As she arrived at the front doors of the church hall, Iris was waiting for her outside.
‘You could have gone in,’ Cathy said. ‘You must have been freezing out here.’
‘I’ve only just arrived myself,’ Iris said. ‘And I knew you’d be here any minute – I thought I’d wait as it would save me walking back across the hall to let you in.’
It was hardly a marathon, but Cathy just smiled. ‘Thanks. How are you this morning?’
‘Same as always,’ Iris said, as if that was enough information for anyone. As she unlocked the old wooden doors, Cathy’s attention was drawn to a car, slowing to a halt on the kerb close by. Erica got out.
‘You’re early,’ Cathy said, going to meet her. ‘Raring to go?’
‘Oh, the car’s broken down. Malc had already left the house for work so I’ve had to grab a lift with my brother before he went into work himself. It was better than fighting for a seat on the bus in rush hour.’
Cathy glanced at the car. She couldn’t see anyone in the driver’s seat, but the boot was open and she could only assume that Erica’s brother was round there getting something out. She looked closer to see if Tansy was in there, but the back seats were empty too. She couldn’t say she was all that disappointed, despite the effect Tansy’s absence would have on her numbers – she’d feel a lot more relaxed today without that sneering presence.
The sound of the boot slamming echoed down the street and Erica’s brother emerged from the back of the car with a bag. He strode towards Erica, holding it out for her but, as he looked up, whatever he’d been about to say to her died on his lips. He stared at Cathy, and then, with a sudden realisation of her own, Cathy’s mouth dropped open.
A huge grin split his face.
‘Well, talk about a small world!’ he said.
‘You’re Erica’s brother?’ Cathy looked from him to Erica, as if expecting some kind of explanation. But that was silly, because how was her new friend to know that Cathy had already met her brother on the path that ran alongside the canal? How was she to know that this was the same man Cathy had been hoping to run into again, the reason that Cathy had got soaked the day before as she’d walked that way in the rain?
And, with a jolt of excitement, Cathy was suddenly reminded of one very important detail that Erica had given her about her brother: he was single.
‘I am,’ he said. ‘So you must be Cathy?’
He glanced at Iris briefly before turning back to Cathy, perhaps doubting himself for a millisecond before deciding that his original guess was the right one. Cathy didn’t know what Erica might have told him about her, but she was pleased that her friend had at least felt her important enough to mention to him. And that he’d remembered her name at all.
‘And you must be Matthias?’
‘Call me Matt,’ he said, his grin spreading wider still. ‘I don’t know what my mum was thinking giving me a name like Matthias.’
‘I like it,’ Cathy said. ‘It’s unusual.’
Erica cleared her throat and Cathy turned to her now, realising that neither she nor Matthias had yet explained how they already knew each other ‘Would someone like to tell me what’s going on?’
‘My thoughts exactly,’ Iris put in. ‘And is anyone actually entering this building or not, because I’m standing here like chips with these keys and we’ve got a kitchen to set up.’
‘We’ve bumped into each other a couple of times already,’ Matthias said, holding Cathy in a steady gaze as he did. She liked the way he looked at her. She could have been mistaken, of course, but it felt as if he was as interested in her as she was in him. What to do about that was a different matter entirely, especially now that it was complicated by the fact that he was Erica’s brother and Cathy had already decided that it would be a bad idea to date someone so close to her friend… but for now she was ignoring that little thorn in her side and enjoying the moment. ‘While I was walking Guin on the canal path.’
Now it was Erica’s turn to show a wide grin. ‘On the canal path… really? Well, isn’t that interesting?’
At this, Matthias shot a brief look of warning at his sister. Cathy was pretty sure she hadn’t mentioned their short meetings by the canal to Erica – though she’d been tempted a few times, something had always stopped her – so she could only assume, from Erica’s reaction, that he had. And if he had, what had he said about her? It must have been good because Erica looked pleased, and also a little bit smug, like she was party to a fun secret and she was enjoying, for the moment, being the only person who knew it.
‘Only to say good morning,’ Cathy added. ‘Of course, if I’d known that you were Erica’s brother…’
‘Well, it’s not the first thing you think to ask when you meet someone out walking their dog, is it?’ he said, laughing.
‘No,’ Cathy said, laughing herself now. ‘But how strange…’
‘The world is full of the most wonderful coincidences, isn’t it?’ Erica said.
Iris let out a sigh. ‘I’ll go and get started, shall I?’
She went inside, but although they all watched her go, nobody made a move to follow. Cathy wanted to get as much as she could from this meeting, and maybe Matthias did too. Erica seemed content to watch and grin and feel smug about it. There was no way she could fail to see how interested Cathy was, and after trying to matchmake and having her attempts rejected, Cathy fully expected an I told you so later that morning.
Matthias looked again at his sister. ‘I expect you want to go in and get started.’
‘There’s no point in going in until Cathy does,’ Erica said.
Cathy wanted to say something to him but she didn’t know what. The situation had caught her completely off-guard and, as usual, all her cool lines had deserted her. Not that they would have been that cool, even if she’d been able to think of any of them.
‘I suppose I’d better go in,’ she said.
‘Oh, right… of course,’ he replied. ‘I suppose I’d better get to work anyway – don’t want to get stuck in traffic. See you around, maybe?’
‘I hope so,’ Cathy said. ‘Bye, Mattias.’
‘Matt,’ he said, grinning at her and opening his car door.
‘Matt,’ Cathy repeated, smiling. ‘Sorry; it didn’t take me long to forget, did it?’
‘I’ll let you off this once.’ He shot her a last grin before getting into his car.
They watched for a moment as he started the engine and began to pull away from the kerb. Then Cathy turned to see Erica wearing a huge naughty grin that made her look disconcertingly like her brother.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘He’s got a late shift tomorrow. I’ve got a feeling if you take a walk by the canal tomorrow morning, you’ll definitely find him there.’
On any other day, Cathy might have been disappointed to see that Tansy, the vicar and one or two others were missing from class, but her head was spinning from the strange but wonderful coincidence that had come to light that morning and her mood was just too good for disappointment. Erica kept giving her knowing looks, and Cathy caught her whispering to Iris and Dora more than once while angling her head in Cathy’s direction. Cathy didn’t want to assume that she was interesting enough to be the subject of their gossiping but was finding it hard to think anything else.