No Way to Say Goodbye - Anna McPartlin [96]
Sam was talking to the barman as though they were old friends. “It’s a warm night,” he acknowledged.
“Warm? ’Tis almost hot.”
“Well, it’s nearly summer.” Sam sipped his pint.
“Summer my arse!” the man said quietly, so that Mia had to strain to hear him from behind a well-placed antique plant pot. “We’re being globally warmed as we speak. Sure if it keeps going as it is, in a few years we’ll all be just stains on the street!”
Sam laughed. “Well, I guess you’d know better than I would.”
“Oh, I would, Sam. I’ve been a connoisseur of Kerry weather for nigh on thirty-eight years now.” He grinned. “So, you’re here to see your lady-friend?”
Mia’s heart missed a beat.
“Yeah.”
“Well, I wish you the best of luck.”
“Thanks, Henry,” Sam said.
It was at this point that an elderly lady, who looked as if she might be a cousin of the Queen of England and smelt of roses, approached Mia’s hiding-place. “Are you all right, dear?” she asked. “You seem a little lost.”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
The old woman had attracted the attention of Sam and the bartender so Mia made her entrance. Sam immediately got off the bar stool. Henry followed with Sam’s drink on a tray, his demeanour immediately changing from casual to professional. Once they were seated by the window overlooking the bay, he asked if Mia would like something to drink.
“I’ll have a dry martini.”
“Certainly, madam,” he said, with a bow, and then they were alone.
“It’s a beautiful place,” she said, gazing out over the water.
Sam nodded.
“Are you going to say anything?” Mia said, annoyed by his silence.
“What do you want me to say?” he asked, knowing he was being rude.
“You hate me that much?”
“I don’t hate you. I just don’t want to hurt you again.”
“Is that what you’ve planned?”
“Why are you here?” he asked, as Henry appeared and placed Mia’s drink on the table in front of her. Without a word, he was gone.
She looked from Sam to her drink and back to Sam. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “To say goodbye? To win you back?” She sighed.
He took her hand in his and kissed it. “Say goodbye.”
She nodded. “The trouble is, I know I can get over losing you as a lover but I don’t think I’ll ever recover from losing you as a friend.”
“You don’t have to,” he said, unable to hide his relief.
“You’ve got my back?” she asked playfully.
“I’ve got your back,” he said, with a grin.
Later, over dinner on the terrace, Mia told Sam about her burgeoning relationship with Caleb. “He’s so good to me.”
“Like you were to me. You deserve the very best, Mia. You just have to believe it.”
“I shouldn’t be here,” she said.
“Probably not.”
“Still, I’m glad I came.”
“Me too,” Sam said, and he meant it. “Are you in love with him?”
“Yes, I think I am. And are you in love with Mary?”
“Yeah, I think I am.”
“She’s lucky.”
“No. She’s pretty unlucky, actually.”
“You’re well matched, then.”
“We’re giving each other space.”
“She told me. You know what I think?”
He shook his head.
“Space is for astronauts.”
They laughed. He had missed his friend Mia and he was glad to have her back, even if just for one night. They made their way to the restaurant arm in arm, and after dinner they travelled down Memory Lane. She worried that her career would suffer without him. He reminded her that she was the talent and that every good student outgrows their mentor. She discussed her fears for the album. She knew it was good but it needed one more song, a signature tune, something she could hang the whole thing on. He agreed to listen to the rough cuts. She complained that she couldn’t stay more than a day for fear that she’d put on weight, yet she was determined to finish her lobster. Over coffee he thanked her for saving his life and this time he meant it. At the end of their evening he kissed her goodbye. She hugged him and smiled. “Closure,” she mumbled, before kissing him one last time. He waited