that place knowing what I’m about to do?’
‘OK, Florence. Florence? Florence, listen to me. Are you on your own?’
‘No, I’ve got Marmalade with me,’ I replied, ‘but not for much longer.’ Another wail. ‘And what if he can hear me now? What if he can understand what I’m saying?’
‘He can’t understand you. When are you going to the vet?’
‘I don’t know! Later probably.’ More wailing.
‘Where’s Rory?’
A sniff. ‘He’s busy sorting out the fish!’
‘What fish? No, actually, never mind. What about your sisters?’
‘Mia’s at work and you probably know more about Ruby than I do.’
‘What do you mean?’
Another sniff. ‘I haven’t seen her since last night. Where’s Eugene?’
‘Upstairs in travel so I’m behind the till. But if you can hang on… half an hour… I’ll jump on my bike and come with you.’
I was so grateful I let out another whale noise. ‘Would you?’ I didn’t care who was with me. I would have taken Patricia to the vet with me by that stage. I just couldn’t face it on my own.
‘Course. Text me your address and I’ll be there.’
‘Thank you,’ I said again. I hung up and sent him the address, then curled myself around Marmalade’s basket on the sofa, weeping into the cushions. The TV schedule had moved on to Loose Women and I could hear them all shouting about their pelvic floor muscles, but not even that could distract me.
It was only when the doorbell went half an hour later that I got up and glanced at myself in the hall mirror. My face was red and swollen, so I pressed the back of fingers to my cheeks to cool them before opening the door.
Zach grimaced, his helmet under one arm. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, reaching out with his other one to pull me into a hug.
I let my face fall against his jacket before pulling back again and wiping the tears from the leather.
He laughed. ‘Don’t be daft. It’s been through worse than this.’
‘Come in,’ I said, standing aside. ‘Do you want a cup of tea or…’ I trailed off, unsure what the alternative was. ‘Do you want a cup of tea or should we go straight to the vet and murder my cat?’ seemed too stark.
‘Up to you,’ he said, stepping in and closing the door.
‘A tea,’ I said, answering my own question. ‘It might help me compose myself. I’m sorry to drag you away from the shop.’ I gestured for him to follow me into the kitchen.
‘It’s fine. Don’t worry. Eugene and Norris can manage.’
I flicked the kettle on and he put his helmet down on the table. ‘Nice place.’
This mingling of my work life with my home felt strange. I’d envisaged meeting Zach in my kitchen a few times recently, but never because it was me who’d invited him. As I reached into the cupboard for tea bags and pulled a milk carton from the fridge, I was grateful that I could stand with my back to him. Not because I looked so puffy, but because it meant I could ask the following question without my face betraying any sort of embarrassment or awkwardness.
‘Anyway, how was last night?’
‘Huh?’
I turned from the fridge.
‘Last night with Ruby?’
‘Oh.’ He nodded. ‘Yeah good, great, actually.’
‘Cool,’ I replied, turning back to pour milk into each mug. He sounded astonishingly relaxed about discussing his date with my sister.
‘Yeah. I think she was pleased by the end. We got some good shots.’
‘What?’ I said, spinning round. ‘What shots?’
‘Headshots.’
‘Headshots?’
‘Yeah, you know, those little portraits that models need for their portfolio?’
‘I know what they are. I just didn’t realize that’s what you guys were doing.’
‘What else would we be doing?’
I scanned his face to see if he was teasing but he looked genuinely confused.
‘Nothing, never mind.’ I reached for the kettle.
‘Wait a minute, did you think something was happening between us?’
I stared harder at the mugs. ‘Er, maybe. She asked for your number and then said she was seeing you and didn’t mention the headshots, so, yeah, I guess. What else was I supposed to think?’
Zach laughed. ‘That explains it.’
‘Explains what?’
‘Why you asked about whether she’d texted me. And about seeing her. It all makes sense. Ha! I thought you were being weird last week.’
At this, I spun around. ‘What? I wasn’t the one being weird. You were.’
He laughed again. ‘Only because I thought something was up with you. And I’ve been tired, I suppose, with everything at the shop.’ He shook his head to himself. ‘You see? This is why humans should