Read The Blackwell Lessons for Free Online Page B

sure?’
    ‘I’m sure. Now come on, let’s get to the restaurant.’

14
    At the restaurant, Marc and I are shown to the bar area.
    We sit on stools under legs of cured ham hanging from the ceiling, while a waiter pours us each a small sherry.
    ‘Nadia’s always late,’ says Marc. ‘She and timekeeping were never good friends.’
    I pick up the sherry and look uncertainly at the glass. ‘I’m not sure I should drink this. What if I’m … you know?’
    ‘Dr Christian said that one drink will be fine.’
    ‘You’ve been talking to Dr Christian?’
    ‘Of course. I wanted to know if there were any foods you should avoid today. So I could call the chef and make sure they weren’t on the menu.’
    I laugh. ‘Only you would consider getting the whole menu changed just for me. So are you telling me to drink?’
    ‘The doctor said one drink is fine. Whether you drink it is up to you.’
    ‘Maybe I shouldn’t … what do you think?’
    Marc laughs. ‘Now this is something I never imagined.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Me trying not to control you. And you throwing it right back in my face. So you’re asking me to tell you what to do now?’ He gives me his quirky smile.
    ‘I’m not asking you to tell me what to do,’ I say. ‘I’m just … thinking out loud.’
    I look at the guitars and terracotta plates hanging from the walls. ‘I like this place. Have you been here before?’
    ‘Many times. Always with Nadia. It’s her favourite. Now. If you’re insisting on having a drink, perhaps we should have some food too. While we’re waiting. You shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach.’
    ‘Agreed. Would you order?’
    Marc laughs again. ‘It would be my pleasure to order for you, Mrs Blackwell.’ He calls over the waitress. ‘Olives, roast almonds and calamari please.’
    ‘What’s calamari?’ I whisper. ‘Is that like fish?’
    ‘Squid.’
    ‘Don’t smirk like that! We haven’t all grown up eating in fabulous restaurants.’
    ‘I haven’t grown up eating in fabulous restaurants. There was a time I didn’t know what calamari was either. In fact, the first time I had it I thought I was eating onion rings.’
    ‘Where was that?’
    ‘In Barcelona. Filming Hope with Baz Smith. And Nadia – as a matter of fact. I was young, but Baz and the crew treated me like I was a full-grown man. Taking me to bars. Clubs. Drinking. Smoking. Fighting. The full experience.’
    Baz Smith. The gangster actor who took Marc under his wing. And threw him into a bare-knuckle boxing match as a young man …
    ‘Weren’t you scared?’ I ask.
    ‘Petrified. But I didn’t let on. That’s what men do, in case you hadn’t realised. We hide our fears behind bravado.’
    ‘So you still get scared now?’
    ‘I hadn’t been scared in years until I met you. I had nothing to lose before. Now I have everything.’
    Our fingers mesh and our eyes meet.
    A very cautious waiter sets olives, almonds and calamari on the bar.
    Marc doesn’t look at the waiter but nods a thank you.
    I’m suddenly very conscious that we’re in a public place. My fingers slip from Marc’s.
    ‘Something wrong?’
    ‘I feel a bit self-conscious, that’s all.’
    ‘Surely you’re used to people staring at you by now.’
    ‘People aren’t staring at me. They’re staring at you.’
    ‘They’re staring at both of us. And you need to get used to it. Of course, if you’d prefer to keep displays of affection private I think I can restrain myself.’
    ‘No … I like you being affectionate. You’re right. I need to get over it.’
    Marc nods over my shoulder. ‘Here’s Nadia.’
    In the doorway, I see a tiny woman with acres of thick black hair. She wears huge tortoiseshell sunglasses. There are smile lines around her mouth and a stripe of grey hair tucked behind her ear. She’s wearing a white shirt, beige leather jacket and tight blue jeans. For her age – forty-something I think – she looks fantastic.
    My heart beats really fast.
    Oh my