‘Cougar,’ replied Pepper and Samuel at the same time.
‘That’s it! Marvellous!’
‘Is that what you’re looking for, then?’ Pepper asked Samuel. ‘Someone older and wiser?’
‘Someone non-amphibian would do,’ he drawled. ‘I don’t really have a type. As long as she finds my jokes funny, then I’m hers.’
‘Oh dear,’ Pepper said gravely. ‘Looks like you’ll be alone forever, in that case.’
‘For that,’ Samuel said, pushing back his chair, ‘you can help me with pudding.’
Half an hour and four bowls of very good treacle tart and ice cream later, they retired to the sofa area, Josephine sinking down into an armchair that looked older than all four of them combined and Pepper’s mother perching awkwardly on a swivel chair. She had not said much throughout the meal, but she seemed to Pepper to be more relaxed than usual and had laughed along with the rest of them rather than going off into one of her vague trances. It was clear her mother liked Samuel, and Pepper wondered if she would take as quickly to Finn. That’s if she ever got the chance to meet him. She could not imagine her mum boarding a flight to Germany to visit him, even if she did seem stronger in herself. She was still too tied to home, too anchored to the past – Pepper understood, because at the start of this strange, eventful summer, she had felt the same way. Now, however, she found herself torn – she wanted to be in two places at the same time.
Samuel had put on some music, and Pepper sat listening for a moment, enjoying the gentle flickering of the candles and the soft banter being traded from sofa to squashy armchair. She felt at ease here, more so than she had in a long time, and wondered if it was to do with the setting or the company. Certainly, it had been ages since she’d been around her mother and not felt twitchy, but things had changed between them since the fire. Her mum seemed more engaged, more interested in what she was saying or doing, more willing to offer support. It was a nice feeling, but Pepper didn’t know if she quite trusted it yet. When it came to her mother, the ground was always fragile, and there was no way Pepper would embark upon a tramp across a frozen lake unless she had a very strong rope to hold onto.
Somehow they had got around to the subject of her dad’s wedding, and Pepper turned her head away from the candles, ready to re-engage.
‘What was that?’
‘I was just telling Samuel here that your date has fallen through,’ Josephine said.
‘It has?’ Pepper’s mother piped up. ‘That’s a shame.’
She couldn’t be sure if the comment was genuine or sarcastic. No Finn meant her mum would have her all to herself. She was just about to reply, when her mother went on, ‘Why don’t you come instead, Samuel?’
‘MUM!’
Josephine looked between them. ‘I agree,’ she said, and Pepper rolled her eyes. ‘I think that is an excellent idea. Weddings are utterly tiresome most of the time,’ she went on. ‘If Samuel goes along with you, it’s bound to be a hoot.’
‘I love you too,’ Samuel said, blowing Josephine a kiss.
‘But there’s no time,’ Pepper protested. ‘It’s in Guernsey,’ she added to Samuel. ‘So, you’d have to get a flight, and the hotel is probably booked up by now.’
‘Samuel can have your room,’ said her mother. ‘I booked a double, so we can share.’
‘But––’
‘But nothing.’ Josephine was clapping her hands now. Her stick had slipped down from where she’d balanced it against the arm of her chair and Pepper bent to retrieve it. ‘It makes perfect sense – your mother and I agree, so I am afraid you’re overruled.’
‘But what about Samuel?’ Pepper said, feeling exasperated. ‘I’m pretty sure he gets a say, too.’
They all turned to find him smiling broadly.
‘I’m game,’ he said. ‘As long as it’s all right with you? I’ve never been to the Channel Islands before – kinda fancy it.’
How had this somehow become her decision?
Pepper could not help but think of Finn, and how put out he would be when he learnt that Samuel was attending the wedding in his place. She had been so looking forward to having him on her arm, proving to her parents that she was not the sad habitual single after all, that she had found a wonderful man who loved her just as much as she loved him. But everything with Finn felt sullied now and difficult. He probably would still have come to the wedding had she asked him, but until now, the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind.
She looked towards her mother, who was smiling expectantly, and to Josephine, whose mischievous twinkle was waiting. Samuel was harder to read, but if Pepper had to guess, she would have said he was hopeful of a yes.
‘Of course you should come,’ she said, groaning good-naturedly when Josephine whooped. ‘But don’t blame me if none of the bridesmaids agree to give you their number.’
Samuel laughed.
‘How did you know that was what I was thinking?’
Pepper tapped her temple.
‘Telepathic, obviously. Now, if you point me in the direction of your loo?’
‘Upstairs, door on the–– Actually,’ he grinned. ‘If you’re telepathic, you’ll probably work it out for yourself.’
Pepper could still hear the three of them laughing as she scampered up the carpeted stairs and smiled to herself as she tried the first door. It was an airing cupboard.
The second door she opened was clearly a bedroom, so she shut it quickly, glimpsing only a white duvet cover and dark-blue pillows. The third door led into a tiny boxroom that housed a desk, shelves and a complicated array of exercise equipment and weights. Pepper was about to go into reverse when she spotted something vaguely familiar tucked in beside the computer. Checking over her shoulder, she stepped quietly into the room, sure she must be mistaken. But no, it was what she’d thought it was.
‘Hello, again,’ she said.
It was the ugly toy cat from the fête. She could not believe he’d kept it.
Chapter 43
Pepper had gone from feeling anxious about her father’s wedding to genuinely looking forward to it.
She was sad not to have Finn with her, but relieved that Samuel was now going to be there in his place. He was so relaxed and cheerful – and the effect he had on her mother felt near-revolutionary to Pepper. As the three of them drove towards Gatwick Airport, her mother, who was on the backseat, could not seem to stop giggling at everything Samuel said, and Pepper, who was driving, kept swivelling her eyes to the rear-view mirror, increasingly bemused by what she was witnessing.
Her mother never giggled.
If Samuel was feeling in any way awkward about being Pepper’s plus-one for the weekend, he was keeping it well hidden. But then, she could not imagine him ever feeling ill at ease in any given situation – that was a trait he shared with Finn. Just as Pepper had been drawn to the magnetism of one man’s unabashed confidence, so she was allured by the other. Finn had encouraged her to go after what she wanted, while Samuel made all the big stuff seem smaller. That must be the remnants of the doctor in him, she guessed – if he told her that everything was going to be all right, she would believe him.