Five Years From Now
A Christmas Wedding
The Last Piece of My Heart
Keep reading for a preview of
The Minute I Saw You
by
Paige Toon
Chapter 1
Hello, hello…
There’s a good-looking man standing on the pavement outside the window. He’s talking on his mobile and his eyes are hidden behind sunglasses, but a slight frown is detectable on his brow.
When he turns toward the window, I see that his short dark hair is longer on top and sun-lightened to more of a caramel shade. It’s swept back from his forehead in a retro almost-fifties style.
He ends the call, shoves his phone into his pocket and disappears from view, only to reappear a second later when he pushes open the door to the shop.
‘Good morning!’ Abbey chirps, and we both sit up straighter as he takes off his sunglasses. ‘How can we help you?’
‘I have an appointment at eleven forty-five.’
While Abbey checks her desktop screen, he looks my way, a polite smile fixed in place.
‘Hello,’ I say, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
‘Hi,’ he replies, his folded sunglasses swinging from between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.
Blue eyes…
‘Sonny Denton?’ Abbey asks, snapping his attention back to her.
‘Yes,’ he confirms.
Sonny? His name is retro too.
‘It’s been over two years since your last eye test?’
‘Must be.’
‘Can I get you to fill out this form and check your details?’ She hands over a clipboard with paperwork attached, before adding, with a nod in my direction: ‘Hannah, our dispensing optician, will be with you shortly.’
I indicate the black leather seat inside the bay window opposite my desk. In the time it takes for him to walk the few metres across the room and sit down, Abbey and I have furtively cast each other cheeky grins.
That’s the last time I’ll dare to look at her for a while. A similarly hot client came in earlier this week and she enthusiastically licked her lips the moment his back was turned. Unfortunately, he spun around to ask her something, catching her in the act. I nearly choked on my tea.
Thankfully, this all went over the boss’s head. Umeko, the optometrist, owns this place. She’s kind and clever and has high standards that, quite understandably, she expects us to maintain. I’ve only been here for a few weeks so I’d rather not lose my job just yet, thanks.
It’s not uncommon for young people to come in here – Umeko’s is a small independent practice with a stylish (albeit slightly on-the-pricey side) range of eyewear that tends to appeal to a more designery crowd. We’re based in Newnham, a suburb of Cambridge and only a short walk south-west of the city centre. Our road and the ones nearby are lined with neat Victorian terraced houses, but this is a semi-detached red-brick corner building that we share with the pharmacy next door. There’s a lovely little delicatessen across the road and a hairdresser a few doors down. It’s a nice part of town and only a twenty-five-minute walk from the village of Grantchester, where I’m currently living.
Abbey and I spend most of our working days in the bright and airy front room. Abbey’s desk is up against the back wall. My desk is to the right, separated from Abbey by a central corridor and facing the bay window. Glasses displays are dotted all around.
Along the corridor are two consultation rooms, one occupied by Umeko. It’s my job to carry out pre-screening tests in the second room before handing clients over to Umeko for their main consultation. It’s where we’ll be headed as soon as Sonny has finished filling out his form.
‘All set?’ I ask as he gets to his feet.
‘Yep.’
I take the clipboard, giving it a quick once-over before glancing up at him. ‘You’re a photographer?’
‘Yes.’
He’s tall, but not toweringly so – six foot? A good head-height higher than me, and he’s wearing a denim shirt layered over a white T-shirt with slim-fitting charcoal-grey chinos.
‘That’s cool,’ I comment, noting two other important pieces of information: one, he lives in Barton, which is a ten-minute drive away, tops; and two, his date of birth places him at thirty-two. ‘We’ve got a couple of tests to do before you go through to Umeko. I’m sure you remember how it goes from the last time you were here.’
Avoiding Abbey’s gaze – I’m not taking any chances – I lead him down the corridor and into the first room on our right, inhaling a hint of spicy aftershave as he passes by.
‘Are you wearing contacts today?’
‘Yes, monthlies. I brought solution with me.’
‘Great. Can you take them out?’
His eyes are so blue. Azure blue, I’d call them. They’re startling against his dark lashes.
‘Have a seat and pop your chin on the rest,’ I say when he’s ready.
After taking pictures of the back of each eye, we switch to a second multifunctional machine so I can do a quick reading of his prescription.
‘Have you worked here long?’ he asks.
‘Only a few weeks.’
‘What happened to Mr Grumpy?’
He’s leaning back in his chair, smirking and gently swivelling from left to right.
‘If you’re talking about Bernard – and I wouldn’t like to presume – then he’s moved up to Scotland to be closer to his ailing parents.’
He grins. ‘Can’t say I’ll miss his halitosis.’
‘You haven’t got up close and personal with me yet.’
No, no.
No, no, no, no, no.
Those words did not just leave my lips.
Except, from the look on his face, it appears that they did. His eyes have widened, not to mention his grin.
‘I did not mean that the way it sounded.’
He laughs with delight, and despite my embarrassment, the sound makes me feel jittery.
‘One last test,’ I say through gritted teeth.
‘Is this the videogame one?’ he asks hopefully, sitting up straighter.
‘You’re thinking of the visual fields test.’
‘Yeah, you press a button every time a wiggly line appears around the edges.’
‘All the boys like that one,’ I say with a smile. ‘But no, I’m afraid it’s the pressure test.’ It assesses for risk of developing glaucoma. I lower the machine into its tonometer setting. ‘We’ll start with your right eye. Keep looking straight ahead with your eyes wide open.’
He flinches as three puffs of air are blasted into each eye. The procedure doesn’t hurt, but it’s not particularly pleasant either.
‘That’s me done for a bit.’ I gather together the printouts with the retinal images and test results. ‘I’ll go and see if Umeko is ready for you. Are you okay to wait here for a moment?’
‘Yep.’
Umeko is sitting at her desk, tapping away at her keyboard.
‘Sonny Denton is here to see you,’ I tell her.
‘Aah, Sonny,’ she says with a smile, taking the paperwork from me.