
I decide to spend my time reading up about the course and thinking about questions I could ask in the interview. I’m already looking forward to practising with Sophia later. She’s had loads of interview practice for her teaching jobs.
As the afternoon goes on, a feeling of anticipation, of tightly muted excitement, grows in the pit of my stomach until I can barely sit still. It’s ridiculous really. I mean it doesn’t even matter what Sophia looks like, but somehow I need to know. I have this overwhelming curiosity, which has been building and like an itchy mosquito bite you’ve been trying not to scratch, I desperately want to just catch a tiny glimpse of her. Just to see if she looks as I imagine