One of Us Is Dead

80 Monday 17 October 2022

‘Missing you already,’ he said, hugging Debbie outside the entrance to her flat, in one of the old Victorian villas just above Brighton Station.

She grinned. ‘That’s so cheesy, Taylor. What was it I said about you being so cheesy?’

He looked at her for a moment; tired and pale, her brief tan was already largely faded after their long flight, and her hair was scrunched into a ponytail that popped out of the rear of her baseball cap. But in her fleece-lined denim jacket, ripped jeans and tall trainers, she was, to him, so beautiful and very self-assured. He shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, it may be cheesy but it’s true. I want to see you again, soon. Like very soon.’

She put her hands on her hips and grinned. ‘You’re flying tomorrow with your boss? To Brussels?’

‘Tomorrow morning. I’ll be back on Friday night.’

She nodded thoughtfully. ‘Well, what’s wrong with tonight — or do you need your beauty sleep before flying?’ She nodded at his MG. ‘You could either come here in your little black rocket, or I can come and find you.’

‘Both plans are good.’

She smiled. ‘They are.’

As he drove off, and glanced in his rear-view mirrors, and could see her standing on her doorstep waving goodbye at him, his heart was heaving. After his split-up with his wife, he felt he finally had his life back. And he was in love, he realized. Truly, hook, line and sinker in love.