This Time Next Year(72)

It rang twice.

‘Leila?’

‘Yes.’ It was a civil yes, a polite yes – the new tone of their friendship.

‘Can I come over?’

Leila heard the tears and her tone instantly changed.

‘Where are you, Min? I’ll come and get you.’





17 May 2020





Despite Leila’s offer to fetch her, Minnie said she would rather come to hers. By the time she arrived on Leila’s doorstep she had stopped crying. She now felt nervous about being here. Though they’d met for a few coffees in town, she hadn’t been to Leila’s flat since their fight. She also hadn’t seen Ian in three months but, as far as Minnie knew, he hadn’t proposed yet. Surely she would still be the first person to hear if he’d asked the question?

Ian had sent her a text after the fight, saying he felt responsible for her and Leila falling out. He said he’d told Leila about their conversation, tried to broker a peace. Yet strangely their argument had felt like it was about more than just the business. Years of being so close, rubbing against each other’s hard edges, finally causing a friction fire that needed to burn itself out. Perhaps, like in the aftermath of a wildfire, there would now be room for new shoots.

As Leila opened the door, Minnie’s eye went instantly to her hand just to check there wasn’t something there she hadn’t been told about. No ring. She felt her chest decompress. If there had been a ring, if Ian had proposed and Leila hadn’t told her – it might have felt like the death knell for their friendship.

‘Min, what’s happened?’

Leila wrapped her arms around her and Minnie sank into her with a heaving sob. It wasn’t even about Quinn bloody Hamilton any more, it was about her friend hugging her in a way she hadn’t been hugged for months and only now, this second, realising how deeply she had missed her.

‘Quinn Hamilton,’ Minnie sniffed.

‘Whaaat?’ Leila clenched her hands around Minnie’s shoulders and dragged her into the flat. ‘I knew it, I knew that was on the cards! How, when, where? Tell me everything.’

‘Nothing happened. I ran into him this morning at Hampstead Ponds.’

‘Since when do you go to Hampstead Ponds?’ Leila drew her head back into a ‘do I know you at all?’ expression.

‘I always used to swim, remember, before life got busy. I thought I’d finally listen to Jean and try outside. Anyway, I ran into Quinn and we went for breakfast and … ’ Minnie let out a loud exhale, blinking her eyes closed. ‘Leila, we got on so well. I don’t know, he was just being so normal and funny and strangely vulnerable, not arrogant and obnoxious like before. We ended up going to the zoo and—’

‘The zoo?’

‘He wanted to adopt a penguin.’

‘Classic day date.’

‘What do you mean day date?’

‘Zoo is a classic day date. Looking at all those animals humping each other – starts you thinking about sex. He suggested it? You only take someone to the zoo if you want to hump them too.’

‘I don’t think it’s romantic watching animals hump each other, but yes, he suggested it.’

‘Then what? You snogged by the snow leopards, locked lips by the lemurs, canoodled by the canoe frogs?’

‘What are canoe frogs?’

‘I couldn’t think of anything that went with canoodle. There might be canoe frogs.’

Minnie shook her head, distracted from her story.

‘Anyway, Quinn and I had this amazing morning just hanging out, and it felt … I felt there was this amazing connection between us. We were about to leave and we had this moment … ’

‘A moment?’

‘Yeah, like we were looking into each other’s eyes and he was about to kiss me, and … ’

‘And?’

‘And then he said, “Don’t look at me like you want me to kiss you – I’m seeing someone and it would never work between us.”’

‘Ugh.’

‘Ugh, I know.’

‘I was expecting a little more steam in this story though, Min. This is barely U-rated. I was guessing he’d have at least shagged you and then ghosted you.’

‘I know, I’m overreacting. I just felt this real connection, and then to think I’d imagined the whole thing. It made me feel so stupid.’

Minnie shrugged. She felt a strange layering of emotions. On one level she still felt rejected and embarrassed; on another she felt so pleased to be back with Leila, talking like they used to, that the rejection and the embarrassment didn’t seem so bad. She reached out to hug her friend again.

‘I’ve missed you, Leils. I’m sorry if you think I’m not a butterfly, and I’m sorry I berated you for being a butterfly. I love your butterflyiness, I can’t handle being a boring wingless caterpillar on my own.’

Leila laughed. ‘You’re not a boring wingless caterpillar, I shouldn’t have said that. You’re wonderful just as you are. I don’t think I realised how stressed I was back then. I took it out on you and I’m sorry.’

Minnie still held tight to the hug.

‘Clearly Quinn thinks I’m a wingless caterpillar too.’