‘I told you,’ I smile weakly. ‘Money talks. There have to be some benefits to marrying a trust-fund kid.’
He smiles wryly. ‘I’m sure this isn’t the only one. What are your plans? Home for a very long sleep in your own––’ he catches himself, ‘in our bed?’
I am going home to our bed – not to mine. I have organised for the terrace to be aired out, and I’m going to sleep there, at least tonight. I have absolutely no idea why.
‘Unless you need anything else?’
‘New legs?’
‘Your legs are fine,’ I remind him. ‘It’s your brain that’s wonky, and soon that’ll be fine too.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘If your memory was intact, you’d know that I’m not often wrong.’ Leo laughs at me, and I slide off the end of his bed and stretch. ‘Can I bring you anything tomorrow?’
‘I was hoping you might bring me a few things. I’m guessing I would have had a sat phone with me in Syria and that’s probably lost?’
‘I’d say so. Brad was travelling with you, but I doubt he went back for your gear.’
‘He was with me?’ Leo visibly brightens at this news, and not for the first time I am irrationally jealous of the great love he has for his work. ‘Do you think he’ll visit me soon?’
‘He’s already texted me this afternoon to ask when he can visit, and so has half of the News Monthly team and the guys at the gym. Your parents will come sometime this evening, but I’ve told the rest of them they have to come over the next few days. I hope that’s okay?’
‘Thanks, Molly. That’s great. So – do I have another phone? A mobile?’
I hesitate before I nod, because God only knows what’s on his phone. There will definitely be a history of text messages between us – snarky ones at least, brutally nasty ones at worst.
‘You do. I’m not sure where you left it,’ I lie.
‘Unless my routine has changed it’ll be in the safe in my office. Do you know the code?’
‘I do. I’ll see if I can find it. And something to read? Your main Kindle is probably lost in Syria, but I’ll bring the spare.’
‘Kindle?’ he raises an eyebrow at me. ‘An E-reader? I don’t like to read electronically.’
‘That’s what you said when I bought you one for your birthday the first year we were together. Now you own two. It took you a while to come round to the idea of reading on a device but once you caught on, you really caught on.’
‘Really?’ He is a little sceptical, but I know he’ll change his mind about a chapter into his first book. ‘Right. Well, in that case, yes – the spare Kindle too, please. And some of my own clothes if it’s not too much trouble.’ He holds out his hand to me, and I automatically slide mine into it as if to shake hands. I’m surprised when he pulls me close, and then envelops me in a hug.
‘Thank you, Molly – for everything,’ he whispers into my hair. There’s such sincerity in his voice that I’m almost taken aback. It’s not that Leo is an ungrateful man… it’s just that he isn’t the kind of man to wear his emotions on his sleeve. There’s a degree of vulnerability in the warmth in his tone, and a shaky edge to it, almost as if he’s overwhelmed – but surely not. Leo doesn’t do overwhelmed, particularly not when it comes to gratitude.
I return his hug, and it’s amazing to have his arms around me again. Greedily I absorb the moment – I want to stay here, just like this, to revel in the peacefulness between us. For a moment or two, I let myself wonder what it would be like if Leo never recovered any more of his lost years than he has, just so that I could keep him like this: warm, caring – friendly.
But I don’t let myself cling to that thought for more than a second. I gently pull out of the embrace, but brush a soft kiss against the scruffy beard on his cheek before I leave.
I call Brad Norse on my way home. I’ve been putting this call off, but there’s no more delaying it. I put the privacy screen up between the driver and my backseat, and dial with shaking fingers.
‘Molly! How’s Leo?’
Brad is the closest thing to a best friend that Leo has. They often travel together – Brad taking the photos, Leo writing the words. In the last few years we’ve all become fairly close – Brad’s wife Penny is one of the few people I know who understands what it’s like to have a husband work in such a dangerous job.
I haven’t spoken to Brad since the accident. I didn’t want to speak to him, because I figured he probably knew the truth about Leo and me, and I couldn’t bring myself to face his condemnation. I love Brad but he’s the kind of friend who would take sides, and I know which side he would take.
‘He’s doing really well, Brad – really well. He’s almost back to normal already – except he can’t move his legs and he’s altogether forgotten me,’ I laugh uneasily.
‘Yeah, Anne told me about all of that. How’s he coping?’
‘He’s doing great considering but the memory loss has complicated things.’