Alice Ross - An Autumn Affair

Faye could scarcely believe what she was hearing. As if Miranda’s life wasn’t perfect enough, the woman mixed with celebrities. And in Marbella. ‘God,’ she huffed. ‘That’s, like, totally awesome.’

‘Awesome?’ echoed Josie. ‘I think it’s all a bit sad. God knows what Eduardo thinks of it all. But he doesn’t seem to mind. I suppose the pros outweigh the cons for him. He’s probably a kept man. And, with Lydia away so much, he can do whatever he likes. Should we make banana smoothies?’

‘Okay,’ muttered Faye, wondering how anyone could possibly find banana smoothies more interesting than all this juicy gossip. Honestly. Sometimes she really did wonder about Josie.

*****

Never, in all of Julia’s thirty-nine years, had she ever imagined having sleepless nights about buying low-fat yogurt and mini Mars bars. But, as Friday loomed, she wasn’t just suffering from a lack of sleep, but a surfeit of nerves mingled with, although she scarcely dared admit it, excitement. And all on the off-chance she might bump into Max again.

‘You okay?’ asked Paul, after she’d wiped down the kitchen bench for the sixth time.

‘Great, thanks,’ she replied, suspecting her bright and breezy demeanour was just a tad too bright and breezy, particularly after all the snapping and sniping she’d indulged in during the week. ‘Anybody want anything special from the supermarket today?’

‘No, thanks,’ muttered Leo, disappearing out of the back door.

‘Don’t get any more of those muesli bars,’ instructed Faye, shrugging her bag over her shoulder. ‘There’s one hundred and sixty calories in each one.’

‘Oh my God,’ gasped Julia, pressing her hand to her chest in mock horror. ‘If I’d known that, I’d have cleared the supermarket shelves of them and burned the entire lot.’

Evidently unamused, Faye tossed her mother a withering look before following her brother out of the door.

‘You haven’t forgotten I’ll be back late tonight,’ said Paul, swiping up his laptop case from the kitchen table. ‘Squash.’

Then, without waiting for a reply, he, too, was gone.

‘And I hope you all have a nice day, too,’ sang Julia acerbically, as the door swung shut, and a bubble of nervous anticipation began fizzing in her stomach.

She sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of coffee from the cafetiere. How many times in the past had Max Burrell made her stomach fizz? Far too many to recall. But none more so than the first time they’d made love.

It had been the day Max passed his driving test. A stiflingly hot July day which seamlessly morphed into a warm balmy evening. Max borrowed his dad’s car and drove them out to the Cotswolds. Julia had found it slightly weird at first – sitting in the passenger seat with Max in control. But, in typical Max fashion, he handled the vehicle expertly, putting her at ease within minutes, and even executing a nifty bit of parallel parking outside a quaint village pub.

Making the most of the beautiful evening, they managed to find a table in the pretty beer garden, a couple of dogs basking in the still-warm rays, bees buzzing round the rainbow of flowers spilling out of pots, a toddler staggering about on unsteady podgy legs.

They ordered club sandwiches and fed bits of ham to the dogs who obviously deemed the possibility of a titbit worth momentarily vacating their sunbathing spots for.

‘I think I’d like a dog when we’re married,’ Julia informed him.

‘How about three dogs and six kids?’ Max suggested. ‘Or six dogs and three kids?’

They snorted with laughter.

‘We’ll need a big house.’

‘That won’t be a problem,’ replied Max. ‘By the time we’re twenty-five you’ll be the top interpreter at the United Nations and I’ll be the best history teacher in the country.’

‘Gosh,’ gasped Julia, proffering a piece of bacon to her canine friend. ‘Can you imagine us at twenty-five? It sounds so … old; so grown-up. I wonder what we’ll be doing by then.’

‘As long as we’re together, I don’t care,’ said Max, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand.

Julia blinked back a tear. ‘Stop being so romantic, Mr Burrell. You’re making me cry.’

They finished their food, washed it down with orange juice, and wandered into the village.

‘Oo, isn’t it gorgeous,’ cooed Julia, drinking in the honey-coloured houses with their overflowing window boxes, and shiny door knockers. ‘Let’s have a look around and choose which one we’re going to live in when we’re twenty-five.’

Arms entwined, they explored the village, and several tracks leading off it. One of them brought them to a secluded copse of trees overlooking a small lake. A mother duck and six tiny ducklings busied themselves at the water’s edge. They sat down and watched them.

‘This is perfect,’ sighed Julia, flopping down on her back and gazing up at Max. ‘I think we should stay here forever.’

Max chuckled and lay down beside her. ‘Well, I think, at some point, someone might miss us. We don’t have to go back just yet, though. The night is still young.’

‘Good.’ Julia smiled mischievously. ‘Because I haven’t congratulated you properly on passing your driving test yet.’ Twining her arms around his neck, she pulled his face down to hers and began kissing him.

Kissing Max always made her tingle. All over. And the way he touched her … well, it set every one of her senses on fire. But they still hadn’t made love. They’d talked about it. And they’d come close on quite a few occasions. But they’d always stopped in the nick of time. Things, for whatever reason, hadn’t been quite right. Until this evening. With the heady combination of birdsong, ducklings, clear blue sky and still-warm sun, it was as if they’d wandered straight onto a film set – arranged especially for them. Things couldn’t be more perfect. And this evening Julia didn’t want to stop.

‘You sure about this?’ Max asked, when the kissing had led to other things. ‘I’ve brought a condom with me.’

Unable to speak, burning with longing for him, Julia nodded. She’d never been more sure of anything in her entire life.

Their love-making had been slow, tender, their gaze locked the entire time. In Max’s usual competent way, he’d made her feel safe, special, loved. Not to mention experience feelings she never would have thought possible. The entire thing had been better than perfect. It had been absolutely exquisite.

‘Well, I certainly won’t forget this day in a hurry,’ Max whispered afterwards, holding her in his arms and nuzzling into her hair.

Julia swiped a tear from her face and knew for certain that she would remember that day for the rest of her life.

The post thudding down on the hall mat snapped her out of her reverie. She lifted her cup of coffee to her lips.

It was cold.

By the time Julia arrived at Waitrose, she was a jittering wreck. She had, however, made more of an effort. Wearing her best jeans and a blue shirt, she’d washed and blow-dried her hair, and even added a swipe of blusher and a touch of clear lip gloss. She’d tried one of her lipsticks but it was so long since she’d opened it that it had gone all gooey.

She attempted to concentrate on the shopping, but all the while her eyes scanned the aisles for gorgeous ex-boyfriends. She lingered longer than was obviously acceptable in the cereal aisle, causing a bemused assistant to enquire if she required any help. Julia flushed scarlet and politely declined the offer.

By the time she reached the checkout, frustrated tears burned her eyes.

‘Did you find everything you needed?’ the checkout lady asked.

Unfortunately not, Julia wanted to wail. ‘Yes, thank you,’ she replied instead.