You Can't Hurry Love

Chapter Fifteen

'Well, hello there, pretty lady. What are you still doing up?' Ben closes the front door softly behind him and removes his coat and shoes, sidling over to me and joining me on the sofa. 'Ah, I should have guessed.' He answers his own question when he sees the telly and he places a weary head on my shoulder.

I'm watching one of my favourite Christmas movies. 'It's a Wonderful Life'. I love this film so much. The pure nostalgia I feel the moment I put it on throws me back to my childhood days of watching it with mum, doing the exact same thing as Ben and I are doing now. Snuggled up together under a blanket and eating a bowl of popcorn so huge that there's no way we could finish it on our own, even though I was always happy enough to take on the challenge.

If I really had to admit it to myself, I miss those times. Days filled with laughter and silliness, dances in the kitchen and tickle fights before bed. Just the two of us in our safe, happy little bubble. We don't have that same relationship anymore and even though I've tried, I can't pinpoint what actually happened in our life to make us the way we are today. Cold and distant. Was it mum not being around as much as she used to be, having to take on second and third jobs just to keep us afloat? Or was it when I left for university and my promises of weekend trips home were broken for nights out with new friends? Maybe it was just a culmination of us both growing older and life getting in the way. Mum was my hero, my best friend, and now she seems more like a stranger to me. Someone I have to try and make time for. And that makes me sad.

'How was work?' I ask Ben, placing my head on top of his and stroking his hair.

'Same old. Busy, impatient customers, cantankerous boss. Just living the dream, Dottie! Living the dream.'

'Lincoln being as gracious as usual then?' Ben mumbles an ascent and shoves a handful of popcorn into his mouth, unaware that my heart had started beating so hard in my chest I was worried he might actually hear it. 'Did he mention me at all?' I ask carefully, keen to not give anything incriminating away.

'About you? No . . . Why?' Ben lifts himself off from my shoulder and turns to me inquisitively, his brow furrowing as he takes in my twitchy expression.

'Oh, no reason. I just bumped into him earlier and thought he might have told you.' (That I was laying on the freezing ground like a crazed lunatic.) 'It's no big deal.'

'Where did you see him? At the restaurant?' His eyes narrow and I pull the blanket up around my neck in a bid to hide from his analytical stare.

'No. I was taking a walk in the park and he was there. With Angie.'

'WHAT?'

What's left of the remaining popcorn goes flying into the air as Ben launches himself onto his knees, grabbing at my shoulders and giving me an excited little shake.

'Tell me everything! Were they holding hands? Did it look romantic? Oh, please say you saw them kissing!' He looks impassioned and I sit back in my seat, startled at his sudden change of mood.

Ben must have sensed this because he attempts to explain himself.

'So I asked him last week if Isaac could take on a few shifts over the holidays for some extra money but oh no, Lincoln wouldn't allow it because he doesn't believe that people who are in a relationship should mix business with pleasure because apparently, it causes an "unprofessional and inhospitable workplace for everyone else!" Inhospitable? That guy could learn a thing or two about uncomfortable workplaces. He invented them! If he's sneaking around with one of the waitresses, I'll have him. Tell me Dot, what were they doing?'

'Er, I don't know.'

But that was clearly the wrong answer because he starts huffing in displeasure, and I panic. If I tell him too much, I don't want him to start questioning my motives for being there in the first place.