‘How does a panini and a glass of vino at the wine bar sound?’ says Tom, poking his head around the door of my office. Tom has been in court for most of the week and only now, as we head towards the weekend, do we catch up.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ I say looking at the list of emails still awaiting my attention. It had been a long week. The Monday rumble had been drawn out, Leonard giving me a good grilling about the McMillan case. Sometimes it’s as if I’m still an employee rather than a supposedly equal partner. I resisted the urge to say anything, though. It was easier to answer the questions than to get into an argument with him. I’d made that mistake once before, and that was before I even worked for him. It was when I was at university and had taken my eye off the ball and been distracted from my studies by my search for Alice. He had helped a bit at first, but he was adamant that I shouldn’t let my grades suffer.
‘Come on, you could do with a break,’ says Tom. ‘It will do you good to get out of the office for an hour. We could just grab a sandwich from the kiosk and sit in the park, if you like? I can tell you how I wiped the floor with the defence this week.’ He polishes an imaginary badge of honour on his lapel.
I feel myself relent. It’s a nice day and there probably won’t be many more chances to get out and enjoy the local park before the weather shifts properly into winter.
‘Okay, why not?’ I say, standing up and grabbing my bag. ‘The park sounds like an excellent suggestion.’
Tom ushers me out of the office, his hand resting between my shoulder blades. ‘If we go stealth mode, we can sneak out before Leonard spots us,’ he whispers.
I stem the giggle. We’re like school kids playing truant.
We both have a bacon and Brie panini and a coffee. The park is quieter than at weekends and we plonk ourselves down on one of the benches that edge the fountain. The white stone basin has recently been sandblasted and the blue-tiled floor cleaned. Brown, yellow and red leaves from the surrounding trees have begun dropping and float in the water like little boats. In the centre is some sort of mermaid and fish statue, the water spouts out of the fish’s mouth. When we’ve been here with the girls, Luke has remarked how hideous the whole thing is. I don’t think it’s that bad, but then I haven’t got the artistic eye he has.
‘Congratulations on your win in court,’ I say.
‘Thanks. Wasn’t sure if the witness was going to crack at first, but fortunately I’d done my homework about her reliability and was able to dish the dirt. Once the jury heard how she’d perjured herself in court before, it was game over.’
‘I’m glad I won’t ever have to come up against you in court. I expect Leonard was pleased.’
‘Oh yeah, although he took the credit, of course, and said I’d learned it all from him.’
‘That sounds like Leonard,’ I say. ‘Anyway, how was your weekend? Did you have Lottie?’
‘No, next weekend Lottie is with me. I had a pretty quiet couple of days, to be honest.’ He leans back and stretches his arm across the back of the bench. ‘What about you? How’s it going with Alice?’
I knew he was going to ask and it’s probably half the reason why he invited me out for lunch. ‘Good,’ I say. ‘It’s going well.’
‘Is that it? That’s all you’re going to say? That it’s going well?’
I look at him and shrug. ‘It’s the truth. She seems very nice. Mum is over the bloody moon. Luke and the girls seem to get on well with her too. I don’t really know what else to say.’
‘You seem very underwhelmed by it. I thought you’d be buzzing with excitement.’ He gives my ponytail a gentle tug. ‘Come on, Clare. I know you better than that. What’s the deal with Alice?’
I rest my head back on his arm and close my eyes for a moment. I’m still having trouble processing my emotions and feelings about Alice. I open my eyes and look at Tom. He gives a sympathetic smile. I let out a sigh. ‘Okay. To be honest, I don’t know how I feel. No, that’s not right.’ I sit forward. ‘It’s very confusing. I feel all sorts of things, but most of all, and don’t you dare repeat this.’ I pause and wait for Tom to promise. He obliges and makes the Cub Scout promise sign. ‘Most of all, I feel like it’s a bit of an anticlimax. It’s not as exciting as I thought it would be. I feel a bit flat and, if I’m honest, a bit grumpy. I shouldn’t feel like this, surely?’