Cathy gave him a shy smile before lowering her gaze. ‘He’s a beautiful dog.’
‘You want him?’ the man said.
Cathy looked up to see him grin. It was hard not to notice that he had a lovely grin – sort of naughty; not the bad-boy kind of naughty, but an old-fashioned kind of naughty. Fun, harmless, a bit cheeky. He was probably about her age – maybe more mid-thirties than late – and had brown hair and hazel eyes. Even though she knew they’d never met, Cathy couldn’t help thinking he looked vaguely familiar.
‘I don’t think I’d be able to control him,’ Cathy said.
‘Neither can I,’ the man replied with that naughty grin again. His gaze lingered on her for a moment. But then he turned to the path again and let out a shrill whistle.
‘Guin! Come here!’
She watched as he suddenly gave chase. Guin was edging rather too close to the water’s edge and Cathy didn’t blame the man for wanting to make sure he didn’t fall in. She saw him finally catch up and put the dog back on his leash, and continued to watch as they strode off together, so briskly that they’d soon disappeared beyond a curve on the path.
Cathy walked on for another ten minutes, lost in thought, until it suddenly occurred to her that the snowy landscape and the muffled calm of the canal had been forgotten, and that for the last ten minutes her thoughts had been almost entirely taken up by the man she’d just met. She shook herself. It was one thing to be lonely from time to time but quite another to fantasise about a stranger she’d probably never meet again. Unless…
Inwardly she chastised herself with a little embarrassed laugh. Walk the canal path every day just in case she saw him there again? How ridiculous! Perhaps there was a part of her that now wished she had a man in her life just so she wouldn’t be quite so alone, but that kind of behaviour seemed a bit desperate, even to her. Love would come in its own sweet time. At least, that’s what she’d been telling herself ever since she and Jonas had gone their separate ways. And perhaps it was coming, but God, was it taking its time!
By the time Cathy got to the market building her toes were numb, despite the thick socks inside her boots, as were her fingers and the end of her nose. But her cheeks had a rosy glow and she felt as if her lungs had been given a good spring clean.
‘Morning,’ Fleur said. ‘You got here OK, then? Radio says traffic is terrible on the ring road.’
‘I didn’t get the bus so I didn’t get caught in it,’ Cathy said, taking her coat off and storing it in a cubbyhole beneath the counter, along with her handbag.
‘Wise choice,’ Fleur replied. She’d already made two mugs of tea and handed one to Cathy. ‘You walked then? Nice morning for it.’
‘I thought so.’ Cathy took the tea from her, fingers tingling as the heat spread through them. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Can’t complain.’ Fleur pulled a hanky from her pocket and gave her nose a gentle blow. ‘How was your class?’
‘Oh, it was lovely!’ Cathy said.
Fleur smiled. ‘I told you it would be.’
‘I mean, I was nervous but everyone was so nice and encouraging and they all seemed to enjoy it. Lots of them took the photocopies of the recipes I gave them too, and they’re all going to try some of them at home, even before next week’s lesson. I told them to take photos if they could and to let me know how they got on with them – you know, if they were straightforward enough, easy enough to do.’
‘I’m sure they’ll be fine…’
Fleur stopped and looked expectantly at her.
‘What?’ Cathy asked.
‘Where’s our cake? I’ve made you tea… now you have to uphold your end of the bargain.’
Cathy laughed and reached beneath the counter for her bag. She took out a smallish Tupperware container.
‘Bloody hell – is that all we’re getting?’ Fleur asked.
‘Sorry, but everything else got eaten or taken home,’ Cathy said.
Fleur gave a sigh of mock impatience. ‘Alright then, so I’m an afterthought. Soon forgotten for all your new friends. Let’s see then, what have you managed to salvage for me? I’m so hungry I’d eat dog biscuits if that’s what you’d brought.’
The mention of dog biscuits briefly brought to mind Cathy’s encounter with Guin, the handsome Alsatian, and his rather more handsome owner, but she dismissed it instantly, that little voice in her head chastising her once again.
‘It’s only banana loaf,’ Cathy said.
‘Only banana loaf? That’s my favourite! OK, so you’re forgiven.’
Cathy opened the tub and Fleur reached in for a slice.
‘You want to know what did happen yesterday?’ Fleur asked as she munched.
Cathy frowned. ‘What?’
‘That man came to the stall again for more flowers. Either his wife is the best wife on the planet or he’s having an affair.’
‘Jonas?’
‘The one you used to go out with?’
‘Yes. He came again?’
‘Uh-huh. Not that I’m complaining – it’s all money to me. But he did look very disappointed that you weren’t here.’
‘Did he?’
Fleur reached into the tub that Cathy had completely forgotten she was still holding for another slice of cake. ‘Oh, there’s two left after this – I’ll let you have those.’
Cathy gave a vague nod, though she wasn’t really listening and she didn’t really care about the cake after all, even though she’d worked up enough of an appetite during her walk in that she’d really been looking forward to it.
Don’t be stupid, she told herself sternly. Expecting there to be anything in this is even more ridiculous than fantasising about a man you’ve just met walking his dog. But even so, she had to wonder just what – if anything – Jonas was up to. Why come in again? Hadn’t they said everything that needed saying already? Cathy had felt their previous two encounters to be nothing but awkward, only stirring up unwanted feelings and bittersweet memories that she was perhaps better off without. Surely he must have felt the same way – and he had a wife now too, of course, which was even more reason to stay away. So why come back?
And then Cathy was struck by a sudden horrible epiphany.
‘Don’t worry,’ Fleur said, popping the last of her cake into her mouth and fixing Cathy with a shrewd gaze. ‘If he comes in today I’ll serve him, and if you want to scoot off I won’t mind.’
Cathy nodded. She didn’t entirely know how she felt about this new development but she knew that no good could come of developing feelings for Jonas again. To that end, the best course of action was probably to avoid him. If she’d felt more comfortable with him – as she once had – she might have taken him to one side and explained all this, but that wasn’t going to be possible now their relationship had changed so much. No, she decided, the best course of action here was to stay out of his way. Which was fine and right and would be a lot easier if he would only stop coming to the stall. Cathy wanted to stay out of his way, but it was beginning to look as if – for whatever reason – he didn’t want to stay out of hers.